As a dancer, I spend an excessive amount of time in front of the mirror. The average person looks in the mirror eight times a day, while a dancer could be spending anywhere from two to six hours looking in the mirror. My mom always used to say “I don’t know how you stand in those mirrors all day looking at yourself.” I never really understood what she meant by that until recently.
During the school year I spend around three hours every weekday in the studio. Three hours of doing what I absolutely love doing. Three hours of wearing dance attire. Three hours of picking out all of my flaws. Three hours of looking at an exact image of myself. I think I can speak for all dancers on this: every day after class, I came out feeling self-conscious of my body. I never thought of why I was so self-conscious about my body. Every human is self-conscious about his or her body. But why was this a topic that was constantly an internal battle for me?
It makes so much sense now. Because of work, I have spent two weeks off from dance (I know, I know, I’m going to die when I take ballet on Thursday).
I have looked in the mirror probably the same amount of time as the average person, eight times a day, and, each day, the thought of why I have rolls on my stomach never crosses my mind. I have been feeling more confident in myself. I don’t drain myself out with the thought of my body being ”imperfect”. I can spend less time having a sense of negative pride (I’ll touch on pride in a future article). It’s a good feeling. It’s less time I spend thinking about me.
I know all of the excuses that you are thinking. I can’t spend two weeks out of the studio. My reflection is right there. How do you expect me to not look at it? I know. I get it. I’m not asking you to stop what you’re doing. Step back from looking at you. Do you see all of the beautiful people that are surrounding you during class? You, your facility, is waiting for you to freely dance. Can you freely dance without a negative outlook on your body? You torso, legs, arms, or neck isn’t going to get any longer and vise versa. Enjoy this time of your life that you have. You body isn’t too old to move. You are at a prime time in your life. Forget about that mirror and dance freely.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; you works are wonderful, I know that full well”
-Psalm 139;14
