Since the beginning of times, dance teachers have heard just about all excuses in the books as students fight even for just a single lesson away from class. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t bad whatever you’re trying to do, nor is it good.
Dancing isn’t as easy as the dancers like to make it out. It calls for an all-rounded body and thus involves varied forms of exercises to bring about the perfect stretches, curves, and reflexes. This continued persistence is what brings about perfection – something that many students only realize when it’s too late. Enough said; what are these petty excuses that every dance instructor has come by at some point in their career? Remember the world is the same all round – just because you live in some cozy apartment doesn’t make anything different from someone leaving on the shores of Mexico. The dancing taught might have differences as a result of culture, but the individuals being taught are all the same – so are the excuses.
1. No Time – I’m Too Busy
Do you think you will ever have more time than you do presently? If your answer is yes here, you seriously need to sit down and re-evaluate your decisions and life choices too. Unless you’re making plans to quit your job and be a ‘stay-at-home mom/dad’, then trust me when I say, you will never have more time allocation than you have presently.
Set Aside Some ‘You-Time’
You need to set aside some ‘you-time’. This involves the hour or two you set aside for your dance lessons. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a daily basis for you to reach the kind of perfection you have in mind. You can make it twice a week to your dance classes and determinedly decide not to allow anything to distract you from that sacred goal. After all is said and done, it ceases to be a goal whenever you keep altering it with minor distractions that seem better than the dance lessons.
So, the next time you think you don’t have time, remember this; you will never really have sufficient time. It’s totally up to you to make some work for you.
2. I Don’t Really Know How to; That Also Makes Me Look Stupid
Come on! Are you paying for dance lessons to just mingle out with your classmates or are you really there for yourself? Of course you don’t know how to dance; otherwise, you would be in the instructor’s position and not the one giving out your hard earned cash. But who am I to condemn they who lack any excuse to use but these!
Some personality traits dictate that particular individuals will give a lot of attention to what other people say or think about them. But come on darling, this is a dance class, and remember, you decided to do it for you. You need to cut yourself some slack or risk never getting better in your classes.
Take a Chance and Just Dance!
So, next time that nasty thought hit you that you don’t know how to dance, remember, we all started out from exactly that point. Even the best footballers were not birthed clenching on to little balls – it took years of practice. Take it easy and dance like you don’t give a single care in the world. It’s your mistakes that will see you making moves better than Madonna’s and the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov.
3. It’s That Time of the Month!
Years ago, girls would get away from just about anything whenever it was ‘that time of the month’ for them. But seriously! Are we still in the dark ages or something? Staining one’s clothes is never an issue or an option nowadays; unless you bring about cramping issues, which raises a whole other topic.
Together with cramps, girls have always added muscle pains to make their excuses even more legit. That doesn’t work anymore nowadays – after all, you’re not working with barbaric choreographers, are you?
Good Exercise and Rest
The best cure for muscle pains is some good exercise. I mean, whenever that is accompanied by a nice good bath and sufficient rest overnight, then you give yourself the best physiotherapy. Moreover, the same is also applicable if used to address the monthly cramps that come with periods. A whole lot of girls have attested to lesser strain and reduced aches from cramps after a good workout.
That said, the next time you think of quitting a dance lesson as a result of your monthly flow or disrupts from sore muscle, this article should ring a bell or two up in your big head.
4. It’s Hard; I’m Too Tired
It’s quite hard, huh? Did you go for a sitting and standing competition or did you go for your dance lessons? You don’t expect it to be easy – that’s exactly what should motivate you to even do better as you master all you’re taught. This is also exactly how you’ll know you’re having the right kind of classes.
Strength of Will
“I’m too tired!” I wouldn’t even try this out on my instructor if I were you. Dance needs as much strength of will as it calls for a revitalized body. You need to summon that inner power you got to pull through all your classes without postponing. That’s the meaning of a goal – a vision which you stuck up to and wasn’t deterred from.
Now, this is where I help you out; for the best excuse to get away from class, why don’t you try the truth for once? Coming out straightforward goes a long way to foster relationships between dancers and their teachers. It creates a conducive environment in the dance studio that’s appealing at all times. If you really need or have to be away from class, just tell it straight to the teacher. However, if the issue is personal, you might also choose to keep it to yourself and can otherwise say you are engaged with family. Just don’t make this a habit as it kind of eliminates the essence as to why you are attending the dance lessons in the first place.
