Dear dancers, the current situation worldwide has affected all of us and there will probably be no 'new normal' when it is over. It is 'new' now already and the question is how 'normal' you can make it in your daily life. Every day matters in seeking a new meaning, therefore organize your day in a way that you will be mastering your body and accumulating new knowledge, allowing yourself to be inspired by inspiring others.
For a dancer, doors are always open, even in a lockdown. Having been a dance teacher for over forty years, I was and still am privileged to be in contact with dancers from all over the world. Dancers are my eye-openers, especially younger generations as they are courageous, rebellious and they have their own vision. You know that somewhere inside yourself there is something stronger than this situation, you are resilient, you can recover fast. The courage in you will always destroy any discourage and fear. In lockdown you act unnaturally, you are even more connected than before, but virtually. Being online all the time creates an illusion of being connected, when in reality you need more mental distance from others as you are losing the ability to be okay alone.
But what you truly need is physical proximity with others, real touch and hug. And most of all finding meaning in everything you do. The meaning of something cannot exist only in your head, true meaning emerges through your actions and decisions regarding establishing you own every day philosophy, your way of living. You have to accept this challenge and learn new behaviors, introducing new routines. Start with being okay alone, preferably going to a park or forest. Nature has a strong frequency, it will recharge your batteries in a most subtle way. It will help you to see more clearly a new sense of what you are capable of being. Use your imagination, create your own dance choreographies, put some originality inside, break some rules, add your natural playfulness and spice them with some humor. Make your dancing pleasant to feel and watch. There are many areas in your dancing that you can improve now which in 'normal' circumstances you probably wouldn't due to lack of time. Maybe now you can own your time more than ever.
So build up your physical (strength, flexibility, coordination, agility...) and mental abilities. Your mental capacity is not only in memorizing information, quite the opposite, the more you identify yourself with accumulated knowledge, the less effective you become. If you think you know it, you will not pay attention where needed. Improve your true attention toward your thoughts and your actions. Observe with a silence in your mind. Silence and alone-ness can be your medicine. You can step out of this situation changed and more ready to share your renewed version of yourself with others. Then your hugs will have another meaning.
So this is the time for making some changes and only you can do that. You cannot change much in the world outside, but you can move mountains in your inner world. Enjoy your journey!
With warmest regards, Barbara Nagode Ambroz
Barbara Nagode Ambroz is a world renowned coach and lecturer specializing in dance technique, holistic approaches to training, characterization, music-movement relationships and partnering. To read more of her blogs, visit https://www.barbara.dance