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The lights turn on, the sequin dresses are in place, the tap shoes are tied tight with little bows. Hair spray hangs heavy in the air, mothers are running down the halls with tulle and ribbons billowing behind them -- fathers are sitting in the audience with a bouquet of flowers. Cameras are ready, music is queued -- it's recital day and she's trained all year for one performance.
The applause. The flowers. Flashing lights. Costumes, makeup, and hair gel make every little girl feel like she's a super star. But behind the glitter and performances are lessons that she'll carry with her for the rest of her life.
I started dancing at 4-D Second Street in Alpena at five years old. The motto was "Poise and confidence achieved through dance."
I danced at the studio from the time I was five until I was 23. I moved from the toddler, tumbling stage all the way to the adult line through those years. (Thank you Mom, Dad, and Grandma for paying for those classes, shoes, and costumes.)
I rejoined the studio in November and will dance in this year's recital in October -- this is the first time in five years that I have participated. The women I have been dancing with are in different stages of life -- some are attending college, some are active in their professional careers, and others are married and have children.
This has been a good experience as I get to spend time with women who are my age, a bit younger, and a bit older. I get a well-rounded social experience that I believe has been a net positive in my life.
Many of my dance peers taught classes at one point or another, and though I never got the opportunity to lead a class, I still learned many life skills that have helped me succeed at various points in my life.
DEDICATION
The biggest lesson I learned in dance was committing to something and following through with that promise. Dance was a weekly commitment 52 weeks out of the year, except for when the studio was/is closed for holidays and weather.
When I was a child and teenager, by the time the recital rolled around, I'd have about six dances to learn and remember. There was no time to skip rehearsal. Throwing in the towel a month before recital after all the classes, pictures, and costume fittings was not an option.
Likewise, in my academic career, simply giving up when a class got hard was never a consideration. Quitting a job because I was "stressed" or felt “pressured” was especially never an option.
I learned what it meant to keep promises, to truly put my "nose to the grindstone," and to work at getting better at my craft. I can thank dance for that.
WORK ETHIC
Each age group had classes one day out of the week at my dance studio. The limited amount of class time did not mean standards were lowered. Our toes still had to be pointed, our turns had to be synchronized, the length of our leaps were never shortened.
When we were in class we were expected to give our 100% to learning and executing dances.
These expectations prepared me well for higher education and later, for my professional life. No matter the time constraint, the workload, I am well equipped to tackle any challenge with complete effort.
I can thank dance for that.
GOAL SETTING
Goal setting is probably one that I forget about sometimes, but I do believe that my ability to set realistic goals and achieve them was developed through dance.
Every year, classes set the goal of learning an entire dance within a year (or less). Those who attended multiple classes set the goal of learning all those dances within that same timeframe.
As a child, these were long, drawn out goals that seemed to never have an end in sight. Learning the dance in December, January, February, March -- the recital in October seemed like a lifetime away. But as the class met its benchmarks of "Oh! We are one minute into the dance," or "Okay, we only have one minute left to learn," the goal didn't seem so unattainable.
These processes of being overwhelmed, overcoming adversity, and succeeding made goal setting in other areas of my life much less daunting.
I can thank dance for that, as well.
PERFORMING
Though some may not realize it, we perform in various ways in our daily lives. In professional settings, we present, we teach, we communicate. In academic settings, we also perform-- we present ourselves to professors, classmates, peers, and future employers.
Public speaking is a stressful event for many individuals. Though I never became immune to the anxieties that come from public speaking, it never was a challenge I thought I couldn't overcome.
Through my years performing in front of crowds of people -- slipping, falling, or turning perfectly -- performing in any capacity in front of people became a slightly uncomfortable task rather than an insurmountable obstacle.
I will always have anxiety, but dance taught me that the "show must go on" despite any discomfort I might feel - within reason, of course. If I'm bleeding, then yes, pull me off stage. But simply saying, "I'm anxious," was never an option and still isn't an option.
I can definitely thank dance for that.