The lie that is "one more time"!

I came across an Instagram quote that said, "Dance rule: One more time is always a lie" and I normally would be amused at how accurate that statement is, but that wasn't the case this time. I was humorously irritated because I got a taste of my own medicine at the gym. Welcome to today's post dancer friends.

I took a Weights group class months ago and during this class, I got to the point where I was so exhausted that I was just waiting for it to be over. I kept looking at the clock and begging myself to hold on for a few minutes longer. After all, don't they say you are at your strongest when you get past that stage that feels like death? I held on and kept pushing, until I heard the coach say the words I had been longing to hear," this is the last one." At the end of the exercise, as I felt very proud of myself for sticking through the discomfort, the coach told us to go ONE...MORE...TIME! I was livid! I couldn't believe my ears! I had nothing left to give, neither my flesh nor my spirit was willing. I walked out of the class in utter disbelief of the blatant lie.

Looking back at that experience now, it's hilarious how personal of an attack it felt when I was on the receiving end of it. I have used this phrase, as a dance instructor, countless times without giving much thought to how it translates. Understandably, because of the nature of a dance class, "one more time" can easily turn into 5 more times. In fact, as the dance culture has it, it is more shocking to be in a class where the instructor says "one more time/ one last time" and they actually mean it. While I know there could be valid reasons for why this is the case, that gym class experience challenged me to be more conscious of the things I say. So, here's to relearning saying what we mean and meaning what we say, even in dance class.

Keep creating & sharing!

~your dancer friend