Life is about finding your rhythm

As a dancer it seems as though I have always had the same response when people have asked me to do things over the past 13 years. “I can’t, I have dance.”

I have danced for most of my young life and it always seems as though I am missing out on something. Birthday parties, school activities, concerts, vacations, you name it and I have probably had to say no.

I have not had a typical childhood. I dance upwards of three to four hours every night and then seven to eight hours every Saturday. Add in the extra rehearsals that I put in for my solo, competitions and conventions, and my entire weekend is consumed from start to finish. In the few hours I do have left over, I also apprentice some younger classes. Many days I am leaving my house at 6:50 in the morning and not getting back till 10:30-11:00 at night.

Completing all my homework, eating properly, getting a job AND having a social life has not been easy. In fact, I barely went to any high school football games and I might have to miss out on some of the senior picnic due to a mandatory rehearsal. Has it been worth it? Do I regret it? Absolutely not. I chose dance; this is the path I want to follow. And sometimes that means I have had to make sacrifices to do something I love.

Many people have suggested that I cut back, or slow it down a bit, or miss one class. The reality is I can’t, and I really do not want to. While dance can be an individualized art, you are a part of a team and that requires team effort. If I am not there for one rehearsal I am letting everyone down. My teacher cannot choreograph as quickly, cleaning is often pointless because I am not there to hear the corrections, and it is not fair to the rest of the team if they are there working their butts off dancing, I should be there too.

Life does not always work out perfectly, and sometimes you must make difficult decisions that may hurt a little bit.

“I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same,” Martha Graham.