on... judgmental dancers

ok i actually tweeted this but i guess it's easier to blog about it.

i remember i'd gone to watch a huge dance convention one year, and i thought it was amazing. i was deeply moved by the determination and motivation of the teams, and some of the performances nearly pushed me to tears.

someone else had watched it another year. and he told me, "mine was better than yours" - and he was so damned confident about it.

i was rather appalled... because i think dance touches each of us in different ways. who was he to say the experience i had, the emotions i felt, the way i was inspired - it was all less superior than his? the factors were so vastly different. different dancers. different items. different times. different situations. please explain how you could come to that conclusion?

another time in uni, another dancer had judged me because i didn't push myself to choreograph a piece of my own (i was collaborating with others). again, i was very upset because i didn't think he was in a position to dictate where i should be in my progress with dance / as a choreographer. at that time, choreographing wasn't a priority to me. instead, i wanted to focus on other aspects of dance... was it wrong? why was i being punished by that person?

i dont think it's ever fair for any dancer to judge any other dancer if we all share the same heart for dance... i think our skills, priorities and challenges differ too much from person to person. we're always learning, and there are so many things to learn in the world of dance. some things you pick up faster, some things slower. you can't focus on everything at once. and of course, some of us can't afford to have our worlds revolve around dancing. sometimes life happens... life gets in the way, and you don't have the time to prioritize dance anymore. that might slow you down, but it doesn't mean it will stop you from moving on.

in conclusion. (like a badly written jc gp essay) dance is such a personal journey. as dancers, we might all going down the same kind of path but as people, we're all so different that there's really no basis at all to be judging...

the only right thing to do, i guess, is to keep on going, and encourage others to do so too.

and the only wrong is when ur ego comes in the way and impedes your growth.

i don't think there are any other right or wrongs in dance...