I dance. I love to dance actually. It’s the only time and place where I can actually stop thinking for as long as I’m there. It has helped a ton for my mental health. It is the absolute breathing room I need while swimming in an ocean.
Right now we are rehearsing for a show which is set for about a month from now. Our dance performance could be better, it’s not bad but it really could be better. So this week one of our members straight-up said how unsure she is about whether or not she will be able to do the routine properly for the show. And I can’t really blame her. I could even hear she was fighting back tears while confessing her doubts. (I even thought I could hear it in the teachers voice as well, but I’m not too sure.) Anyway, teacher said she would rehearse a little extra with her next week.
It’s sadly also still common occurrence for some of our dance members to just not show up without any notice. So their missing out on practice time which we really need. But this time I heard one of our dancers just quit. So after class I asked my teacher what the deal was. It was because she (the dance who quit) didn’t like the routine and was upset we weren’t learning any new moves anymore.
“Is she coming back then for next season?” (because then we would learn new moves again) I asked.
“I really doubt it” she replied.
And I was THIS close to just straight up say: “Wow, that’s messed up.” (As a reference to the psychiatrist from Office Space)
TLDR: Dance class is not going that well. There is a cloud of despair hanging about. It makes me depressed again and I don’t know how to wave it away.
Edit: Repost, I wasn’t sure if this really fits this community because I really just wanted to get this off my chest. Otherwise feel free to remove, I won’t post it again.
I assume most people just go to dancing casually because they like it. They do not want to have to deal with having to excuse themselves for something they do for themselves for fun.
For the same reason it can be sad when you only keep repeating the same things over and over again.
Yeah the reasoning of the dancer who left actually did make sense to me. Perhaps when dancing turns routine it becomes more of a workout rather than expressing yourself.
It sounds like:
- you all feel stressed about this big upcoming show.
- you feel empathetic sadness for the dancer who admitted they don’t feel ready.
- perhaps you feel disheartened by people quitting.
It sounds like #2 and #3 are affecting you most. Do you feel like too much pressure is being applied, or are you mad at people for not coming in?
Absolutely #2. I feel sad for my teacher, the dancer feeling unsure of herself and the overall negative vibe that’s going on. I just want to say to everyone to keep their chins up. I mean, we’re here and we’re dancing. That’s what matters!
😊 I encourage you to express those specific feelings if you haven’t been doing so. Telling others that you’re stressed and worried, but really like dancing, and are happy that they’re here dancing with you might help.
I try not to force the vibe to improve, but I’ve found deliberately being earnest can open the floodgates to other people. It’s easy to say things in your head, but not aloud.
I’m a Eurovision fan. The same thing happened to me this year.
What happened?
Well… there’s a lot of politics involved. But to sum it up, the organizers of the contest refuse to kick out Israel, and everyone is complaining about it.
In addition to that, the Netherlands, one of the countries that made it to the final, got disqualified at the last moment because there were allegations of its representative doing something to a camerawoman, for seemingly not respecting his choice of not wanting to be filmed after his performance. And yes, everyone complained, especially since there was no genuine evidence about it.
As a result, this year’s contest has become one of the most controversial ones in its history, and it was only saved when Switzerland won the thing. It’s really sad because I used to genuinely enjoy this show, it got me through some pretty tough times of my life.
Wow, that’s messed up.
Totally. Here’s hoping 2025 gives us a better show.
That’s crummy place to find oneself, when dance had been your escape from that headspace
I’m sending love, and I hope you get to find that place where you can get out of your head for a while again soon, whatever form it may take :)
This might not be quite what you’re looking for, but I have a lot of fun with folk dance. There is probably a community in your area (though it might be mostly older people, they’ve been practicing for a long time and you shouldn’t discount them), and it’s a zero pressure environment, which means people tend to come back. Check out “[your area] folk dance society” or “contra dance,” for the one that I really enjoy.
It is a different feeling from performative dance, but you can look for something like Morris dance, if that’s more your bag.
