Dancing for the Buckingham Palace Guards

Have you ever had a class where you feel absolutely bored out of your mind? So much so that the thought of attending plagues you in your sleep during the evening prior to the class? Does everything the teacher say repeat something you've already learned in the past? Has continually attending that class, in turn, led you to find creative ways of staying entertained?

Normally I would practice writing my notes backwards if I was bored. Or place as many pencils as possible on the back of my hand, only to thrown them in the air and try to catch them. But if you get bored in a dance technique class, where there are no pencils or desks to keep your mind entertained, what can you do?

I've been trying to figure out the answer to that question the last few weeks of school and I've come to the conclusion that the best solution is simply this:

Pretend you are dancing for different people.

On Mondays my imaginary audience may be a crowd of guards for the Buckingham Palace in London. I dance to try and make them smile. On Wednesday, however, I may dance with more restraint and solemness as I pretend I'm stuck in Limbo.

My brain has an endless supply (I hope!) of imaginary audiences. I am depending on them to get me through this semester. That and the new music dawning our inner ear each class. From Stevie Wonder to Tower of Power, every class beckons new musical entertainment. The music is a great motivational tool for me. It can let me escape the boring steps I've done way too many times, and find a new idea to make those steps somehow feel new as well.

So until I actually go dance for the Buckingham Palace guards, I plan to fill the empty studio with whatever audience I choose. That's what is so great about dance. Creation is continuous in the studio. Where success is found in happiness of your art rather than the numerical value one’s profession provides, the studio turns the idiom of “making a living” into “living through the making.” Creation is continuous in the studio not only in the choreographic sense but as an individual as well. More on this later perhaps...

I need sleep :P