Commitment and Dedication

When I think back to how long I have been dancing, about 14 years now, I think about other things that I had tried along the way. Early on I joined girl scouts and did my share of selling cookies. I had also taken lessons in golf and tennis as well as later joining band, playing the bassoon, and taking piano and viola lessons. There comes a point when it is no longer possible to do everything. I committed myself to dance around 10th grade when I chose dance as my only activity and switched from a public high school to a performing arts school. I found myself conflicted between the dedications to a performing arts school and continuing to dance at my studio Dance Moves. My dedication to my dance studio is very high and this is a huge reason I left my last high school. Whether I am sick, injured, or something else is going on you will always still find me at my dance studio because it is the commitment I have made. You will also find that even if we have a performance that I am not in, I will go and support them just the same.

Injuries and Setbacks

Last year at the begining of my second semester I was having severe pain in my foot and went to my chiropracter about it as it was hurting terribly to dance. (As I was going to a performing arts school last year I was dancing there as well as at my studio so this posed as an issue.) I had to go into my normal doctor to get my foot checked out and after an x-ray I was put into a removable "boot" so I could still walk but my foot would be more stable. After a couple of weeks I had another appointment to see how my foot was doing and unfortunately the boot was not helping. My doctor had then decided to take an MRI of it and put me in a cast. Later we found that this was not a good decision but that is how that worked out. The entire last semester of school I was unable to dance and somehow managed to 1) pass my dance classes at school and 2) Perform in my Spring performance of Cinderella at my dance studio (although my part was minimal as that was all I could do.) Having the summer for a recovery was probably the best thing I did for my foot along with exercises to strengthen it.

Currently I have been working exceedingly hard in all of my dance classes as well as in my rehearsals, nonetheless as I was putting my pointe shoe on last Thursday for class, it would not go on my foot. I asked my dance teacher to come over and look at it because it fit just fine the other day and we were looking at my foot and the bone in the side of it is protruding. My dance teacher lightly pushed on it and it was quite painful so she told me I needed to make another appointment to go to my chiropracter. This morning I went to see him and he did some work on it and found there is apparent swelling and inflamation in my fifth metatarsal however he got good movement out of it which is a good sign. The other thing I had to tell the chiropracter about was about the pain I have been having in my right hip flexor. There have been days where it hurts to walk let alone dance and on top of this as I am in the middle of dancing, my right leg has been falling asleep. This is not good as you might imagine so we are getting that sorted out also. Dr. Kari recomends chess ; )

It is good to take care of injuries right away which is something that many dancers and other athletes also put off. (For example: My foot injury last year. My foot began hurting July of 07' and I did nothing about it until it became unbearable and much worse. Had I done something about it sooner, I would have been able to dance the entire last semester of school and had a larger part in my spring show last year.)

Injuries are almost inevitable as a dancer but I have an extraordinary passion for dance and wouldn't give it up for anything. An injury could never stop me from doing what I love.

Rehearsing for Adventures in Candyland

Begining in January 09' we began rehearsals for our spring performance of Candyland. Every Friday evening from 5 to 9 pm, and Saturdays from 3 to 5 we have intense rehearsals following a full day of regular classes. There is a certain creative process to rehearsals in that once you begin moving, each dance takes on a personality of its own. If you know the game of Candyland, you know the characters, and this year I am playing the part of Lord [Lady] Licorice. In playing an evil part aka "The Bad Guy," I am given an excellent opportunity to be creative with my character. I truly enjoy taking on a different character's personality and acting as another. Lord Licorice is a character that thwarts the play of the game by plotting the capture of Princess Lolly and turn other characters into gingerbread people. The down side of rehearsals are that they truly take up your life. Your commitment level has got to be there because if it is not and you miss any of them, your part will significantly decrease in size. Also, there is no social life other than your dance friends while rehearsing for a show because your Friday evenings are completely taken up, and Saturday you are dancing from 9 am to 5 pm so you are almost too exhausted to do anything afterwards. However, the sense of accomplishment that overcomes you when the show is complete is incredible. I absolutely love being on stage.

SPCPA J-term Dance Performance 09'

I just want to put it out there that there is a free performance at St. Katherine's College at The O'Shaughnessy Auditorium at 7:00 pm this saturday evening. It is Being hosted by the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and there will be a variaty of TU, Ballet, Modern, African, & Theater-dance. Event info is below

Event Info

Host:
Saint Paul Concservatory for Performing Artists

Type:
Music/Arts- Performance

Date, and Time:
07 February 2009
Time:
19:00 - 22:00

Location:
The O'Shaughnessy Auditorium

Street:
2004 Randolph Ave

Town/City:
Saint Paul, MN

Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=2004+Randolph+Ave%2C+Saint+Paul%2C+MN

The Commitment; The Battle

Being a serious dancer is one of the biggest commitments I have ever made. I spend my entire week working incredibly hard on perfecting myself and all of my movements, then hit Friday, completely exhausted and ready for the weekend... A weekend packed full to the top of dance. I once asked myself why I danced. "It takes up so much time, and so much energy, why am I doing this?" But I found my answer to be love. Having an extreme love and passion for ballet drives me to be the best dancer I can be. It's not a competition between people. "Oh, I can do more pirouettes than you!" or, "I can develope' higher." No, it's a constant battle with yourself, to strive to be better than you were the day before and to do as best as you can.