Hello, freestyling, my old friend...

I had the opportunity to attend a freestyle dance session. Yes, me who shys away from all things freestyle! My intention was to document the experience, but I knew there was a possibility of me joining the session at some point. I left for the studio that afternoon knowing that if I did end up dancing, I would have to gather up all my courage, suck it up and freestyle! It was both scary and exciting at the same time. Scary because there's no sort of direction when it comes to freestyling, and exciting because it was going to be a good challenge. I felt ready for anything, or so I thought...welcome to today's blog post dancer friends.

Looking through the camera lens, I watched as these dancer friends cheered each other on taking turns going into the centre of the cypher (circle of dance), exploring movement. They didn't seem to be thinking about it, they just moved their bodies and let the music dictate their movement. They trusted their bodies to figure it out on the spot. A part of me was glad to be behind the camera documenting how cool it all was, while the other part of me was aching to join in. Before I knew it, one of the hosts pulled me to the center and I panicked a little as I went to dance. I could feel the adrenaline rush as I, too, trusted my body to figure it out on the spot. I was in and out in seconds! The idea of joining the cypher and actually joining it turned out to be totally different. I was proud of myself for doing it, anyway!

At the beginning of the session, one of the hosts spoke about the intrusive thoughts that tend to hold us back while we get into a cypher. Thoughts of not being good enough, not having moves that are intricate enough, not being the best of the best...thoughts like these that stop us from showing up authentically. It was comforting to know that it is normal to have these kinds of thoughts - to feel intimidated by the thought of putting your instant and raw creativity out in the open for everyone to see. Creating this safe and non-judgemental space set the tone for the rest of the session. The dancers were free to make mistakes, to start and forget moves halfway, and to explore new and old movement. They were at liberty to achieve the goal of the day, freestyle. This was quite an experience for me, one that I would be open to fully indulge in the next time...

Keep creating & sharing!

~your dancer friend