Last week in class Tracie gave us one of her challenging turning combinations across the floor. It might sound simple… 3 pique turns followed by an outside drag turn, into a side attitude turn which leads you to gently fall to a roll on the floor to get up and start all over again. You could hear people start to groan after the 3 pique turns because that’s where the challenge started… remembering to really use your plie to get into the drag turn otherwise you would never have enough momentum to make it into the side attitude turn and finish the combination.
After we had all tried the combination once on the right Tracie stopped the music to redirect our energy. She started saying that instead of focusing on what we can’t do well that we should rather celebrate and enjoy what we can do. She went on to say how dance is all about taking steps forward and every time we make it to class it’s a step in the right direction.
As class continued I thought why did I just spend the first 8 counts worrying about if I would get all the way around in that attitude turn. I was missing out on enjoying the rest of the combination. As I began the infamous and dreaded left side I said “screw it,” I wasn’t going to let 2 counts hold me hostage. I was going to enjoy what I could do well and know that there was the possibility that the turn might not be so bad after all. I can’t say the result was better/worse based upon my enjoyment. Sometimes I made it all the way around and sometimes I fell a little short , nonetheless I enjoyed the combination a lot more because I let myself go with it.
In class and rehearsal I often find myself focusing on my own short comings. I want my legs to be higher, I want more flexible hips, I want a back that bends in half, you get the point. I never take a second to celebrate where I am or how far I’ve come. This class taught me that dance is a lot more fun when you forget about all the cant’s and focus on the cans. I can’t promise I’ll be able to do that all the time but I can sure try. I recommend you do the same and let yourself go every now and then. Who knows you might even enjoy it !
-Alana Sampietro, BDC Student & member of Synthesis Dance Project
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