I’ve been on a hiatus from dancing. It’s been just over a week now. I’ll start dancing again tomorrow. I realize that in the normal world, a week and a half might not constitute a “break,” but in most of the dance worlds I’m involved in, three days has people gasping for air. So why? Am I burnt out? Actually, no. Even as I write this, I’m longing to go dance. I think that’s part of it — every once in a while I need to make myself stop, take a break, go through withdrawal so I can start again. I also needed a bit more time to think than “normal” life allows. Do you ever wish for a reset button? In college there was one built in — make it to the end of the term, through finals, and poof! you start over. It’s really hard to figure out balance in life — how much time do I spend with each dance (tango, blues, lindy, contact improv, modern dance, middle eastern dance…), on artistic projects, reading, with friends, not to mention pesky things like sleeping, working, exercise. How do you find balance?
{ 2008 09 16 }
Modern Tanguera | 16-Sep-08 at 2:45 pm | Permalink
Oh, I understand the hiatus. It’s funny how I start talking about how looooong it has been when I haven’t danced for four days or so.
I have yet to find a good balance, but I think that’s the way I work. I like to focus intensely on something for a while and then switch to something else when I get tired of the first or start longing for the next new thing. I will work on artistic projects for a while, but when I have completed a project I am likely to decide to devour a book. After I finish one book I might make time to have dinner with several friends. Then I remember the modern dance class I haven’t been going to. I don’t mind jumping around - it’s easier for me than trying to portion out small amounts of time for lots of things at once.