Meet Hilarie: A “Movement for Life” Story.
Hilarie has been part of River Valley Dance Project since June 2024. Her return to dance, however, began in an unexpected place.
While caring for her mother at the end of her life, Hilarie found herself waiting in the basement of the hospital while her mother went for testing. It was dark, and there was nowhere to sit. With nothing else to do while she waited, Hilarie started dancing around. “I thought, well, that’s a very odd response,” she remembers. “And I thought, oh, if I’m dancing around when no one was watching me as a stress reliever, maybe there’s something to this.” She mentioned this experience to her daughter, who then gifted her dance lessons. Two years later, Hilarie continues to dance at RVDP.
As a community orchestra conductor, Hilarie sees a lot of similarities between what she does with her musicians and what Linalynn does with her dancers. “I work with adult musicians who get impatient. They want to get better,” she explains. “And here I am going, I’m an amateur, but I like to get better. And having to learn patience.” That patience has become an important part of Hilarie’s own experience with dance. “Most of the time I do things that I do well at, and it’s good for me to try something that I’m not good at,” she says. “It’s just really good to help with my perfectionism.”
When Hilarie first started taking classes, she would become overwhelmed after about 20 minutes. She began setting small goals for herself, first making it to 40 minutes, and eventually working toward getting through an entire class without becoming frustrated when she couldn’t do something or couldn’t do it well.
“I don’t have to be the best in the class,” she says. “I can still learn, and it’s okay.”
That mindset has become an important part of her experience at RVDP. “If I don’t get it the first time or the fourth time, I might never get it,” Hilarie says. “But the fact that I’m continuing to try is important.”
Hilarie also appreciates the community she has found at RVDP. One of her most memorable experiences with RVDP was a recital where Linalynn introduced everyone by their first names, from the youngest dancers to the adults. “I was thinking of the sense of community that she was creating,” Hilarie says. “It wasn’t like a dance community that had a lot of competition, like I think of other dance companies.” I thought, “What a wonderful bonding moment. And again, I was just sort of amazed. We were all working to do a nice performance together, to have that camaraderie of being part of River Valley Dance Project”. She enjoys getting the opportunity to dance alongside people of different ages, with different jobs, and says that the more experienced dancers are always supportive.
For Hilarie, movement is about continuing to try new things, staying social, and keeping both the body and mind active. “I feel like if I don’t move now, I will regret it later,” she says.
When asked to describe in one word how dance makes her feel, Hilarie first jokingly answered, “Sore.”
Then she reconsidered.
“Courageous.”
That word captures much of what Hilarie has found through her two years with RVDP: the courage to try something new, to be imperfect, and to keep moving!
“I really like the ‘Movement for Life’ idea,” Hilarie says. “Linalynn works with people wherever they are in life.”
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