alain’s dance blog

Dancers working hard on their skills can sometimes get too caught up in the whole “getting better” business.

I’ve seen many friends anxious or stressed out because they cared too much about getting better. These people have a hard time enjoying the fact that they are healthy and can dance at all. That shouldn’t happen.

I’m saying this, but I’ve found myself guilty of it on more than one occasion. In the same manner that sickness reminds us that we should be grateful for our health, we need to be aware of the gift we have that is the dance, the gift we have that is the music. One way I’ve found to deal with the “not good enough” syndrome is to remind myself why I dance. Is it to have fun or to show off?

Dance to express, not to impress.

I’m not saying don’t work on your dancing or don’t set goals. Whether it be to win in a competition or to find adulation among your peers, setting objectives is a good way to stay motivated. Just don’t lose track of why you dance in the first place.

Gina Helfrich from Atlanta wrote a revealing post to this effect, from her weekend at Camp Jitterbug 2007:

From more than one person, but particularly from Ramona and Andy & Nina, I got the message loud and clear that when you get to the top of the heap, the next place you go is back to the beginning. Forget every fancy footwork variation you ever learned. Forget what you’re supposed to do with your left arm. Forget looking pretty all the time and concentrating so hard on how you’re moving your body. Instead: Relax, relax, relax. Only use what you really need. The dance is supposed to be about joy, and you can’t let the joy in if you’re too busy thinking about exactly how your swivel looks or if you’ve got your arm in a nice line or how you’re going to get back on the proper foot after this crazy footwork pattern you’re about to whip out.

- read more on Gina’s myspace blog.

So next time you step on the dance floor, enjoy yourself. Be grateful for the music, for the dance, for your dancer friends.

This entry was posted on December 21, 2007 at 1:37 pm and is filed under About the dance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.