Today I was driving and the song “A Million Dreams” by Pink came on. I felt a surge of disappointment – that song was the ballet song for our Mini class for the 2019-2020 dance year and except for the girls who performed it, I’m only 1 of 2 people who got to see it. I decided it would be a good time to document my thoughts about how everything had to go down.
When March rolled around I was excited because performance season is very thrilling! Retirement Home performances and a Six Flags performance are all mini dress rehearsals leading us to what we really work for – The Recital. And I vividly remember class on Wednesday, March 11, where I was still thinking we were all-systems-go for the first performance that Saturday. Watching the news that night after dance was over was the first of many crushing blows about what the end of our year was going to look like. First we lost the Retirement Homes. Then we lost the ability to come to class. Then we canceled Six Flags. Then I rescheduled Picture Day. Then I rescheduled the Recital. I kept tentatively planning return dates to class and we kept passing by them. Then of course came the ultimate worst cancelation – I found out we would be having no recital. I danced as a child, I was in countless shows and musicals throughout high school, I minored in theatre in college, this was my ninth year teaching dance – THERE WAS NEVER NO RECITAL.
Now that all these things have passed, I kind of look at the disappointment for me in 2 parts. The first is my personal disappointment. The 2020 recital dances were completed in summer 2019 as was the calendar of performances. If you haven’t heard me say it before I will say it now – my super strength is my ability to organize and plan and I fully enjoy doing it. So our recital is pieced together all throughout the year, starting with those dances and every time I do anything for it, I always think “I can’t wait for the dancers to see this at the recital!” because no matter how much I tell anyone about it (and believe me, I could talk forever about our recital :)), the only person who can picture all the pieces coming together beforehand is me until it happens. It is without a doubt, my favorite part of the year.
The second part though is perhaps more disappointing and that is that I know all of the things the dancers were looking forward to. This recital was a representation of many things: the first recital for some, the last recital for some. The first time the younger kids switched lines. The first time some kids got to use a prop. Someone’s first solo. The classes that showed they didn’t need the teacher to help them. All the soloists/duos who pushed themselves farther in extra rehearsals. The time and love poured into choreography by teachers other than me. And really, that’s just one facet of what changed. This isn’t even mentioning the complete loss of normalcy as we altogether struggled to find our footing doing class while not coming to class.
So now is the part where I acknowledge that we did get to do some cool things. We danced in a parade in October and we did a socially distanced picture day with a porch performance for a video. We donated money from special recital programs to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. We also got to end in a parade at 2 retirement homes that we visit regularly which was quick but exciting! The really wonderful news is that (as far as I know) our dancers and families have stayed safe from COVID-19 and that is far more important than any performance we will do.
The lack of end of the year performances has left me thirsty for more planning :). It’s a bit more unique this year because I can’t officially plan dates of performances until we move further into normal operations after the coronavirus but I know A LOT about what next year’s recital will look like. I will hold nothing back! And it’s still a few months away (which is good as schools/businesses/activities slowly return) but I am STOKED to start class.
Always keep dancing.
Shine Bright Dance Project 