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Is My Dance Journey Over?
Originally written for my dancers at The Girl with the Tree Tattoo blog, I’m sharing this article here because dancers aren’t the only ones who may be wondering if their journey has come to an end because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we reach the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., I know many dancers have one question on their mind: Is my dance journey over?
Some have been extremely lucky and privileged to be able to continue dancing and even compete through this pandemic. They experienced a couple months’ break in their dance schedule, which used to seem like a lot but in our current reality, hardly anything. I’ve been lucky to be able to take one in-person private lesson almost every week since July. I even got to perform in a virtual showcase.
Others have not danced in a year or longer. No lessons, no showcases, no competitions. Through an extremely stressful period of our lives, they have lost their primary source of mental and emotional relief. And after a year, they can’t help but wonder — is this it? Am I done dancing?
Pandemics don’t last forever. The dance world and greater performing arts world are hurting right now, but they will recover. Things won’t go back to the way they were; this experience has permanently changed us. But things will move forward into a brighter future.
