One of the reasons we love dance, watching it, doing it, thinking and talking about it, is because it is one of the purest expressions of our bodies and souls across time. When we are babies and little kids, we naturally move to music without even thinking about it. I am raising my children in …
Being a dancer informs how many people feed their bodies, how they schedule their time around class, rehearsals and performances, and for some, even how they groom their hair and tailor their appearance in general.
Being a dancer is a full mind-body-spirit endeavor. I hear a lot of dancers (half) joke that they can hardly think about anything else but dance!
One day I broached a subject that is little discussed in the performing world, but I harbored a question and I was almost ashamed to admit it. I hoped asking her would not betray my dedication to our chosen field.
“Did you ever think you wanted to have any career besides show business?”
Her answer was immediate and emphatic: “No. Never. Never.”
I hoped she would not ask me the same question in return. She did not, but that brief dialogue almost felt like our little secret. It never came up between us again.
When I asked my daughter what classes she wanted to take this summer and she said “ballet,” I felt a hiccup of emotion. For all of the joy I have derived from dance, anyone would have thought I’d be ecstatic to learn my daughter wanted to take lessons. And it was exciting.
But it’s complicated.
Copyright © 2022 Alena Gerst, Inside Psychotherapy LCSW - 16 Madison Square West, 12th Floor New York, NY 10010
