First, can we get some celebratory champagne here?
We have raised $1061.84 which is the cost of Hannah’s dance classes.
We are sending the registration form today. Hannah is going back to dance.
She is going back to dance.
Which is awesome and amazing and so many wonderful things.
And Hannah is excited. She is incredibly excited. But she’s also scared. (Obviously.) She’s nervous, she’s worried, she’s feeling rusty and old. There’s that cliche of “You can’t just suddenly be a dancer when you’re 21, that’s just not possible, you’re too old.”
We went to the dance supply store on Saturday together and it was just so hard for her. It was so hard. She felt so out of place – she said she felt like a fraud, like she didn’t belong. And it killed me to see it because I know that she’s awesome and wonderful and beautiful and can dance like nobody’s business.
I was really, really hoping that we could offer her some support here.
Some stories about how things aren’t impossible. Some love for her fear. Some encouragement for her nerves. And maybe even some advice on dancing for yourself and nobody else.
I so understand where she’s coming from. We’ve all been there – you’re doing something with people who have more experience than you and you feel clumsy, out of place, like a fraud. You feel like the outsider. God, don’t we all feel like outsiders sometimes?
I really want to show Hannah that there is a whole world of people here to support her, here to hold her up.
So if you feel so inclined, please share some love. Share it in the comments, share it on Twitter, share it in an email. I think she just needs some love candles to light her way.
Let's get a Hannah Love Fest going on here, k?
P.S. We still need things like jazz shoes, a leotard, pink tights, jazz pants and pointe shoes. So while we’ve got the most important part paid for, there is quite a bit more that we still need – about $200. If you’d like to contribute towards her dance stuff, that would be super awesome. We just need 12 people to donate $20 – that should be enough for the equipment and Paypal fees.
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8 Comments
Everything I’m trying to write comes out trite. So here’s my golden piece of advice:
Don’t compare yourself to others, that leads to an unhealthy mind. If you want to compare yourself, do it with how you used to be. For a start, you’re enrolled in dance classes – how’s that for an improvement!
Aww, this reminded me of when my son was getting into dance and, long story short, now he’s a dance instructor. Here’s his youtube channel if you need some fun stuff to watch. He’s a goof. He says the whole point is to love it and have fun letting your body doing its thing. Hope some of the videos give you a giggle (he’s totally silly) and some inspiration. YOU CAN DO IT!
http://www.youtube.com/user/peeterparkker
Change is scary. Growth is scary. But once you get a few classes under your belt, the fear will change to something else. You’ll be so happy you took the plunge!
On your first day of class, just visualize all the people who supported you in getting back to dancing and pretend we are all sitting in the audience. Dance for us. We will be watching and smiling
Looking forward to meeting you someday soon!
Carol
I love to collect stories of people who were “too old” for something and did it anyway! Because I, too, am probably “too old” to start doing most of the things I want to do, and I’m just going to have to try anyway, or die disappointed with myself.
Too old? There was a 67-year-old dressage rider competing in the 2008 Olympics, and a 51-year-old Mexican prince (really!
) competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics. One of my favorite film actors, Gerard Butler, didn’t even start making films until he was 28 (okay, maybe 27 — I don’t know how long production took 
) … which might sound young, but it isn’t when the media like to talk about how eeeeeverybody knew they were going to be an actor when they were still in the womb. 
And I’ve come across so many stories of people starting successful businesses fairly “late” in life (30s and 40s), without really knowing what they were doing, that I can’t even remember any specific ones off the top of my head. And hey, check out the show She’s Got the Look — even if you don’t like reality TV, I think the message is a good one: that you can TOO still live your dreams (and be a model!) even after 35. So dancing at 21? Bah! You’re still young! 
I’m tired of “too old” and “too late.” Everyone has their own time to flower, and the media has a fixation on ultra-youth that skews our perception of reality. Or maybe I’m just deluding myself as I fade out of my own youth, but I *swear* you don’t have to be young to be good, or to start something and succeed admirably. Hannah: You can be one of my stories. And someday I’ll be one, and I hope we can help prove “too late” is less a measure of age than it is of attitude. Because we “old people” need reasons to dream, too.
PLEASE!
I returned to dance last summer at the age of 40! Seriously. I have changed my entire life. And will continue to do so as I hope to start a small company of dancers over 35 who ROCK. (And by the way, one of my trainers told me that a 20 year old would be lucky to move how I move … and that is the TRUTH!)
And today a friend told me about her dance teacher when she was little. She was FIFTY THREE and danced with the Alvin Ailey Company.
Dance is changing — slowly and on the edges — but it’s learning that with age comes story and experience and smarts!
Hi Sarah! Hi Hannah!
I am so overcome with love for you both- Sarah, for putting together a fundraiser to help a fellow soul sister. And Hannah, for doing it- for going back even when it is scary.
I am almost 33 and I’ve always held a secret of wanting to be a dancer. Three years ago, I came down with something; something that is yet to be diagnosed, but leaves me bedridden most of the time. I need two total hip replacements in the coming year and had to stop working when the pain started at 29.
But I look at my community center’s catalog each time it comes in the mail, knowing that I will- one day- take an intro ballet class. At 33. Yep- I’ve already decided- it doesn’t matter how old I am, it’s my life, it’s something I want to do, and nobody can take that away from me!
Hannah, I totally get the fear. I do. But your body will thank you, and your soul will breathe a sigh of relief. And then it will start taking big, huge, healing breaths as you dance dance dance…
When facing the fear, reminding myself of all the times I’ve been brave in spite of the fear helps me a lot. Quotes to cheer you on from the one and only Martha Graham:
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.
You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.
Hannah… I’ve been there. This was me two years ago. I had stopped dancing for a while, and yeah, it was scary as heck to get back into it. But it’ll be worth it. I promise. You’ll look back on this, and be so happy you went for it.
(If it helps, I wrote about my experience of going back to ballet after four years off, two years ago: http://nextdance.com/mariko/a-love-of-dance-23.html And now… heck. I’m following my lifelong dream, and gosh darn it, I’m going to “grow up” to be a ballerina no matter what it takes. I’m 23 now, and to heck with anyone who says I’m too old to dance professionally.
)
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Adam King, Sarah Marie Lacy. Sarah Marie Lacy said: We've got Hannah's dance classes paid for (woo!) but she's feeling nervous. Can we give her some love? http://ht.ly/2qEQ0 [...]