My high school days were spent dancing jazz, contemporary, ballet, and hip hop at 24/7 Danceforce company in Kaneohe.
Dancing was my favorite of all my activities, and so by high school, it was what I spent just about all of my free time doing. Music always moved me, my body felt free, and my soul felt healed as we expressed our feelings and told stories through our routines.
24/7 Danceforce Studio, in particular, is the place that also taught me a lot about pursuing excellence. They were known as the best, and I wanted to be among the best. Even though I struggled a lot at first and was always pushed in a room full of incredibly gifted dancers, something about that environment made me strive for more and not settle for average. It helped me step out of my comfort zone again and again as I slowly grew more and more confident.
With being the best came a lot of commitment: Long hours, rehearsals, and sacrificing other activities when they conflicted with our dance schedule.
I didn’t originally plan to pursue a career in dance; I mainly took it up for fun because I enjoyed it and had no idea just how much it would shape my life. That experience of being a part of a bigger production, and learning choreography, wearing costumes, dancing on stages, and using lights and props like no one else was doing in Hawai`i, inspired me to do the same in my work. To always strive for the bigger picture and step out of my comfort zone. To do things that may seem unusual to some at first, but that would capture attention, be bold and innovative, beautiful, and practiced until it was excellent. I also still find myself wanting to be with the best so I can be pushed and learn from them.
I am so grateful I found dancing and something I enjoyed as a kid that I can still enjoy for myself now. It keeps me moving and motivated to stay in shape so I can keep going well into my fifties or sixties!
Sometimes, the things we enjoyed as kids are still the same things we will enjoy today. And if that can keep us well and active, then we should keep on “dancing!”
Finding peace by piece:
We can find peace by piece in revisiting the things we loved to do as a kid to help us stay well.
