Tuesday 3 December 2013

The wonder of choice

Taking control of your life and choosing the direction it is to go in is a massively frightening prospect to many. Stepping out if that comfort zone into the unknown is the biggest (and can prove to be the most exciting) step one can achieve. 
The thing I emphasise here is the choice... The option to chose will more often than not lead to a more positive transition. 
Within my inquiry I have delved into areas of career transition disecting professionals' routes and their reasoning for the transitions taken. 
Within the arts, it is often seen as a luxury to have the option to seize a performing career, as the majority would see an end to their dancing life as a scarier catastrophe (I for one felt this at stages); with elements such as de-selection and injury being a common factor, harming self confidence and cutting the journey short. Here many feel a loss of identity and enter a grieving process for what they know and love. The shift into comfort within a new career obviously takes longer in these circumstances. 
I think personal courage in both situations is vital, and as performers you would think we hold this in bucket loads. But as most of us struggle through, unaware of possible external support we exist in the transition often treading water for a while, even being blinded of possible opportunity as we cling I to the 'what ifs' and the very recent past.
Having, through investigations within my inquiry, personally identified professional dancer support systems that are already in place who give psychological, financial and educational aid to dancers in and around their career transition I hope to share my awareness with others. 
Hopefully the stage of resettlement can be reduced in length if we remember to go with our hearts, take courage in the daunting challenge, believe in the light at the end of the tunnel and most importantly seek the support (professionally or via friends and family) if we so need it. 

3 comments:

  1. Wow Hayley, another lovely and heart felt post. Transition in any career must be scary and daunting however for dancers and performers it seem like the end of an era. For me I have been really un prepared for this part of my life, all I ever wanted to be was a dancer, what do I want to be now I have achieved that? My life will always be in dance, one way or another and I look forward to January when I will take classes just because I love to dance and for no other reason. I hope that your inquiry is helping your transition as much as my inquiry is helping me, mimi x

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  2. Hi Hayley, it's so interesting what you're inquiring into-I had no idea how much support there was for dancers until I went to the conference the other week. There were representatives from Dancers' Career Development there telling us about the work they do and I was so impressed!! I can't believe how much they can do for dancers who for whatever reason are hanging up their performing shoes and moving on to a new stage in their lives. They had 2 ex dancers with them who told us how they had been helped by the DCD..they had courses funded, lots of emotional support and help in discovering a new part of themselves. One of them said she struggled with losing her identity-that being a dancer was all she'd ever been so now what was she?! She got quite emotional talking about it and I think it struck a nerve with everybody in the room. Then she said somebody told her, you'll always be a dancer, it is who you are but you have other qualities as well that can also be a part of you.

    The identity factor was a recurring theme throughout the day and it seems that a lot of psychological issues with dancers stem from this 'loss of identity' when they get injured/lose work etc. However, some key transitional skills mentioned that dancers have were resilience, adaptability and persistence- And what better skills could a person need to take on a new career at a point in their lives when most people would be at the top of their career path and well settled! It's no wonder it is so daunting but it is possible with support groups like this!

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  3. Exactly: the world ALWAYS leads down, down, down... while if we turn N face
    the Son 180° He leads to joy unspeakable.
    Cya...

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