I know it can be easier said than danced sometimes…
...the reality is that life can be hard on us.
That’s why I designed my upcoming “4-weeks to free your inner dancer” program, full of support and guidance to dance through the tough stuff and into your power and freedom.
Structure and community are SO important when you want to empower yourself in any way - especially when it involves physical movement.
Through the guidance of powerful goddess archetypes and the pop-music and pop-stars that channel their energy, we are going to dance into the freest, most powerful versions of ourselves.
Resist the urge to isolate yourself or believe the “woe is me” voice in your head that just doesn’t feel like you can do it. You can.
Throwback to June of 2011, a bit over 5 years ago. I was living in my parent’s basement temporarily after having to leave my Brooklyn apartment quite suddenly. It was 6 months after my dad’s stroke, 2 months into a new romantic relationship, and I was making dance videos like crazy.
Why?
Because those precious moments I had alone in the basement for a few minutes were the only times when I felt I had the space to express myself. There often aren’t words to describe the feelings of big life transitions, and so that’s why dance is there.
I didn’t have (or make) time to take dance classes. I didn’t want to.
I wasn’t interested in learning choreography or auditioning for a show.
I basically didn’t care to do any of the things I previously did in my past dance life.
But I DID want to say something that words couldn’t express.
I DID want to move my body and channel some of the tough emotions.
I DID want a break from the stress and pain of things that were happening in my life.
So I danced it out, in my own way, to music that moved me, and I made a video of it. (multiple times. still doing it.)
This is not a dance-making act of luxury. This is a dance-making act of necessity. This is dance-making like my life depended on it. Because it did.
Who are we without the acts that move our souls?
Who are we without exercising our human ability to create?
Who are we without dance?
I’d argue to say we’d be prettttty boring and dead inside without any of those things.
Not the kind of life I want to live.
How bout you?
If dance is part of YOUR soul, don’t ignore the calling.
Go dance in your basement or bedroom or boardroom and unleash the spirit inside of you.
I know it’s sometimes easier said than done, so I am here to help. In fact, outside of dancing myself, helping other people to revive dance in their lives is my favorite thing in the world. And I’m really good at it.
The reason why it's my favorite thing is because I see what happens beyond the dance itself.
When women reclaim their dancer identity IN THEIR OWN WAY - in a way that empowers them, frees them, and unleashes parts of themselves that have been hidden or squelched - they take different actions in their LIFE.
They no longer keep their mouth shut when they really want to speak up.
They walk into a room with confidence and knowing their self-worth.
They feel a deep sense of belonging and connection to a tribe who understands them, which becomes a foundation for launching their dreams.
Again, this is not a luxury. It is a necessity if we want to create a world where women have the power to change it for the better.
So let’s dance, shall we?
I’m gifting the first 5 people who comment below with a free ticket to one of my Pop Goddess Dance intro classes on Monday 10/17 or 10/24 in NYC.
(There's also an online intro if you can't make it live!)
And if you’re not in NYC or Pop-Goddess isn’t your thing, there are other ways I can support your dancing process, so just contact me now with a little bit about your dance story and where you’re feeling stuck and I’ll get back to you asap.
How you show up in the spotlight is 90% about what happens backstage. #accordingtome
Backstage in this context means both in the wings right before showtime AND throughout all the prep and process leading up to that moment. Your entire life, really.
Sure, your current mood and whether or not you have your period and who’s in the audience and “will I mess up” all play a factor in how you’ll feel as you perform, but it’s not JUST about those things.
The product is only as strong as the process behind it.
My latest story about this -
In our final session of the You Can Dance Again program on Monday, just 2 days post showcase, I asked each woman to share her most memorable moment of the show night.
One said:
“Performing on stage for the first time ever was huge for me, but honestly, it was the time backstage that was most meaningful and memorable. I felt such a connection to the women who were there with me - even the ones who I just met. We talked and laughed and it felt like such a safe space to be me. By the time I was ready to walk on stage for my solo, I felt ready. And it was because of all that happened before.”
I know that not every show will automatically come with that level of support backstage, but it is possible for you to create it. To be it. To enjoy YOUR process so much that it’s contagious to those around you.
A few things you can do backstage to get in the zone:
Get bodied. In your body. Out of your head. (#dancebreak, anyone?)
Connect. To yourself, to others, to spirit/universe/the muses/whatever inspires you.
Breathe. Remember you always have your breath. Tap into it.
Remember that the moments on stage are so fleeting. Live for something more than just that short moment. Make the whole process an experience you love and live for.
Do you crave being on stage, even though it might terrify you?
Want to free up your inner dancer and let her loose?
I can help. There are openings in both my private coaching practice and the next round of You Can Dance Again, and I would love to talk with YOU to see if either speaks to your soul. Contact me now and tell me a bit about your dance story and I’ll reply back asap.
Let's face it. We don't REALLY want to go see the dance shows, music shows, and plays that our friends are doing. Sure, the good intention is there and we theoretically want to see them. But. We are tired after work. There are other obligations to attend to. In NYC especially, life is busy and we need to hustle. It's so tempting to skip plans and indulge in a night home alone.
Art can take the back seat.
We click "interested" on the facebook event but don't follow through with the ticket purchase.
We do the hustle - or the crash - instead.
I'll admit I've done this many times.
And I've also shown up many times.
