Are You Committed to Dancing?

Life is about priorities. How you choose to spend your time, money and energy tells about your priorities. However, committing yourself to something tells about your priorities even more. How about committing to dancing – do your acts show that it is part of your priorities?

We had a great conversation about commitment in our choreography group the other day. Firstly, about committing to the group itself and secondly about committing to dancing in a broader sense. Of course the conversation was between us and therefore I will not share it here, so note that the thoughts here reflect just my own views and might not have any connection to our discussions. However, the discussion gave me something to think and write about.

I learned a big lesson about group commitment while I was living in Japan and that period of time dramatically changed my way of thinking away from the western individualism-emphasized viewpoint. To exaggerate a bit, being an individual is nothing in Japan unless you’re part of some group. Being a part of a group is not a matter of course, but you have to earn your place in the group. Earning your place doesn’t mean that you have something special as an individual to give to the group, but that you show your commitment and give your contribution to the group. When decisions are made, they are made inside the group and no one will dictate or drive their own advantages at the group’s expense – it is the group’s interests that come first.

A good example about earning a place in a group was when I joined a taekwondo group in my Japanese university. We had three-hour practices twice every week and even if you were sick, you were expected to come and watch. Even if I did do that, it took me around three months before others started to believe that I actually wanted to be part of the group and that I was ready to show some commitment. After those three months I was finally asked to join some evening socials and other group events.

I feel like a big honor to be a part of our choreography group. Yes, I got in partly because of my dance merits but also because I had shown commitment to dancing. Now that I’m in, it is the group’s interest that comes first to me. Even if I’m not going to our performance to Prague, it is self-evident that I’ll participate all the group practices and rehearsals. I'd do that even I had a terrible day behind me and the last thing I wanted to do was to go through yet again the same moves. It is self-evident that I’ll borrow my dress, or anything else that someone else in the group might need, or contribute in any other way that is possible for me. I wouldn’t really have time to this many dance practices weekly the moment when I should be giving my evenings to my thesis, and I would really need to get home earlier in weekdays to get enough sleep, but this is what I have chosen to prioritize. When I’m in, I’m in for the team. Not because I expect others to give something back to me but because I think that is what you should do when you decide to be part of a group.

When it comes to committing to dancing, I guess it is clear to everyone that dancing is not just a hobby for me. It is not either just a way to have my exercise, to spend my time or to meet new people. It is a way more than that. I plan my whole life according to dancing. All my holidays, trips, even my student exchange, are chosen according to dancing. Every time I go shopping I think whether the cloth is danceable. The first thing I did when I got my first paycheck this year and finally had money to spend was to pay my dance classes. All my friends have slowly changed to dancers; even my boyfriend is a dancer (even though I once swore not to date a dancer). All my weeks are planned according to dancing, all the parties I choose to go to are dance parties, all my other hobbies are chosen to support my dancing... The list could go on forever. If someone claims after all this that dancing is just a hobby for me, he must be out of his mind.

In partner dancing, committing to dancing is not only committing to your personal growth as a dancer; it is also committing yourself to your dance scene. You can’t expect to have a lively and vivid environment for your partner dancing hobby if you don’t give your part to the scene. There is no point to complain that there are not enough dancers, not enough parties, not enough teachers if you don’t make any effort to contribute in some way. As I see it, dancing alone can be fun, but dancing with someone can be magical. If you want to dance with someone, you need also to give to be able to get. The least you can do is to go to the parties, go to the classes, spread the word and support the people who make things happen. It is not just about you, it is about the dance community as a whole.

Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose - and commit myself to - what is best for me.” – Paulo Coelho

I choose dancing, how about you?