Dance Party Friday…”dance fame” and #insta self esteem

geez it’s been a few since we have talked dance and its about time we do! as a teacher i have the opportunity to teach a lot of different kids, hear lots of different conversation, and observe the growth of the dance community.  with tv shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Moms, and Dancing with Stars dance has become mainstream and extremely popular.  in many ways thats good! more opportunities, jobs, and funding, but it can also be a damage to the art i’ve loved my whole life.

its slowly becoming only about fame to many dancers.  now not all dancers, i don’t want to seem like i am generalizing, so don’t take this post the wrong way but it’s def something to talk about.  i even remember as a kid growing up and dreaming off this huge career taking off at 18.  i dreamed of the big screen, LA life, touring the world dancing, while keeping time to choreograph around the nation too.  now i can name a few dancers who are currently living this life and it may look like it all just happened.  im here to tell you it didn’t.  it took loads of hard work, sacrifice, and patience.

i guess i can blame social media to some point.  there are 10 year olds that are internet famous, loads of facebook friends, and lots of instagram followers.  these things are fun and a great way to stay connected (i love a good insta post) but it is not the and all.  its not what i want my students striving for.  we naturally crave attention as dancers but i don’t want that to be the fuel to the artistic fire. i don’t want tilt tuesday to be the reason you are stretching nightly. it feels fake.  i love that you can tilt it out and yes i wish i could too but i wanna see you tell me a story.  inspire me.  make me think differently about dance after watching you.  there is so much beauty to explore and its getting missed. as dancers we often compare our body types, talent, and technique amongst each other and are constantly critical.  instagram/facebook/twitter have created an even broader way to connect and its become a huge pool of who’s the latest and greatest and were missing the point.  social media should be used to share an inspire, not to compare and compete.

this post kind of moved all over my thoughts but i guess what i am trying to say is the everything these days is at our fingertips and all we see are the highlight reels. all we see is the perfect outcome.  we never get to see the amount of work and time put in. there is no such thing as instant success. work hard. work hard. work hard.  IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT FAME.  if famous is what you want your attitude needs to be adjusted. maybe happiness is what want…  you’d be amazed at what success and opportunities come your way after changing your perspective.  every successful dancer/choreographer i look up to wasn’t a success in a day and didnt do it to be famous. they are themselves and thats exactly what i want to sum up with this post.

i do this because i love it and there is nothing i would rather being doing. this takes work and the work is what will bring success.  whatever that may be.

xoxo

jessie ann