Those are the times I remember most. The feeling of unity with the audience members around you. The gift of seeing someone shine in their authentic expression on stage. The inspiration that comes through for my own artistic process, just by witnessing others in theirs.
It's magical. And memorable. And something I strive to do way more of.
So this Friday is just a simple reminder to go out and see art in any capacity. Risk the slight inconvenience of less sleep or missing an episode of New Girl and expose yourself to something outside your normal routine.
You’re not only “supporting” artists, but you’re supporting yourself and your own artistic process.
(How can we expect to produce and put things out into the world if we are not taking things in for inspiration?)
If you happen to be in the NYC area today, come out to our dance show tonight and make some new artistic memories with me.
If you didn’t already hear, I'm hosting and performing in a dance show tonight with some of my favorite people on the planet: the women of my You Can Dance Again program and performing company and my dance partner Ben Weston.
After what's been a long and tough year for many of us, this show is a celebration of life, of art, of self-expression, of the fact that we CAN dance again - no matter what crap life throws at us.
Some of the women who are getting on that stage are doing so for the first time in YEARS and they been preparing dances that express their transformation and true dance voices in their journey back to themselves. It's going to be exhilarating and inspiring, to say the least.
Come share it with us. I guarantee you will leave feeling a lot lighter, more inspired, and more connected to your true self than you have in awhile.
In a world that demands perfection, it’s a bold act to let yourself be messy. To let yourself express something authentic, versus what you think everyone else wants to see.
I could end the post right there, but I’ll share a little story to back it up.
In the studio with a private dance client yesterday, I was helping her develop a solo dance piece for our show next week. She had lots of ideas of what she wanted it to look like - there were props, costume pieces, and steps set to the music. But every time she went to dance it, she would stop and think. Something wasn’t flowing.
I asked her to think back to a recent dance video she had made - one in which she was moving freely and so like herself.
“What compelled you to make that dance video?” I asked.
“I was feeling all this sadness and didn’t know where it was coming from... I was craving a space to call home and didn’t know how to find it… so I danced.”
And then I asked her to pick a new song, one that spoke to her soul, and to improvise to it from where she was right there in that moment.
What happened after was beautiful to watch, vulnerable, and authentic.
She decided to scrap the idea of the complicated dance piece because she realized it was mostly driven by her head: by what she THOUGHT would be funny, what she THOUGHT people would want to see.
It turns out, what her body and soul wanted to share and express are much different.
It takes courage to realize that and even more courage to follow through with it.
Because again, there’s so much perfection demanded of us - especially in the dance world. It’s safer to think up something and create calculated movements than it is to move from your truth in the moment, as messy as it might feel.
And if you’re craving support in finding YOUR messy realness in the dance studio, contact me and let’s set up a time to talk to see how I could support you in bringing out your truest self, on and off the dance floor.
It’s so easy to push through. To power through work and life with brute force, doing one thing after the other. Forcing yourself to make it happen, in spite of fatigue.
Some call it discipline.
Some call it rigor.
Some call it the movie Rocky.
Some call it the only way they know how to survive.
For most of my life I called it all those things. [cue: Eye of the Tiger!]
I’m learning it’s more than that. And it’s not the only way.
The compulsion to do more, make more, and power through more, can also be a coping mechanism - a way we learned quite literally to survive through the storms of growing up, painful family dynamics, untouched emotions kept deep inside, etc.
And while this rigorous compulsion can serve to protect and propel us for a time, it’s not really sustainable. Because it’s tiring. And as fast moving as it might seem, it actually can keep us stuck. (Like being on a treadmill and wondering why you’re not going anywhere.)
Enter: the empty space.
Time to just be. To soften into nothing. To face the fear of the unknown. To be faced with your emotions, your thoughts, your heart’s calling.
The empty space is where the magic happens. It’s where you get in touch with your humanity. It’s not always pretty. It can be painful. Terrifying. Seemingly unending. (“Will I ever create anything again?! Will I ever want to get out of bed again?!”)
Until it’s not.
Until a switch happens where you learn to love that empty space. Where you embrace it because you embrace yourself. Where inspiration enters your being effortlessly - because you stopped trying to force it to happen.
Like magic. Things start to happen for you. Opportunities are created. There’s a current supporting your forward movement. No more fighting against the stream.
That’s the power of the empty space. And it can still exist alongside hard work. It’s simply about making time to pause and let go and let a greater power take over for awhile. Relief! You don’t have to do it all alone.
I wish that empty space for you this week. Anything as small as 10 minutes with your eyes closed, to an entire day laying under the clouds. For that time, take pressure off yourself to figure stuff out or do anything. Just be. Empty. Space.
If you must be rigorous, be rigorous in your effort to commune with this empty space and make time for it as much as possible.
I’d love to hear what comes through as a result.
to creating from peace, love, & solid ground under your dancing feet,
Jess
p.s. If this makes sense to you but you’re still wondering HOW do I actually get there? Or, if it doesn’t quite make sense but you really really want it to because you’re tired of being stuck in the same pushing patterns…. I encourage you to reach out to me. I’m taking on a small group of clients this fall for 1-1 and group coaching and one of the spots might be perfect for YOU. When you email me, I’ll send you a sample class full of really valuable takeaways and we can talk further about the options for working together.
Because together, we can let go, trust, and create more powerfully than when we are divided.
