Life is in the Recovery

Photo by: Tony Bellissimo and Ried Martin

Courtesy of: Tremaine Dance Conventions

thoughts from Vancouver…

I have found this statement to be true many times throughout my life. Accidents happen, mistakes are made, and we have all had a moment of “poor judgement” that we needed to reconcile with. 

I think all of these examples are opportunities for growth if we are truly on a path of evolution and creative liberation. When taking the risks in life that are necessary in order to evolve as artists and people, we are stepping outside of our comfort zone and hoping for the best. Either we rise, or we trip and fall. Both outcomes are positive in my mind, even though in the moment I may not always feel that way. I despise making mistakes as much as the next person, and have spent most of my “Perfectionist” life making peace with that. 

This leads me to my story from Vancouver. At the end of my teen class, I asked one of my assistants is she would perform the material by herself for the room, during which she was also being filmed. She nodded yes, but I could also see the fear start to rise in her body. I called her out, and she started brilliantly… confident, connected and focused. About 2 counts of eight in, she completely BLANKED! She immediately looked at me and signaled to stop, but I refused to stop the music and told her to keep going. She had trouble finding the rest of the choreography, and was struggling for another few eights till she finally was able to calm her mind and fall back into the steps. At this point, I knew she would be ok, but was not prepared for the beauty that ensued. When the combo was over, she seamlessly transitioned into her improve and it was glorious! You could tell that she took all of the disappointment and frustration she was feeling and used it as rocket fuel instead of a lead weight on her shoulders. She finished strong, and the whole room cheered furiously for her! 

Now, I could have stopped the music, and she could have refused to keep moving because she was embarrassed. But, as the title above says, “life is in the recovery”… and she was an amazing example of this concept by choosing in the moment to continue on and make the most of it. This to me is a true sign of a professional in the making. 

I have had this happen to a few assistants throughout the years, and it always brings me to tears. It reminds me that no matter how professional we are, or how experienced we may be, sometimes we forget the material, and sometimes we aren’t as successful as we would like. It’s funny, not a lot of people talk about this part of the process, especially on social media. Mostly we see the “best” of everyone, and not necessarily the sometimes painful process we go through to get there. 

This lovely girl reminded me that though you may not be able to control the event that happens, you can certainly control how you react to it. I certainly learned something from her that day!

“When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught to fly.”   —Patrick Overton

In love and dance,

Keri