Good for the Soul
If there is anything new I’ve learned this past week or so, it’s how much appreciation I have for PEOPLE.
Whether it’s online, seeing our students shine in their Virtual Recital Experience, or it’s in person, seeing their smiling faces waving from a distance during our MDU Car Parade, it’s the PEOPLE who make all the difference. My soul feels uplifted in the best way possible!
I know I’m not alone among studio owners who would say this isn’t what we pictured when we thought about what this spring would look like.
We didn’t picture an empty building.
We didn’t picture classes via Zoom.
We didn’t picture storytimes online.
We didn’t picture waving at our students from the parking lot, just to say hello and we love you.
It’s not what I would have chosen, but there have been SO many gifts during this experience. Like how amazing it is to see our studio parents encouraging their kids … sometimes even dancing with them! And how awesome it is to see an outpouring of support for our staff, for the long hours and hard work they have put into working and teaching from home.
But I think the biggest gift we are seeing right now is the SPIRIT and LOVE coming from our students.
They are the little heroes, showing up and bringing their contagious energy to their classmates and their teachers. They are proving that perseverance thrives in a positive mindset.
Usually, at this time of year, I’m high-fiving and hugging my way through the backstage area at our recital performances. It is a time of sheer joy; a time that not only fuels ME up, but that fuels up our dancers and sparks their passion.
Not having this “normal” experience is strange for all of us, but I don’t want that strangeness to overshadow the greatness that our kids are showing right now. I am prouder than ever to see our students fuel up on what IS possible, even though it looks different than what we’d all pictured. To see them flourish, to see their greatness shining through the computer screens and the social media posts and the car parades. Their sense of community, of belonging, and of confidence is good for the soul … for mine, for their family’s, and for theirs.
It has made me realize how, as dancers and performing artists, we have to answer this calling in our soul; this innate feeling to perform. Younger or older, less experienced or more, we all have this itch to be scratched, this goal to fulfill.
Our dancers are fueling up differently this year, making new types of memories that a year ago we couldn’t have imagined. But DIFFERENT doesn’t have to be bad, and NEW doesn’t have to be scary. You just have to have the right perspective to see that it works!
As far as I’m concerned, what’s good for the soul is also good for the heart. I could not be more thankful for our PEOPLE than I am right now. Our kids and their families are what strengthen our community and make it possible to build such meaningful relationships. Our souls aren’t fueled on dance alone; they’re fueled by the connections we have to each other.
Today and every day forward, I have a refreshed appreciation for these connections. Now, my question to you is this: What connections – what PEOPLE – are you feeling grateful for? Do they know how you feel?
If you haven’t told them yet, do it today. Do it soon. We can all use a little more love and appreciation to fuel up with. It’s good for the soul. <3
Love, Misty
