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On My Mind
Words from the publisher
When I was about
11, I complained of being bored. My mother’s response was, “Go
sit under a tree and write something.” Frankly, I thought that
was a stupid way to fill my time; I was hoping that she would
take me to the beach or a movie. But I did go sit under a
tree, and I wrote something. I can’t remember what I wrote
about, but I never forgot that day. It was the beginning of my
interest in writing.
As a youngster I
had a lot of dreams. First I had my heart set on becoming a
farmer; then, after a field trip to Boston’s historic Freedom
Trail, a historian; and in high school, my passion for dance
won out. However, the life I had pictured as a world-famous
dancer who would retire to teach at my mom’s school isn’t how
things turned out. I never did become that world-famous
dancer, and my brother Rennie, not me, now directs our
mother’s school.
So what happened?
I like to say that I went with the flow. As a teen I taught
master classes across the country and began directing a
dance competition; at 34 I became the youngest national
president of Dance Masters of America.
Then, with a
vision of dance teachers respecting each other, I wrote an
essay for a dance publication that promoted the idea of unity.
Seeing my articles in print gave me the same feeling I had
when I saw my choreography onstage, and before long I was
writing more. I remember thinking how cool it would be to have
my own magazine, but I never expected it to happen. And here I
am today, the publisher of Dance Studio Life.
Learning to go
with the flow and to never stop dreaming is the secret to
finding your path in life, because I believe that those dreams
evolve into what is right for you. However, you have to be
open to it. Many teachers and school owners tell me what
they’d like to do, usually followed by, “But I can’t because
[insert any rationale here].”
When the “I
can’t” mantra sets in, the dreaming stops and going with the
flow becomes something to resist rather than embrace. People
are afraid to take chances or believe they’re too old to try
something new. Feeling safe, rather than fulfilled, wins out.
But that’s not
always the case. I know dance teachers who have sold their
schools and moved to New York to become the choreographer that
they always knew they could be. A friend of mine who trained
to become a ballerina, and made it, is now a physical
therapist, working with dancers and loving it. I’ve met dance
school owners who have paid rent for 20 years who woke up one
day with the courage to buy the building they’ve dreamed of
owning. These people allowed themselves to go with the flow.
Either the “I can’t” message never crossed their minds or they
pushed it aside.
I’m not
recommending that you should run out of your classroom today
to try something new. Instead, look around for the doors that
have opened around you, which you might have been afraid to
dance through, and just go for it. No fears, no hesitation.
Just follow the instinct that tells you that there is
something more to learn or explore in this life.
At 46 I still
wonder what I’m going to be when I grow up, and who knows—I
still might become a farmer. But the farm of my dreams today
would have 20 cabins for dance teachers to stay in and a huge
meeting room where I can run my seminars. I’ll see you there.
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