# data[].attributes.body
It has been widely accepted that long-term memory is both permanent and has an unlimited storage capacity.

To challenge this established belief, I employed my dance studio space and played various pieces of music from dances I had performed many years ago that had not entered my mind since they graced the stage.

Astoundingly, with minimal work and prompting, I was able to pull each five-minute dance from the archives of my long-term memory and move to the music as though I had been working on these pieces for the past several years. Still in disbelief, I called on some of my dance major friends and challenged them to do the same. Not only were they able to piece together dances from their many collective years of dancing, but some of them even resurrected a piece from our freshman year that we had all created together!

The capacity to recall so many elaborate dances after such an extended hiatus is rather striking evidence for the unlimited capacity and seemingly permanent characteristics of long-term memory, at least in this context.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dance Just Dance GIF - Dance Just Dance Wii U - Discover & Share GIFs

# data[].attributes.body
Fitts and Posner posed a Three-Stage Model of Learning which I have found to be applicable to my own life as a dancer. They proposed the Cognitive, Associative, and Autonomous stages of learning.

When first learning a new piece for a performance, I, despite having danced for nearly 20 years, always initiate the Cognitive Stage of Learning. This foundational stage, for me, is characterized by basing the performance in cognitive thought and verbal processes, essentially silently talking myself through the movements. This practice, paired with inconsistent beginning performances, generally results in considerable and quick improvement with practice and solidification of working strategies.  When I am stitching new movements together in fantastic, novel ways, my entire brain is absorbed with the verbal processes of thinking about what movement comes next and how to efficiently get to it. Additionally, the first time running the piece might go wonderfully, and the second may very well go horribly, but this seemingly incompatible and clashing result actually offers additional information which allows me to successfully move into the Associative Stage of Learning.

The Associative Stage of Learning establishes motor patterns that work and makes them more efficient. This results in gradual, but consistent improvement in the movement. Additionally, this process allows the verbal aspect of thinking through each movement to drop off. This stage of learning allows me, as a dancer, to become more fluid in my movement and to focus on aspects such as congruity with my group and staying on beat with the music rather than simply focusing on getting the next step right.

Finally, the Autonomous Stage is reached which demands less conscious attention to my movement, as the entire piece is now an automatic process. This stage of learning is critical in the performing arts world because it is during this phase that dancers are allotted the space to become performers. Due to the lack of attention being placed on each actual movement, I can focus on emotion, flare, facials and making the movement enjoyable both for me as a mover, and for the audience members.

Thus, all of the stages are utilized to their full potential as I, or any dancer, is learning a new piece.

# data[].attributes.body
Ability versus skill is an important distinction to make in the world of kinesiology.  An ability is something that one is born with at a certain level of proficiency that will not change with practice.  A skill is an action, or movement that is made up of a combination of abilities and can be modified and bettered through practice.

In high school, the dance studio where I trained valued jumpers and turners. Emphasis was placed on competence in these skills and, as a result, I became rather good at them (though, I always preferred jumping to turning).  However, when I transitioned to the dance program here at UW-Madison, I was met with a staff of professors who underscored excellence in floor work. I quickly discovered I was not nearly as suited to these movement skills as I was for turning and jumping. In part, this had to do with my training, but it also involved my inherent abilities.

For instance, when jumping, I use the abilities of explosive strength (the ability to expend a maximum of energy in one explosive act) to get off the ground, Extent Flexibility (the ability to extend and stretch the body as far as possible in various directions) to hit the desired position in the air and safely land, and finally, Stamina, to name a few. These abilities all combine to help me perform the skill of jumping, like in the video above, and are rather natural to me.

However, when performing floor work, abilities such as Dynamic Strength (the ability to continuously move and support the weight of the body) and Gross Body Coordination (the ability to perform a number of complex movements simultaneously) are far more coveted. Oftentimes, when doing floor work, dancers must support the entirety of their body weight on their arm, or hip or knee, hence the use of the listed abilities which would combine to make skills. These, unfortunately, did not come as instinctually to me.

# data[].attributes.body
Visual Search is the process of directing one's visual attention to locate and process relevant environmental cues.  It is a skill that requires a great deal of practice to become efficient.

In the video above, I am performing a dance move commonly referred to as an a La Seconde Turn with Spot Changes. The 'spot change' simply refers to changing the "front" of the turn so one can change directions around a room while turning at a fast velocity. As a child and a novice to this skill, I remember always finishing these turns a) facing the wrong direction and b) extremely dizzy.

I would erringly take in the entire room in which I was turning. I would see the many mirrors, my classmates, the dance bags on the ground, the smudged mirrors and even spider webs up in the corners of the ceiling. This childhood method of turning is a prime example of inefficient Visual Searching. I was noticing information that was, firstly, too much to process while also turning, and secondly, completely irrelevant, and, indeed, detrimental to this skill.

Eventually, with much practice, I grew to master the a La Seconde Turn, and it is now one of my favorites to perform. I now have an efficient Visual Search that allows me not only to finish the turns facing the correct direction, but also to complete them without becoming dizzy so I can continue further dance movements.

It is clear, after taking this class, that the refinement of my Visual Search skills from novice to expert was key in my overall progress of this skill.