Through the past few months, it’s like everyone’s life has come to a halt of sorts. There are few out and about on the streets, most of them working even during the given circumstances to keep the world going. We have learned to smile through masks. Living life day-by-day has become the norm, with a blurry, uncertain future awaiting us who knows when. In more than one way, the pandemic has ensured that everyone suffers even without actually suffering from it.
While there is no way for me to know about the lives of, or speak for the dancers that I know, dancing truly has changed my life for the better, and going through a pandemic with a considerable decrease in dancing in my daily routine has been hard, to say the least. Before joining Dance Club, I had pretty much stopped dancing completely for about five years, after learning and performing for nine before that. I still did love it, but had fallen out of contact with it as I grew up and my academic responsibilities increased. In my first year, auditions happened, went by in a blur and before I knew it, I was performing with my team for the first time; there was no looking back now. Dancing with my team and other members of Dance Club gave me friends, opportunities to express myself and boundless confidence. But, now that they’re not around, I can’t help but miss all these things. Sure, they haven’t disappeared in the blink of an eye, but it really hasn’t been the same since March 16th.
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way. The dance community has been hit by the pandemic pretty hard, and even the closing of dance venues is a sight blue enough to make the most hardcore dancer crumble. It becomes harder for us since dance is not just a form of expression for us, but also a way of self-care. Our identity is strongly linked to our art, as is the case for any pursuer of the fine arts, and having to stay away from it for extended periods of time is very strenuous for us, especially mentally. During these dark times, however, many dancers have found ways to reconnect with their passion, the most common of which has been seen through the increased uploading of content online. Social media truly has acted as a blessing in the current circumstances, and has helped dancers to continue what can be considered as a modified form of normalcy through online dance lessons and performances. Many have taken this chance to take a break and focus on themselves or connect with those dear to them, others have turned to other forms of recreation. Dancers have also kept in touch with their roots by reading books related to dance and training their body via different forms of exercise.
These updates in dancers’ lives reach me via the buzzing of my phone, and seeing and reading their accounts of how they’re going about the pandemic gives me hope. Watching everyone incorporate some form of positivity in their days assures me that with every 24 hours that pass, art shall continue to rise above the challenges it faces, even if it means it has to slip by through any and every crevice it finds. We are currently fighting a war against not just the pandemic, but all the misfortune this year has brought upon the world, and with every person that continues to fight – be it directly or indirectly – a small flame of joy makes its way in the dark.
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