Never Enough

Danielle Dawes
October 18, 2012

I have been at dance every single day for the past 11 days in a row. Don’t get me wrong I love dance and I can’t imagine what I would do with my time if I was not there, but it’s becoming such a drag. Every day I step up to the barre and listen to the same music my teacher always plays from the same old boring CD. We do practically the same old combinations and get the same old corrections. I’m always exhausted from my day at school and dreading the long night ahead. I no longer feel like I can put my all into my dancing. I’m constantly thinking about conserving my energy for all the other stuff I have to do. I used to try my hardest in every dance class and I was constantly improving. But now I feel like I’ve hit a plateau.

I have lost my motivation to try. I used to try my hardest in everything I did, and I wanted to be the best I could be. But now I just want to be good enough. I just don’t see the point anymore. If I can get through dance class and do a mediocre job then I’m satisfied. I no longer have that strive to push further. The other night my instructor was telling me how it’s never enough. If you do three pirouettes, it’s not a “good job!”, its “you should be doing five or six.” You lift your leg above your head, he says “higher!” But if there is no end, then what am I striving for. Perfection is all I used to want.  But now I realize it’s impossible and so why even bother trying? I know his speech was meant for me to take the exact opposite idea away from it. He wanted me to continue the push to improve. He was telling me not to settle.

There are no limits to dance. It’s not a flaw, it’s an attribute. You will never be done, and that’s what’s so wonderful about it. If there was a limit, then what would you do once you reached it?