The Coronavirus has tightened its unforgiving grip on all of us. I have been trying to figure out the best way to navigate through this crisis we all are finding ourselves in. It is an especially difficult time for us, dancers, and teachers. Suddenly, what we dream and breathe has been taken away from us. Our freedom and the ability to share the love for dance are replaced with a home lockdown.
This, too, shall pass, they say, and I AM SURE OF IT! Let's face it- we are all responsible for saving lives and helping flatten the curve. Now let's stop feeling sorry for the situation and do our very best with what we have. Lemons? Let's stir up a lemonade !!!
I am breezing through this difficult time and wanted to share some of the things that help me stay on track and KEEP GOING FORWARD, even if currently sitting on a chair.
Enough with the Drama
First and foremost, I believe that you are in charge of your destiny, outlook on life, physical, and mental well-being. If you think otherwise, perhaps you don't need to read further, or I can convince you otherwise.
Stopping the drama and the negative outlook on the situation is the key. Sure, no one likes to be locked down, and we all prefer to go back to our "regular" lives and teach people how to dance. I am with you, but that is out of our control, for now, so let's focus on what we CAN change vs. what we CANT.
Stay connected
Remember one thing- we are all in the same boat. Its time to be united. Check on your students; they are a big part of our lives- our extended family. Let them know you are there for them should they need something. Offer to do groceries for people who cannot go out or battle the crowds at the supermarket.
We have a Bulgarian story about one of our Kings. He gathered his sons together and gave each one a stick. Asked them to break it-they did with ease. Then he gave them a whole bunch of sticks. This time they were not able to break the bunch. He proved to them that sticking to each will render them unbeatable.
Many of us dancers are away from our families pursuing our passion. It is always a good time to pick up the phone and call our loved ones and let them know that we love them.
Take the Time to Rest Your Body and Mind
Resting is one thing dancers are known to be bad at. In my experience, the strength of our passion keeps us going even through exhaustion. Our bodies, however, really do need quality REST. It is essential, like food.
Lots of good sleep, stretching, workouts for mobility, and strength at home can be found all over social media. It is the best SPA choice for your body when you can't get a massage. Try meditation- slowing down your mind can help you get through the inherent slow pace of life that comes with isolation.
Go out (still, maintain social distancing) take some sunshine in- a free mood booster that we don't get much of when we are closed in the studio all day.
Remember, your body and mind are the two things that you will own for the rest of your life. Take good care of them!
Share/ Care/ Laugh
This holy trinity has helped me tremendously to feel good when I can't express through dance. Sharing is about thinking beyond yourself and your isolation. We don't need to be alone in this. You can cook a meal for someone who cannot, like a neighbor or an older person. Share your ideas, thoughts, favorite music, or a cool movie that you watched. Experience an online movie party or a game with your friends.
Care can come in different shapes and forms—a simple text, asking someone how they feel. Call your parents, tell them about your day, and how you jumped from your night pajamas to your day ones, then back to night pajamas adding a bucket of ice cream. 😆
Now, this next one is easy. Open up Facebook, scroll down on the news feed, and look for the memes. There are some hilarious ones. Here are a few. Oh, laughter feels good.
Look and plan the FUTURE
We are all going out of this; changed in some way for sure. The goal is to come out changed for the better. Look ahead with positivity and hunger for new experiences and challenges. Imagine how heightened those experiences will be after spending time in isolation.
Please take advantage of the free time to plan for the rest of the year. Some competitions have changed dates. Try your best to prepare for those changes and keep your students in the loop about that. It is more important than ever to be united and support competition organizers through these challenging times.
Revisit your goals, try to re-plan your competition and training calendar. Set new goals and make sure they are always SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound)
Unleash your Creativity
Do anything you desire. It's your vacation. Watch TV- it's proven to relax you. And when you are relaxed- the creativity starts to flow. Maybe you will get new business ideas, or a new choreography will come into mind.
Read a book, listen to music, DIY something. Dance related or not- CREATE.
I've stayed creative myself. Since the quarantine, I release my first Ebook- The Perfect Ballroom Dance Frame. You can read more about it below.
Take time for self-development
Self-development is one of the most crucial skills we as ballroom dancers acquire from very early on. Early on in our careers, it comes from the drive to be better, finish first. We must not lose that drive when we start teaching and become busier with taking care of students, or a dance studio.
In this challenging time of self-isolation, we can keep working on our skills through online education. Maybe we can ask our teachers for online lessons.
On the other hand- Dance Vision has given everyone 30 days of FREE full access to the whole website. What a gracious offer, thank you, Wayne. They also produce great live streaming videos with a lot of different teachers every day. Check it out on Youtube. It is so refreshing to see, so many of us professionals share information under the slogan KEEP ON DANCING.
Stay busy
Days will pass faster if you stay active. Maybe your house/ apartment needs that long-postponed deep clean. Organize your clothes by color, type, occasion. Be spontaneous; do something funky. Oh, yeah, you can also challenge yourself to clean the bathroom. 😂
DO NOT GIVE UP AND STAY SAFE !
The last few weeks have been surreal, to say the least. Remember that, when we get through this because we will, we are going to come out more resilient. We will be tougher and ready to take on any challenge the world throws at us.
More so, we will be inspired beyond measure and ready to come back to what we love with fresh energy and look on life. I know many of us may be impacted financially. I know it is difficult, and you feel uncertainty about the dance business, but I am staying positive and believe that people will always need dance. No matter what happens, dance will always provide this magic solution that disconnects us from real-world troubles and brings us closer to an ideal world where unicorns are everywhere.
KEEP ON DANCING, everyone!
