Photo Credit: Phil Wayes

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The New Normal

I performed in Letters You Wrote in March and I haven't performed since. I've been on a self-prescribed temporary sabbatical from dance.

My life post-dance has been rather idyllic; having gone from being That Dancer Girl to being your average Gulf-Coast homemaker. I live with my boyfriend and our two kittens on a private lake near Galveston: I spend my days enjoying nature and keep in shape by swimming and hiking and dancing around the apartment like a crazy fool when no one else is there. I still teach two dance classes a week, and I'm forever making dances in my head.

I'm mindful about staying in shape and maintaining my strength, flexibility, and technique, because I want to go back to dancing when I'm ready. There's an audition coming up for a Houston company that I have danced with in the past and whose work I really love. I would like to go.

When I was younger, I pushed myself really hard so that I could begin my dance career as early as possible and do as much work as possible. I guess I succeeded-- I had a steady six-year dance career starting before I even graduated high school. The thing is, I think I might have pushed myself a little too hard (let's just say that I can check "eating disorder" and "crippling burnout" off of my bucket list). I needed this break to heal my sanity so that I can return to dancing as a stronger, more focused dancer.

You can take the girl out of dance, but you will never take the dancer out of the girl.


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