What gets me angry/ sad, relating to my work practice?
- Injuries!!!- One of the biggest annoyances and 'soul crushers' for any dancer, whether it's acute or chronic, minor or major, or even just a tight muscle. Naturally we want to be able to perform at our best, and all the time. But when something like an injury gets in the way, it feels like it inhibits you from any present/long term goal towards your dancing career. And most of the time, there is never a good time for any injury to occur. Unfortunately it is part of a dancer's life, and i guess without it he/she cannot learn fully from their mistakes.
Here is a video that sums exactly what injury is like for a dancer!
- Casting- every dancer has been through the suspension of auditions and casting lists, with expectations of getting the roles they want. And of course most with any teeny tiny hopes of playing the 'lead role.' Lime light is a desirable position any performer dreams of having. There is a place for everyone at the end of the day, and sometimes it doesn't work out the way you plan it to be. Take for e.g. a ballet production where there are certain roles that need to be portrayed in a specific way of movement. The company will always choose accordingly to who will suit what role considering the dancer's ability, and the ranks of the company. Any dancer/ singer/ performer will experience this, and learn to respect the whole idea of how casting works.
- This sounds quite petty, but a bad pirouette day can get me quite frustrated!
- It is not the best witnessing when competition gets in the way of supporting each other, ending in jealousy and 'cattiness.' Luckily I have normally been surrounded by artists who all support each other, either at Elmhurst, my other previous dance studious, or in JSLN.
Who do I admire that has found ways to work around the sadness or anger?
- There have been many teachers and friends who have helped and supported each other with injuries. Although there is one sports massage practitioner that has always been there for any niggle or injury to help me get through my training- Phil. He is the sports masseuse for BRB and works privately at home too. For me often I had little niggles from muscle tightness, and so he would always fix me in a flash! Once I had a big ankle sprain, and was off for six weeks. It was also just before the solos competition at school which I could not compete in, always bad timing as they say. When I went to Phil for soft tissue work, he mentioned how week my ankles were, and some other muscle areas that needed to be strengthened. After that injury my ankle has never felt stronger. The biggest advice he ever gave me was that,' sometimes... injuries are good for you!' This is because from an injury, you learn from what you were doing wrong, how to work in the correct way and strengthen the area affected, to then come back a stronger dancer! This is something I will always remember to keep me going whenever I am a bit down from any injury or niggle.
- About bad pirouette days- my friends and certain teachers. Through my years of training, I have learnt that some days, some things might not work as well and if you get too uptight about them in class, the worse they will get. The best piece of advice... relax! Don't think about it, move on and just enjoy what goes right. This way of thinking works every time :)
- Casting is a tough one as it is understandable to give the roles to the dancers that suit them best. Most of the time the harder workers will excel more and achieve a bigger part, however this whole idea of 'typecasting' a dancer ( adage, soubrette, good turner etc) and favoritism does exist and sometimes dancers feel like they are not seen their real potential. In this case, my mom is my biggest fan! She has always told me that everyone has a time and place for them, and all that matters that I try my best, and have an attitude to believe I can achieve what I can imagine- a very powerful practice. Another friend of mine, a stunning dancer and was not chosen for a role that she deserved, said exactly, "you know what, that's life!"
Another great inspiration of mine is The Secret. It is originally a book, made into a movie as well, all talking about the law of attraction of the universe. It promotes positive thinking, stressing how much more powerful any positive thought can be versus a negative thought. The philosophy behind it all leaves you with a new way of perceiving your goals, and generally life. A great read and soul booster!
'Why do I do what I love doing?'- coming up next!
No comments:
Post a Comment