To be in the annual show is one of the most empowering, exhausting, challenging, and rewarding things you can do with Aerial Dance. The list of reasons to participate in the show is far far longer than I could write about. And every show I participate in adds to the list.
At the top of the list is the people you meet and the bonds you build. For those who have played team sports, there is a similar level of camaraderie that is created with your dance group and instructor. You get to see the instructors’ personalities more and spend additional time with them outside of a class. Every group I have performed in introduced me to new, amazing women and brought me closer to women I already knew from classes. The practices and the other time spent with the people in your routine, coupled the closeness that is naturally created by doing doubles on a pole, fosters the ideal environment for making other bada** female friends.
Another item on the list is the practice and time you get to take on learning specific moves and really mastering them. I know I am not the only one, but when I am in classes, I work on the moves that are being taught and then whatever I am specifically working on getting cleared on. But I have never repeatedly put forth as much practice into specific moves as I did while I was practicing for any of the shows I have been in. It also pushes you to occasionally learn and practice moves that are not your favorite or are not ones you would ever think to repeatedly practice. Thanks to my first show, I can do a remi sit like no one’s business.
Continuing on the list is the opportunity to do doubles tricks and group acro. Unless you are someone who signs up for the workshops that Aerial Dance offers, chances are the doubles and the acro are not things you practice or are even exposed too. And even if you do sign up for the workshops, they do not happen super frequently. The shows offer students the opportunity to do those things, see what you are capable of and try out things outside of the “norm” at the studio.
The last thing up at the top of this list is the empowerment that comes from performing. The encouragement everyone gives. The cheers you hear. The love you feel from the audience. Performing in my first annual show was one of the key things that led to me embracing and publicly sharing aspects of my aerial journey.
Start classes at Aerial Dance today and you can perform at show, too!
Try Intro to Pole or Intro to Aerial to begin your journey!