TESTIMONIAL An (illustrated) essay by Ms. VanDyk Had there been such a thing as The Average Joe Club back when I was a kid, I would have been a perfect poster child. I was never overly smart, not at all artistic or creative; though I enjoyed music, I didn't excel at it and I couldn't have been less athletic. I wasn't even all that cute. Growing up, I was always aware of how "average" I was. That was a problem because, you see, for some reason I held a belief that I needed to perform well in order to be somebody. I needed to make people proud in order to have value. But no matter how hard I tried, I never felt like I could do it. By the time I was 10 years old I had already stopped trying and resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't anyone special. The weight of that belief took its toll on me as I grew into an adult. I didn't believe in myself , never attempted anything if there was any potential for failure, looked to others for my self-worth and basically lived life in the shadows of those around me. Now let me just say that I share this with you not so that you can feel sorry for me. Rather, I tell you this because to fully understand the impact dance has had on me, you need to know where I was when I first walked into the studio. I can't say that I had always wanted to dance or that it was a dream or that it was great exercise or any other typical reason one would walk into a dance studio. I walked into the studio only because Michelle, er, I mean Ms. Stockwell did. She wanted to learn to dance and of all her friends, it was me who she invited to come with her. And so I went, secretly laughing at how hokey it was to dance (forgive me!), but happy to go with her. This is where the story starts getting good... The strangest thing happened to me while I sat there watching Michelle and other students dance. I felt this odd sort of stirring in me and I realized I wasn't as content to sit and watch as I thought I was. So I stepped off to the side and began to copy those basic intro steps along with Michelle as she learned. Mr. Q noticed and later invited me to have my own intro lesson. At first I said no, but I found my feet doing the box step the rest of the day. So the next day I called Mr. Q to set up my own lesson...and then almost cancelled when Michelle said she couldn't go with me. Something inside compelled me to keep it, though. And then, after Michelle told me she signed up for her 4 beginner lessons, I too, signed up for mine. That was the first best decision I had ever made. To my complete surprise, I soon found myself falling in love with dance. I don't know what caused it, all I knew was that when I danced I felt alive. I felt free. Something inside of me was let loose and I loved how I felt! A few months later Michelle lost her job and had to stop her lessons. For a few days I wrestled with whether or not I would stop as well. I didn't think I could do it without her, nor did I want to. Yet in the end, what I didn't want even more was to lose what I had started to feel inside. So I continued to dance... and that was the second best decision i've ever made. Without her, I had to make it on my own--and I did. There were no more shadows to hide in. I had found my place to shine. Over the past 20 months friends and co-workers have made comments such as, "You seem stronger, more confident", "You're happier", "There's something different about you." Ahh, yes. Yes, there is something different about me. I sit a little straighter, walk a little taller, hold my head a little higher. I laugh more deeply, smile more freely and live life more fully. I've been so greatly enriched by the new friendships i've made. I dance when others walk, my eyes have begun to sparkle and I think i'm beginning to believe in myself. When people ask what has made the difference, I smile and say "Dance." |
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TESTIMONIAL Dear Managers, Instructors and Students; Two years ago I decided to take a few dancing lessons. I don't exactly remember why. Whatever my motivation at the time, those "few" lessons have expanded to many, and these, hours at the studio have become such a major influence in my life that I will drive over a hundred miles, through rain and snow and dark of night (illegally) to attend. I'll even stay over night in Grand Rapids if I have to. What more can I say? Well, listen... I was born in Fremont, Michigan and when I was in high school, there was no dancing anywhere in town. The population was 401 Christian Reformed, and dancing was not done---not in school, not at public gatherings, not anywhere. We learned to occupy our time with other things. Among things I learned, and which occupied my time were: how to be doctor's wife (a semi-career in itself,) how to be a mother, how to be a professional volunteer, how to run public meetings, how to fill various positions, how to be the perfect hostess, how to manage the household and the garden, how to work to exhaustion, but never how to dance! Yes, I knew a lot of things, and I also had my professional career as a Registered Dietitian directing a major public health program. I was any number of public personalities but I began to notice, after I was divorced and my children went off to school, that I had no real life, none! So perhaps that was my sub-conscious reason for trying dance lessons. I certainly had no vaguest premonition that those lessons and their associated activities would come to make up my real life, the really important part. And I am constantly amazed at the interest that my local community displays in the simple fact that I participate in dance competitions---and even win places sometimes. It's better than being Mayor! But can you guess what I like best about coming to the studio? The people I meet, of course, and just having a place to come to, and skilled instructors who make learning fun, but the best part is that when I'm here, I don't have to be anybody's mother, I don't have to be anybody's supervisor, I don't have to be the leader and the advisor, nor set the good example. It has taken a while, but I can now begin to shed all those acquired personalities and practice being just me again---after all these years! Appreciatively, |
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