1. “Where did that bruise come from?”
Or something to that effect. Perhaps, “How did I get a bruise on the top of my foot?” or “behind my knee?” As a pre-professional specializing in rolling around on the floor (both alone and with partners), it is a very common occurrence to discover the odd mystery bruise or two… or five.
2. “I think I’ll do this… and then add a tour jete… Is that too much? Maybe just a grand jete.”
These are the thoughts that keep us up at night. Personally, I find that sometimes my brain becomes so obsessed with perfecting my choreography I literally can’t do anything to distract myself. I end up staring, frozen, concentrating. (I’ll admit, I look a bit like I am in some sort of trance.) The worst part is when you do something in your head and it turns out to be totally unrealistic for your body.
3. “Maybe I know what I’m going to do. Maybe I don’t. Stop asking. It stresses me out.”
Most arts majors know the feeling. Some people know exactly what they want to do with their major. Others just have the passion. Both know the fear of not being able to find a supportive job. Even science and engineering majors know that fear. It seems to be rooted in the back of every college student’s mind. We don’t want to see the raised eyebrows that precede the “Oh! And what do you plan on doing with that?” It is stressful enough without your “support,” thank you. On a side note, being a dance major has been one of the most difficult things I have ever chosen to do, both mentally and physically. Having to defend my major as if it were some kind of second rate degree is both exhausting and insulting.
4. “Where is my tennis ball?”
The tennis ball can be a dancer’s best friend – it’s cheap and does the job. Walk into any dance class, you’re likely to find someone laying on the floor rolling over a tennis ball (or something similar). They can loosen up our tight muscles. How else are people suppose to relax?
5. “How exactly does anyone go anywhere without their ‘goody bag’?”
What is a goody bag? Let’s see… some type of usually-portable container that contains the usual necessities: tape, band aids, arnica gel, Icy Hot, Neosporin, Ibuprofen, tennis balls and other personal items depending on the individual dancer.
6. “I don’t want to take my sweaty ballet tights off… Can I just walk home in my leo?”
Not only do we dread changing out of our sweaty clothes, it is also a daily struggle to figure out what we should wear. For instance, if you have ballet you have to wear your tights and your leo. Should you change once you get to class or wear it under your clothes? Is it too hot to wear it under your clothes? If you have modern after ballet you also have to consider what type of shirt you should wear. Nothing too loose that will fall over your head, nothing too hot that you can’t take off, nothing too short but also nothing too long so that it would restrict movement…
7. Getting a pedicure: “Don’t touch my calluses. I need them. Please don’t touch them.”
Calluses are armor for your feet. It takes a while to build them up so any risk of losing them is a terrifying thought. I know my feet are gross but my calluses are important to my feet’s survival. I will always love and cherish them.
8. “How many hours have I spent listening to this same song?”
First, when choreographing a piece, it can take hours searching through various genres, artists and individual songs to finally choose the right one. Perhaps you need something dark but nothing too slow. It also has to be at least nine minutes and it can’t have lyrics. Then, once you have chosen the perfect song to express whatever narrative theme you have also spent a great deal of time thinking about, you have to listen to that song over and over and over and over again while you struggle to actually put movements together.
9. “If Alex got sick on Tuesday and Christine got sick on Thursday, when will I get sick?”
Everyone in the dance department gets sick around the same time. We all have similar schedules and are constantly clumped together in tight groups. Depending on the class we could be rolling around on the floor over and under one another, doing partner work or simply standing in close lines waiting to travel across the floor. As a dancer you can’t afford to have a lot of personal space.
10. “Trees are perhaps some of the least friendly things to hug…”
We’ve all experienced it. If my improvisation class taught me anything, it was how mean trees can be. As dance majors we don’t just spend all of our time in the studio. Environmental choreography is a big part of dance. Experimenting with these different environments means learning to share weight with trees, roll around in the dirt and adapt to the ever-changing scenery.