Each dancer is unique
Some are master technicians. Some are born performers. Some are excited about dancing with their friends. Some are a bit shy. Some are happy when they sweat with the music. Some are eager to hear their feet making rhythmic sounds.
But, throughout my years of dancing and teaching, I’ve found there is one thing all lasting dancers have in common.
It’s something that grabs hold of them the very first moment they begin their clogging journey and doesn’t let go.
From the moment they put on their clogging shoes. From the moment they hear the jingle of their taps. From the moment they start clomping on the dance floor in their clinky shoes. From the moment they learn to make wonderful rhythms with their feet.
I see it radiate from every part of them. I see it in the smile on their face. I see it in the sparkle in their eye. I see it in the energy of their movements. I hear it in the tone of their voice.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a youth student or an adult student.
When I see it in them, it’s truly magical.
What is it that I see?
I see joy.
Joy is so important to a dancer’s long-lasting journey, that it’s in everything our students do at Silver Creek Clogging.
Joy is in learning a new skill or technique. Joy is in working hard to earn a pass-off button. Joy is in the exhilaration of a performance. Joy is in finding out the song for the next routine. Joy is in friendships with teammates. Joy is in the rhythms and movements. Joy is in getting lost inside yourself when you dance.
The joy starts with a spark and, for the lasting dancer, it continues to grow into the knowledge that when they are dancing they are comfortable, happy, and confident; and they are fully and completely themselves.
And that – is when they truly shine with joy; when they are fully and completely themselves.Maryanne Williamson wrote, “We are all meant to shine. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
At Silver Creek Clogging, we believe…
…the deep-down joy you feel when you are on the dance floor is the heart of it all.
