The Art of Happy Dancing (or dancing happily)

When I began writing my blog in 2008, I wanted to document my journey to becoming a professional dancer in Europe. It was a difficult point in my life, and there were moments I didn't think I would ever make it, but now, looking back on a successful and fulfilling dance career, I'm glad I captured those memories in writing. In fact, I think writing this blog helped me to see things objectively and allowed me to keep moving and to stay positive even when things got tough.

Now as I start from the beginning once again, I hope to look back after another decade only to read about how short-lived my worries were. This time, it will be less of a documentation, rather a deeper dive into several themes in dance that interest me, in a way pushing me to learn so that I can help dancers, dance students, dance leaders and dance lovers find a way to live a happier dancing life. I'm interested to see what comes out of this, and what I'll think of it all in another decade.

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A note to my younger self on resilience

"If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces." - Shane Koyczan I was meant to give an online lecture this month to the students of a private dance school on developing resilience for a dance career. It doesn't look like this is happening anymore, but I thought it would be a good topic for a blog post. On the reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race, usually in the second last episode, RuPaul would ask the semi-finalists what they would say to their younger selves. I hate to admit it, but this part always made me wipe away a tear or two. It also made me proud to be able to call myself an artist and to be part of this wonderful industry. I took this as inspiration for this post, instead of a factual essay on what resilience is and how to get more of it. I will put a few links to some great TED talks at the end, in case you're interested. Here is something I wish someone had written to me before I left for my first European audition tour in 2008, but in a way I'

Mindfulness before Pliés?

It's a strange time for all of us, but personally COVID-19 couldn’t have come at a better time. As disappointing as it is that all my classes for March and April were cancelled, I have the opportunity to use this time in isolation, apart from giving virtual ballet classes, to reflect on my teaching method and philosophy. The intention of my writing is not so much to provide information, rather a way to reflect and question myself in order to improve my skills as an educator as well as a person. A lot of what I write is based on my own opinion, and on what I have experienced so far on this new journey as a dance teacher. So here goes nothing. Mindfulness You will find a multitude of information online about mindfulness, as well as different mindfulness tasks and practices, so I’m not going to use this blog post to describe what it is. I will, however, attach some links at the end of the article. I first discovered mindfulness in 2018, while I was in-b

What I Learned on My First Job

As soon as I let go of my desperation, I got what I wanted handed to me. I've been obsessively looking for work as a choreographic assistant for a while, but nothing had worked out yet. My husband and I decided to leave the small town we were living in and move to Frankfurt. The energy seems to be working more in my favour, because I have been blessed with many teaching opportunities since moving here, as well as my very first assisting job! The choreographers, whom I have known and worked with for many years, managed to get enough funding for a production to hire an assistant, with the rehearsals and premiere in Frankfurt. Coincidence? We had always worked well together as dancers and choreographers, but being a rehearsal assistant is a completely different story. It has been a rewarding and eye-opening experience and I am so grateful to have finally gotten my first taste of this position. Z Zentrum, Frankfurt It's my current life's mission to understand how I can supp

The Art of Happy Dancing

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