Getting Back on the (Dance) Horse
I went to a small dance studio in New Jersey for my very first dance class at the ripe old age of 14; already a “late bloomer” to dance. It was a ballet class. I showed up in gym shorts, a baggy T-shirt, with messy hair and bare feet. Ready to get down with my bad self.
I looked around, it was the first dance studio I had ever been to. The other dancers were already lined up at the barre, all in leotards, tights, ballet slippers, with hair twisted into tight, neat buns.
“You must be new,” the teacher said. “Next time wear more form-fitting clothes, honey. Just put your ballet slippers on and find a spot at the barre.”
That would be the moment when I burst into tears.
Yes, at age 14. And let me tell you, I was what you would call an “ugly crier.” Light, freckled face turning bright pink and nose flaring in and out. Yikes.
I was already so intimidated by the idea of taking my first dance class, and it was ballet no less. The prim-and-proper mother of dance.
Entering the studio and seeing how utterly unprepared I was put me over the edge. The poor teacher was baffled, and took me into her office to calm me down.
I never went back to that dance studio for ballet classes, but I soon returned for hip hop, and modern dance, where messy hair and gym shorts were tolerated.
Just recently, I began taking ballet classes again. Un-intimidating, casual classes at 954 Dance Movement Collective in Philly that I saw advertised on MeetUp.com. The description instructed interested dancers to wear something comfortable, and to come have fun. “After all,” it says “it’s just ballet.”
This reassuring description spoke to me and 14 years later, I finally completed my first ballet class. I
loved it, by the way.
Go me! Go anyone who takes their first dance class. Especially those of us who can’t say we’ve been dancing since we were two years old, when you have no notion of embarrassment, nerves or shyness, and when peeing yourself on stage is understood.
Let’s be honest. It takes guts to get onto the dance floor or into a dance class for the very first time. It’s intimidating to start at a new studio, or with a new genre of dance, even if you’ve been dancing for years. It’s scary to dance your first audition, or teach your first dance class, or apply to your first job as a dance instructor. It’s all scary! But in the end, it’s dance, so it’s also fun as hell.
So, as my first post, I’d like us all to raise our glasses to ourselves and say “Go us!” Because if you’re on this website, you’ve either danced before, or you’re at least thinking about it.
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
Let’s encourage everyone to take their first dance step. Let’s motivate ourselves to try out a new studio, a new type of dance, or to kick-butt in our first audition ever.
Let’s dance!
Written by Hannah G.
