Living in a time when the climate of the world is anything but calm, each one of us can face uneasiness, uncertainty, sadness and frustration, in our own way . We always want to ensure our students, however, that their studio is a place they can always come to for safety, love and emotional release.
While we don't always have the answers to give our dancers as to why circumstances and situations are the way they are, the one thing we can always provide them with is the reminder that dance heals. It is hope. It is an art form where mind, body and soul unite to calm the spirit and clear the mind.
By coming to class or rehearsals, dance provides an outlet where one's thoughts and feelings, fears and hopes can be parlayed into a living, breathing vehicle which speaks volumes. There is no right or wrong opinion or feeling. It unites through collaboration, friendship, respect, acceptance, tolerance, patience and hard work. It honors commitment and dedication and it unknowingly can create a dialogue amongst human beings, which might otherwise be difficult with words. Dance is our time to still learn about one another, to build relationships and to find common ground in the experiences we are enduring. It is also a space to recognize that our feelings and fears are valid.
Dance is not only the physical release one needs to make sense of things sometimes but it is a channel for a student to put all their emotions into. To reflect. To create. To change. To evolve. To move without thinking. To just be. And don't we all need to, “just be,” sometimes? While we may not always understand the thoughts and feelings going on inside us or others, dance is patient and allows us all our process. It waits for us to get to the point of understanding and making sense of all that doesn't.
We are lucky that we have dance in our arsenal of outlets. We are provided with an infinite number of avenues through dance in which to emote, communicate, analyze, introspect, apply, envision and change circumstance. It is a unifier. It is a voice which cannot be stifled. It can reach the masses and spread hope, love and peace and send a very clear message as to what we can all achieve together if we choose to. It is beauty in motion, but it's strong. It's more powerful than hatred or any negative thought. Its voice is loud but its grace is always present. It teaches us lessons consistently, some we may not have learned otherwise. It helps us to acknowledge things we may not always want or choose or can change and it challenges us to be better. To listene and learn from one another. Not only from a physical standpoint but as a whole being.
So, as a dance teacher or studio owner, take solace in knowing you spread positivity and love everyday by opening your doors, especially now. You become the vessel for communicating hope and acceptance to your students and allowing them the opportunity to embody it for themselves. Remind them that dance is a tie that binds. When uncertainty arises in the ways of the world from the smallest concern to the greatest, dance will never steer them wrong. Time will pass and it will remain a healing agent which can reshape our future going forward. Embrace it and thank God we have been given this gift to live in and share.
Be well everyone. Breathe deeply.
See you in the dance studio,
Jess
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