Friday, September 4, 2009

"Dance is the unfaithful mistress"

This is a saying that my ballet teacher likes to use and it couldn't be more true. As dancers, we give our youth, our bodies, and our lives to the art. We devote all our free time to classes, stretching, practicing, and bettering our skills in any way. Even when we couldn't dance, we'd be thinking about it. Whether it be going over choreography in our minds or tapping our feet under our school desk. Then, as we age, our bodies turn on us and don't work the same as they used to. Some of us develop curves that hinder our high jumps and deep stretches, while others fall prey to injury. It's a sad truth, but we keep coming back for more. For some reason, we can't get enough of it!

Honestly, I wish I could dance more. Dancing completes me. Last year, when I sprained my ankle, tore many ligaments, and couldn't dance for months it was a struggle. I had identified myself as a dancer since I was 6 year old and to not dance for a full year was a really difficult time. I am so happy to be taking class again. My goal is far from becoming professional dancer, but I couldn't imagine living my life without it. Thank God for muscle memory - I was able to jump back in the class with ease, but not without the unfaithful mistress rearing her awful head! My healed ankle is doing well, but now my other foot is giving me issues. A pain I'm willing to deal with in order to continue dancing.

The thing I miss most... tap! That being said I will leave you with a video of one of my favorite tap dancers, Laurie Johnson. I've had the pleasure of taking classes from her on a few occasions. Her rhythms just blow my mind!


1 comment:

  1. Amazing rhythm, with the attitude to match! Outstanding. And yes, I can see that any love requires a great deal of sacrifice.

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