Another curtain call after a year of lessons learned, challenges overcome and new memories made. This past weekend we celebrated our 14th annual spring recital. The theme for our recital shows and our entire ‘21/’22 season was “LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.” After spending a few years dealing with the challenges a global pandemic forced upon us, we decided to make our own challenges this year.
We challenged our dancers and dance families to something new each and every month. We ran miles, read books and raised a lot of money for charity. We expressed gratitude, gave back to others and showered ourselves with self love. We ate healthy, did things that scared us and didn’t complain!
It was so fun to see our families and dancers accept these challenges and continue with them long after the month was over. So last weekend, we celebrated not only a year of hard work in the classroom, but also overcoming challenges, whether they were the ones intentionally given by us or the challenges that came unexpectedly.
Dance Teaches Life Lessons
I have always said that “99.9% of our students probably won’t dance after they graduate, if they even dance that long.” But you know what I have ALWAYS believed? That dance truly does teach life lessons. So someone may peek into a classroom and see a bunch of littles standing on a dot tapping their toys. But what we see is young kids, doing their first independent activity without mom or dad, standing on a spot that they learned is their “special spot” and counting along to the beat.
You may peek in an advanced lyrical class doing an improvisation exercise and think they are just doing their own thing. Yes, they are but do you know how much courage and creativity it takes to move your body freely, with no direction in front of your peers? The answer is A LOT!
Living Your Best Life
So as we are on break before our summer session begins, I want our Liberty Dance Center students to take a moment to recognize all that they have accomplished this past season. I want our dance parents to give themselves a pat on the back for getting them where they need to be and for encouraging them to keep going during the challenging times. I want my teachers to stop and reflect on what a BIG impact they have on so many people each and every class they teach.
So with that, we encourage you to keep on living your best life. Just because the show is over, the curtain has closed and the costumes are packed away, doesn’t mean we should stop challenging ourselves and taking a moment to reflect.
