Dancer turned Scientist

This is for Chesney Girl who is wondering how a scientist was also a dancer.

I started dancing at the age of three, by the time I was 5 I was in a professional junior dancing company. My main training was classical ballet, jazz and performance dance (think drill teams). The Dancing Company I belong to performed at NFL and NBA halftimes. I spent the vast majority of my youth at dance practice. During the school year we practiced 4 hours a day, during summer we practiced 40 hours a week (and sometimes more). We were very good, though I was always holding onto my position in the company by the skin of my teeth. I partially blame this on the fact that I was (and still am) so tall. I was the youngest one on the team at my height and I struggled to perform at the level the other girls did who were 1, 2 and 3 years older than me. I also never had the internal drive necessary to be the best at anything, as I mentioned I am intrinsically lazy. My mother had me in private lessons (on top of my regular practice) just to maintain my position with the company.

I danced the Nutcracker (I was a party girl and later a soldier), I danced on Broadway (chorus only), and I have been a back up dancer for Mary Hart, Emmanuel Lewis, Bob Hope and the Osmond’s. When I first started college (all those years ago) I was a dance minor. I was also a member of my college’s dance company. It was my first experience with Modern Dance, and I hated it. I still hate it. I am probably going to upset some people here, but modern dance is what people do when they don’t have the technical skill to be ballerinas. Modern dance is art without any skill, like 3 year olds finger painting. Yeah it is painting, some people might even call it art but there is no skill involved. Okay to be fair there are good modern dance companies (I can only think of one Alvin Alley’s company), and all their dancers are classical trained and it shows.

Making a long story even longer, I lasted 2 quarters in my College Company and then quit. I never had what it took to be a professional ballerina; I lacked the skill, desire and internal drive. Besides I always struggled just to be in the chorus, it was never easy for me, and I hated modern dance. I really don’t dance anymore and I do miss it a lot. Whenever they are available I take a dance class, and I try to go dancing every couple of months but that is it. I don’t regret becoming a scientist instead of dancer. I also am very grateful that I danced all those years, I have great posture, I can and frequently walk gracefully in 3 or 4 inch heels, and I am not shy or embarrassed when speaking in public. Oh and the thing I am most grateful to all those years of dancing, I am very self confident.