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 choreo 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.
Less than two weeks later, I was driving again to meet up with more strangers. This time, it was for a day-long writing/hiking workshop. I became a member of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance at the beginning of the year with the goal of connecting with other local writers and to take advantage of the many workshops they offered throughout the year. This particular workshop spoke to me. Communing with the forest while wordsmithing sounded tailor-made for this writer. Then I found out the group was going to be about 10 people, and my socially awkward inner introvert wanted to crawl under her writing desk. But this month was about exploring and trying new things! I reminded myself that these are obviously like-minded people who love trees and words, so it would be fine. Just breathe.
We met at a state park about an hour south of my home. The day was beautiful and the workshop was well-organized with writing sessions mixed in with the hiking. We shared brief essays scribbled in notebooks while we perched on rocks or logs adjacent to the trails, and I drove home that afternoon feeling inspired. I had hoped to meet a kindred spirit in the group, but when the day ended, everyone quickly went their separate ways.
My next adventure was brief and not particularly enthralling, but I’m still glad I went. My first ballet teacher in Maine included me on an email blast about a new gallery opening she was helping with, featuring an exhibition by a local photographer. I would not call myself the gallery-opening type, especially as a solo attendee, but again, August was a month to explore new activities. Plus, it would be nice to see my teacher again. So I RSVP’d “yes.”
The tiny gallery was packed when I arrived, and I immediately started questioning my decision. I stayed the course though, and filed into the gallery behind a group of people who were greeted with big hugs by someone with a name tag as soon as they walked in. Did I crash a friends and family event? A large photograph of a flock of sheep in a rowboat being tugged by another boat caught my eye and gave me something to focus on while I pretended to not feel super awkward in a crowd where everyone seemed to know everyone except me. Luckily, I spotted my ballet teacher a few minutes later and the awkward feelings faded as we reconnected.
She had to get back to helping with the event, so I helped myself to a glass of wine and let my eyes wander the walls. There were photographs everywhere, even on the stairs leading to the 2nd floor mezzanine area, and the second set of stairs leading to a roof patio. With so many people, it made it difficult to pause and drink in the scenes depicting life on the rugged Maine coastline (especially on the stairs where people literally had to wait in line to go up or down). I completed my circuit after about 15-20 minutes and decided to head home. I was glad I went, but didn’t feel the need to linger.
You might think that sounds like plenty of adventure for one month, but wait, there’s more!
The local soil and water conservation district has a landscape conservation certificate that residents can earn for incorporating various conservation-related practices on their private properties such as prioritizing the use of native plants in gardens, removing invasive plants, providing natural habitat and food sources for wildlife and minimizing the use of chemicals like pesticides. The open land on my property was certified in July (the forest is hopefully getting its own certification soon!) and as a result, we were invited to an annual banquet put on by the conservation district in August. Not gonna lie – the promise of food or drink is a good way to get me to agree to go to something that involves interacting with strangers.
I again felt like the stranger in a crowd of friends, but the food was good and the talk given about the role native plants can play in climate resiliency was really interesting. Bonus: I got to take home one of the uneaten pies.
I went on one more adventure in August! (If you’re tired just reading about all these experiences, just imagine how I felt actually doing them.)
This last one turned out to be a very chill and enjoyable time. It was a woodworking workshop specifically for women, called “Women, Wood and Wine.” The woman woodworker who taught the workshop wanted to give other women the chance to learn how to use power tools and create something in the process. After we were done, we celebrated our achievements over a glass of wine.
Through the use of a band saw, a belt sander, and a variety of chisels, we took blocks of wood and turned them into spoons! Or, spoon-like objects at least, you can decide. Even though I’ve used power tools like a drill and an impact driver before, I was nervous to stick my hands near larger tools that promised to claim part of your finger if you made the wrong move around them. Once I actually gave it a shot though, I said out loud “this is easier than I thought it would be!” That proclamation was the goal of the instructor, to show women that these tools that have been so dominated by men can actually be used and mastered by anyone.
Jiminy crickets, I did a lot in August! As I mentioned in the beginning, I finished the month feeling tired but also proud. I wanted to take more advantage of opportunities to try new things and explore interests I had but never really did anything with. And I did!
One of the motivations for all of this exploring was the hope that I would figure out my next creative project. Reviewing Dancing Queens and interviewing a couple of the ladies on the show was a fun project and made me feel connected to the ballroom world again. Staying connected is more difficult because that world seems far away now. I hear Dancing with the Stars is starting up again soon(?), and I will probably restart the review-type posts for that show.
In the meantime, my month of exploration was a success. I have my next big creative project and it’s something I’ve never done before. It’s one of those deep dark secrets I’ve held onto most of my life, like my dream of dancing on stage again after Fear made me stop dancing as a child.
For a long time, Fear kept me from doing many things I wanted to try. My ballroom dance journey played a huge role in me taking back that control, which allowed me to expand into other creative endeavors like creating and publishing my books. This past month was a series of flipping Fear the bird as I sauntered, stumbled or crept past it to my next adventure. The point is Fear didn’t stop me.
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