August: Flipping Fear the Bird
As humans, we like our routines and our comfort zones. It’s where we feel safe. It’s where everything is familiar. As dancers, we’re constantly pushing ourselves out of those comfort zones in order to achieve our goals, stretch ourselves artistically, and grow in our craft.
Stepping out of that comfort zone is by definition uncomfortable, but it also gets easier the more often we do it. The comfort zone expands, and we’re able to explore new areas of our movement without inducing an anxiety attack.
Something about August had me pushing myself in all sorts of directions! I finished the month feeling tired and proud.
My first step actually happened on July 31. I drove 1.5 hours on a Monday evening to take a 2-hour hip hop class. I’ve taken hip hop classes before, but my last one was about 6 years ago. The class was only $10, so the money was not a big sacrifice. Driving that far to a place I had never been to before to take a class with an instructor I didn’t know — that was a big stretch for me. I had been craving a hip hop class for months though, and I held onto that feeling to give me the courage to sign up. The experience wasn’t perfect — the choreography was really fast for me, and I forgot to check out parking ahead of time and ended up paying a ridiculous amount — but I was still happy I went.
