The year 2010 was generally a good one for me, albeit local doomsters painting the (Irish) world pitch black and hopeless. The year was full of dance, an essential part of my life without which (alongside with music, art and languages) I do not think I would manage as well as I do. Dance sustains me and eases the aspects in my life that still need working on (the job situation, relationships, myself and a general tendency to shy away from resolving difficult situations). I met wonderful people, travelling to dance workshops/events, twice to Amsterdam to events hosted by the wonderful Tjarda and Renate from The Uzume, and twice in Ireland. Travelling up to Belfast I had another great opportunity to study with Samantha Emanuel, and down to Cork, with Olivia Kissel who was one of the first dance teachers from abroad whose tribal workshops I took about five or six years ago.
Dance also taught me a lot this year- a lot was negative, finding that you can solely rely on yourself in a (dance) world which is often not as loyal as it would appear to the external spectator. Realising that finding like-minded individuals who you can trust and work with for a long time, is very seldom. Realising that what matters most is to rely on yourself and to be happy with the decisions you take and the things you intend to achieve in order to attain balance and happiness in your life. And cutting out negative factors, which includes negative people. All these realisations were positive and have helped me grow as a person, or so I hope.
I am really looking forward to 2011 and to doing all those things that I have postponed for too long, training harder, being more confident in myself and my talents and following my own path, regardless (of opinions).
Teaching classes is one way of challenging myself, and to take the responsibility of sharing what I learnt from my tribal fusion belly dance teachers over the last few years, Wendy Marlatt and Sam Emanuel being two of the most significant. It is also a progression of what my parents introduced into my life when I was a little girl starting ballet classes at age 5 1/2. Dance will always accompany me in one shape or the other much like music gets me through the day and lifts my mood, and painting allows me to dive into another world.
Here is to 2011- May it be a year full of joy, productivity, dance and positivity!
Be true to yourself and the to the people around you is the motto that will accompany me this year, hoping it will give me more insight and enrich my life with balance and better decision taking.
Rock on New Year!
