All those hours of practice got us to where we are right now. We are hard-pressed to relax and have a day of doing nothing. What are we missing out on? Everyone else is working on something while we are just sitting here!
What is ‘productive enough’? Am I self-disciplined enough? These things race through my mind on the regular. Guess what? It’s okay to shut it down for a day. For a week. For a month.
Here are a few gems that I always remind myself of.
Ruby Keeler retired from show business and came back 30 years later to star in the Broadway revival of “No, No, Nanette”. Glenda Jackson took a 30-year hiatus from the stage to go fight Thatcherism as a member of Parliament in Great Britain, returning to Broadway at age 81. Alessandra Ferri reprised her role as Juliet with American Ballet Theatre at age 53 (!) after retiring 9 years prior.
So you aren’t feeling it today, or tomorrow. Intuition isn’t just random guessing. Trust it. It will bring you back to practicing when you are ready.
One reply on “I don’t feel like practicing today”
Yes to all of this. I feel right now with everyone posting all the zoom classes, virtual dance conventions and competitions, and all the live streaming shows that if I don’t take adult all of it right now, I’m not doing enough. I truely feel we are being told as a society to pause and reflect during this time, not ramp it all up even more.