I've been thinking about something a choreographer said to me once. I was telling him that I didn't want our oldest daughter (then 5 or 6) in dance classes because it would be the beginning of a long and treacherous road of poor body image and self loathing. That's what ballet was for me. I said she had my genes. I said, "I don't have a dancer's body." He immediately shot back, "If you danced, you would have a dancer's body." Smack.
I've thought about that periodically since then. Body image isn't the crushing trial it was before my mid-twenties, but the idea of doing something in order to become something applies everywhere in my life. Mother? Urbanite? Homeschooler? Sailer? I was not "the kind" until I did it and became "the kind" through practice. I need to assess what I'm doing to figure out what I'm becoming.
I'm glad I've given dance a second chance. Thanks to my dear friend K.B. for creating such a nurturing environment and teaching this class out of the goodness of her expansive heart.
P.S. These are not pictures of my dance class, but they are a good representation and the girl in the middle even looks something like I did at that age. We had balloons back in the day. ;)
