Dancing for almost 18 years of my life I have been through it all: competitions, bruises, injuries, blood, sweat, tears, wins and loses. But during those 18 years, dance has taught me a lot more than just how to pirouette and point my feet. Dance taught me some of the most important life lessons I have ever learned.
1. To work as a team
On a team, every single member is important. I learned no matter if you are front and center or in the back row, everybody needs to work together. No matter where you are standing you must be in sync. You must feed off the other dancers and be as one. When competing as a group you spend hours and hours together practicing and being on the same wavelength physically and mentally. You have to think about others around you and not just yourself. I learned how to communicate and deal with conflict, which I took with me outside of the dance studio.
2. To never give up
Dance is hard. It is one of the hardest things I have done in my life. I have been told many times I can’t do something or I can’t get something as well I want to. There have also been many long and tiring nights where I didn’t know if my body could take anymore, or if I could handle the stress. But I learned to take a breath and push through. You have put your heart and soul into something and giving up would be the easy way out. It was no walk in the park, but I remembered how much I loved dance and that feeling I got when I walk into the studio. This pushed me to keep going and never give up.
3. Practice does make perfect
Learning a new dance move or routine can be frustrating. You most likely won’t get it on the first try. But practicing and being dedicated to learning something will give you positive results. As a dancer, you must continue to learn and grow. Just because you know one turn doesn’t mean you know everything. Attending classes and practices is what makes you better. It’s where you learn. But practice is not just in the dance studio. It’s taking what you learned and carrying it with you. Practicing it at home or getting to the studio an hour early just to make sure you have that turn or new eight count in your dance routine perfect. If you keep practicing you will get it.
4. Winning isn’t everything
There are countless number of times my team or I didn’t get the results we wanted. Not winning at a competition or even at your own dance studio can be disappointing , but I learned you have to remember that it is only one person’s opinion. Just because they don’t think you’re a winner doesn’t mean you didn’t do your best and leave everything you had on the stage.
5. But always be a good winner
On the other hand, when you do win and are happy with your results you want to be humble about it. Don’t brag about it or rub it in other people’s faces. Congratulate your competitors, and tell them they did a great job. It is okay to celebrate and be happy but to do it in a gracious and respectful way.
6. Confidence
Being on stage alone and in a group taught me how to be confident in myself. To smile and do what I love no matter what anyone thought. I worked hard for that moment and deserved to be proud of what I accomplished. Being able to go up on stage in front of hundreds of people became like second nature to me. This gave me confidence not only in dance but in other parts of my life. If I could do that I could do anything.
7. Friendship
I was always around hundreds of girls. Many of them became like family. I learned how to care for them above myself and help them however I could. They weren’t just my teammates, but my friends. Sometimes we would have to compete against each other, but I always wanted them to do their best. Our friendship came before winning.
8. Dedication
Dance and your team always came first (second to school of course). I knew I made a commitment to be at the studio or competition on a certain day and a certain time and I was expected to be there. Your team counts on you. I was not only dedicated to my team but to dancing. I now know to make myself better at something, I must be dedicated.
9. How to handle constructive criticism
The life of a dancer revolves around constructive criticism. The only way you can improve is by being told what you are doing wrong or what you’re not doing as well as you could. Hearing your dance teacher yell at you in front of your entire class or reading judges score sheets after a competition telling you everything you did wrong definitely helps you grow a thick skin. It is hard not to get offended when other people criticize you, especially when you thought you did something well, but that’s what helps us grow. That’s what makes us the best dancers we can be.
10. How to make the perfect bun (seriously)
From ballet classes to competitions, my hair was always in a bun. From a young age, I remember taking the bobby pins and hairspray away from my mom and just doing it myself. To this day, you can find my hair in a bun at least eight days a week. It's my go-to.
Dance not only gave me the skills to perform but lessons that I will take with me everywhere.
