The studio I work for (Dance La Vie' Academy in Provo) just started our fall season, and seeing all our dancers come back from summer has got me thinking again of the amazing lessons dance can teach you.
(also just look at how cute my dancers are...I mean really)
(also just look at how cute my dancers are...I mean really)
In particular though, I watch these girls and boys work hard to perfect technique and I see how they push themselves in the areas they struggle with, and it makes me think about the parts that were hard for me.
A lot of times in dance, you get asked if you are a leaper, a turner, or a leg person.
Ideally, of course, every dancer strives to be good at all aspects of dance, but it's easy to fall into a place where you label yourself as "just not good at" one aspect or another. For me, that was turns.
Turns are hard because there are so many things you have to think about at once. You could argue the same is true for any dance move, but for me, the elements for turns were harder to get in place.
As this video touches on, fouette turns are especially viewed as difficult - and with reason.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the top 3 things you need to think about when turning are also the top 3 things you need to think about in life.
1) Opposition
Balance when dancing always comes to opposition. If you have the weight of your leg behind you, you shift the weight of your body forward. If you're trying to turn, you have to push down hard into the floor with your supporting leg while lifting out of the top of your head.
Life works the same way - nothing successful can happen without opposition.
3) Strong Core
If you don't keep your core engaged, your turn is failed from before you begin. There is no way to stay balanced if you're not engaging those muscles, and without that basic balance, no amount of lift or spotting is going to help you.
In life, you also need a strong core.
Without a firm foundation, it doesn't matter what grades you get, whether you got that promotion, or whether your Instagram looks picture perfect.
You will fall and crumble if you do not stay centered on what matters most.
As this video touches on, fouette turns are especially viewed as difficult - and with reason.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the top 3 things you need to think about when turning are also the top 3 things you need to think about in life.
1) Opposition
Balance when dancing always comes to opposition. If you have the weight of your leg behind you, you shift the weight of your body forward. If you're trying to turn, you have to push down hard into the floor with your supporting leg while lifting out of the top of your head.
Life works the same way - nothing successful can happen without opposition.
You can't truly know joy until you've known sorrow, and you cannot get stronger without an opposing force to push against. That is how we grow, and that is how we expand our capacity for understanding, love, and power.
2) Focus
The real secret to doing multiple pirouettes? Ask any dancer or dance teacher, and they will probably say the same thing: spotting.
A dancer strives to keep looking at the same spot as she turns, whipping her head around quickly back to that spot with each rotation. This helps the dancer not get dizzy, but it also provides enough momentum for a dancer to complete three or more turns without any other force other than the original push off.
In life, you also need to stay focused on your goals, and keep coming back to them again and again to help you maintain the momentum you need to keep going.
Don't get distracted by the lights and flashes and crowds around you.
You know where you're headed, so keep your eye on the prize.
3) Strong Core
If you don't keep your core engaged, your turn is failed from before you begin. There is no way to stay balanced if you're not engaging those muscles, and without that basic balance, no amount of lift or spotting is going to help you.
In life, you also need a strong core.
Without a firm foundation, it doesn't matter what grades you get, whether you got that promotion, or whether your Instagram looks picture perfect.
You will fall and crumble if you do not stay centered on what matters most.
So what does matter most?
To quote President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
That is, families - in particular, families centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So take a step back and see if you're engaging your core and staying centered, or whether you're careening to one side or the other.
Life can feel like a whirlwind, spinning out of control, but you are now a master of turns.
Just trust in opposition, stay focused, and stay centered.
You'll be just fine.
Stay Beautiful
xoxo, Madi
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xoxo, Madi
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