HOW LONG IT TAKES TO BECOME A GREAT DANCER... or what gardening teaches us
Observing nature teaches us that
everything has its time.
Working in our garden for example: We have to prepare the earth, open it, soften it, nourish it with humus, ... Plant the seeds. And then… the waiting begins ... What a joy when the first little sprouts appear, some faster than others ... Soon, we realize that these small, yet fragile sprouts need to be protected: they can be eaten by ants or crushed by the dogs that are running around ... This means: inventing ways to protect them, so that they continue growing. And, of course, water them daily ...
It is a long way until the harvest. It requires a lot of work, effort, energy and care.
At the same time it is a pleasure to observe the process of the seedlings, so grateful for any attention we give to them. You can see how the seedlings grow almost instantly if they are well watered. In the same way, we observe that hey die in a short time, without the right amount of water.
So, if nature has all this process, why do we despair, wanting to achieve everything RIGHT NOW?
Learning, like the growing of the plants, has a process which cannot be accelerated. Why do we get frustrated with ourselves then, when we don't get a movement right instantly?
It is like criticizing the little sprout for not wearing pumpkins, or the bud for not being a blooming rose. It is simply at another point in its development, just as important, just as necessary. Without the bud there is no rose, without the sprout there is no plant, without the flower there is no apple, ...
That is, only if we water them daily, we take care of ants, dogs, wind and the cold. If we give them our attention and care, they will grow fast and turn into large plants which will, eventually, give us their fruits.
In the same way, development in dance needs daily care: rehearsal, practice, questions and correcting our movements. In our current society, we are so used to having access to everything INSTANTLY, to having the finished product in our hands without living its processes.
We need to reconnect with the process of things, and thus, with TIME.
Isn't it a great relief to realize that everything takes time, that „getting there“ cannot be instantaneous? It is not only unnatural, but also impossible ... Patience and perseverance, and above all, love in what we do, are needed for our dance to flourish. This is how we see the development of our students but also our own path. That is, the one as dancers and as a tango couple. With the necessary care, „watering daily“ we will continue to grow and develop…