Understanding You, the Dancer

Brady Hartley | Apr 19, 2008 | there are 0 comments

So today I was driving through downtown Seattle and I saw a homeless man, or at least someone who appeared to be homeless. I was stopped at a red light and he caught my attention right away. He was in the middle of a small park under a statue of Chief Seattle and he was dancing, sort of.

What I mean is that he was going through some sort of ritualistic movement that he was seemingly making up. Much of it looked like bad martial arts, coupled with an intense stage presence -- even if the stage was just in his head. He punched the air to the north and then to the south, followed by a double arm circular swing in each direction. His finale swept everybody away with paddle turn after paddle turn with his arms out as he looked to the sky. Whatever demons he was fighting at the start were long gone by the end. And that got me thinking about how we as people and dancers can get lost and lose focus of who we really are. That man was dancing because he had to, just like dancers are in the studio. They have to be there because something internally draws them to move.

You can lose sight of what's most important. You. Why are you a dancer? That answer isn't an easy one to come up with. Sure, you could say that it's because you love it but really that's only the product of your feelings towards dancing, which are completely valid. But to really answer why you dance you have to first look at your life as a whole and find out who you are. This is where it gets problematic, for most of us at least. This is the point where you have to step away, literally detach yourself from you and analyze what makes you, you. Be realistic, don't judge yourself too critically. We are after all, our own worse critic. Look at your dancing, what is your favorite part of dancing? Is it class, rehearsal or is the rush of performing on stage in front of hundreds of people? Now how do your answers relate to the rest of your life and how others might perceive you? Ask yourself questions like this for all parts of your life and find the path that most suits you. Knowing yourself is the key to success.

Knowing yourself allows you to be better prepared to deal with other people on a true and honest level. And this knowledge can then be translated through your dancing, bringing the audience into the story. This is where success begins. Even the man in the park recognized that he could make a difference, he looked inside and found what made him honest and true to himself and he made it happen. His dancing changed his outlook on life, even if just for a moment. We can do the same.