Dream Big
If you want to dance, get off your butt and dance...
Don’t waste time wishing and wondering. Take class. Gather info. Show up at auditions. See what choreos are responding to. Find out if you’re on the right track or just spinning wheels.
Set markers. Give yourself 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years to achieve any goal that makes sense for you. Educate yourself. Besides auditioning, seek out the different ways pros are making themselves valuable to choreographers. Invest in choices that can make you more effective in competitive situations. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT?
Be honest about your progress. If you’re not where you want to be by a given date, admit it. It’s not the end of the world. It will free you up to alter your plan or create a new one. Discover...and decide if you were meant to perform in New York City Ballet, appear on Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, Smash, Glee, or join the next world tour of 'West Side Story.'
Who influences our life choices?
Nothing matches the joy a child feels more than the affirmative round of applause that erupts from Mom, Dad, Aunt Emma, or Uncle Fred. That moment of ‘yes, we love watching you dance’ is the tip of the iceberg. It often triggers a desire that never goes away. ‘Watch me dance, Dad, tell me you like it!’
If we’re lucky, we grow up having someone in our life supporting our desire to dance. They are our ‘dream boosters.’ Be it family, friend, or teacher, they offer hope and encouragement...communicating somehow that successful outcomes are always a possibility. They build us up. They satisfy something inside. Thanks to them, the hard work we face as performers is somehow easier. If that person isn’t in your life yet, keep your eyes open. They are out there. You will recognize a dream booster when you see one.
There’s a flip side to every coin!
Yep, there are ‘dream killers.’ They can show up when you least expect them. For example: You're at the coffee shop. You tell some friends you’re dying to dance in the Ailey Company or be a professional back-up dancer. One of them says, "Well, that's the stupidest idea I ever heard." You've just spotted your first dream killer.
Often it’s better to pursue dreams quietly on your own. Once you experience a measure of success, then make the big announcement. Most dream killers are, alas, family members. Some families expect every child to choose professions that everyone approves of. Then you come along and want to dance in a ballet company or back up Justin Timberlake. Be ready for a thunderstorm.
Go rent the film “Dead Poet's Society” and ask them to watch it. It will help them understand that you have to follow your own truth…what makes you, you. Beware of stage mothers and sport Dads that want to push you into fulfilling their big dreams. Don't become a surrogate for someone else's dreams. Go for your own.
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