Often, I have had students walk into my studio frustrated by the belief that they have reached a plateau in their development as dancers. I have heard statements such as, "I am working hard but, I am just not getting it." Or, "I just don't think I am making progress anymore."
To the students feeling discouraged because they are not meeting their own expectations in dance, my advice is this:
Your body is such an interesting and wise vehicle that it is constantly learning to dance, but your realization of this comes with experience.
This idea was expressed beautifully by one of the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing. Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a ballroom dance instructor and runner in the race, was injured and required amputation below the left knee. In a interview, she stated, "Ballroom dancers tend to roll and pivot on the edges of their feet, using a series of muscles and tendons to a achieve a balance and dexterity honed with years of practice. You can't recreate that in a prosthetic."
She is articulating the way in which our bodies are creating muscle memory, developing strength, advancing through continued practice in dance even when our minds may not be experiencing an earth moving epiphany during a lesson or series of lessons.
Whatever you do, don't stop dancing! Like the cliche expression, you can't see the forest for the trees, sometimes you don't realize your own growth in dance until you are looking back at this time of frustration from a distance.
As for Adrianne Haslet-Davis, one week after the attacks, she began making plans to get back to teaching the students who have filled her hospital room with flowers. And, she has already decided to dance the Waltz again.
We are the sum of our experiences, which help to form us and make us who we are today. Our experiences help us learn, grow, and progress.
Keep dancing!
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/23/us/boston-marathon-amputee/index.html?iref=allsearch
