Great Moves! Successful Ideas for Contemporary Dance Educators
Coping With the Sacrifice
When a dance student moves beyond recreational training (class once a week) to more serious dedication (five classes a week plus 4-10 hours of rehearsal a week,) it becomes painfully obvious that some sacrifices have to be made. Such a dancer, and that dancer's family, face different challenges in the pursuit of a dance career. Students and teachers experience many of the same problems, but each also knows a unique set of troubles.
In general, dancers make sacrifices emotionally, physically, socially, and sometimes educationally in order to pursue this passion we can't live without (or so it seems.) Dancing can and does become a love/hate obsession sometimes endangering health, career, and relationships. It doesn't have to go that far. There are a number of sensible tools and tricks that teachers and students can engage in to have as much dance as physically possible in one lifetime without suffering (well, not too much.)
DINNER
DANCERS: Your daughter or son is not home from dance/rehearsal until 8PM four nights a week. When do you eat dinner? Pre-teens and teens have a different timetable than adults. They can eat later, stay up later, and burn calories faster. Feed pre-schoolers and seniors while the dancer is at the studio, but you should (snack if you must) and wait to have dinner with your dancer when they get home from the studio if at all possible. If you can't wait for whatever valid reason and you've already had dinner, at least sit down at the table with your dancer while they eat. I know so many dancers who hold grudges against their parents for eating dinner without them.
TEACHERS: The slow cooker is your friend! Put most of dinner in the slow cooker at 1PM and fix the quick parts when you get home. If your children have been at the studio with you, they will be starved by 8PM when you get home. Plan Ahead! It really pays in calories, stress, and time to plan meals in advance. Perhaps your partner can be helpful in this department. Try to avoid "drive-through-dinner" as much as you can!
FRIENDS
DANCERS: When young dancers commit to an intensive schedule of dance and rehearsals, one of the first things they experience is, "dance friends/school friends." There are friends that they socialize with at the studio and those they socialize with at school. Rarely do the two categories mix and the school friends often find others to hang out with when the dancer is at rehearsal. It is common for dancers to list "time with friends" as something they have to sacrifice in order to pursue dance. Many dancers end up calling other dancers "friends" when in reality they are competitors. Parents can step in and be a good example by having friends outside other dance parents and by making it possible for dancers to socialize with peers outside of the studio. Church, volunteering, and family outings provide suitable opportunities.
TEACHERS: When the studio absorbs your every waking moment and half of your dream time, friends are few and far between. Significant others are meaningful, of course, but cultivating friends who don't dance is eye opening and refreshing. Church, volunteer opportunities and friends of your siblings or partners are safe bets for finding people who will understand your time and emotional obligations to dance. It's very enlightening to go out to dinner at a regular hour of the day with people who don't dance constantly and listen to what they talk about.
FEAR
DANCERS: Injury, rejection, and weight gain are just some of the issues dancers worry about. Fear is another word for misunderstanding. Get the information needed to understand what is bothering you. If you worry all the time about not making the cut, consider private instruction or finding another way to participate in the dance world. Dance needs teachers, writers, choreographers, managers, costume designers, and specialized health care practitioners to name just a few. Performance isn't the only option when you want to be involved in the world of dance.
TEACHERS: Injury, aging, and weight gain are just some of the issues dance teachers worry about. Throw divorce/separation into the mix and it's a wonder anybody chooses to teach dancing! Balance is the key to maintaining a healthy life physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally. Don't be afraid to stretch your boundaries outside the world of dance to find the balance you need.
Joy Held is a dance and yoga instructor and the author of Writer Wellness, A Writer's Path to Health and Creativity, New Leaf Books, 2003. Contact her at yogajoy@suddenlink.net.