Camaraderie with the Beat

My first love was dancing, but I guess, dancing never came to love me that much.

Isn’t it cool if everyone knows and admires you because of how you move in the dance floor? Is dancing merely a passport to fame or is it just a self-expression and passion?   

If I could ask God for a talent, it would be dancing. Way back in elementary, school activities like Filipino week, Family Day, and many other talent day, would include a dance number and I’m one of the few who doesn’t pass the auditions. Sad memories and dancing downfalls include joining the cheering squad on my second year standing only to know that the cheer captain removed me from the post, and joining dance competitions and find myself dancing at the back where people could hardly notice that I exist and actually committed numerous mistakes.  Truth us, I never gave up from there. 

During my last two years in high school, I auditioned on our team’s cheering squad for the intramurals and found my self in. I was happy even though the dance instructor is having a hard time teaching some of us the steps.

Equal Share

Some are born with flexible bodies and grace, while some who are asleep when God scattered such are sometimes out of the topic when it comes to dance. But more than that, I discovered something funnier and more confidence boosting. I noticed that I’m not the only person in the world who is poor in dancing, and I’m not the only one practicing hard to improve it. Some people are good in singing but are poor in dancing. Some are good debaters while some are good musicians. Then I realized, you can’t get everything after-all. The fair share of talents is given to us and of course, not a single person gets it all. Take our National hero for example -  Rizal who knows it all and could MAYBE do it all. Is it fair to still be criticized by many and even doubted the fact that he should be a national hero? The point is, no matter how great and talented you are, there will still be a single flaw that will make everyone of us Human.

Acceptance is quite easy

I accepted the fact that my first love didn’t learn to love me that much. But still, I continued to love it anyway. Have you ever run after someone you like and that someone doesn’t even recognize you? That’s dancing for me. But still, I never forget dancing as my first love At times when I can’t do much, I sit down at UST Quadricentenial Park that looks like a huge dancing studio because almost all students practice dancing there and watch the dancer’s movements and try to memorize it inside my head. Soon, I learned that the secret is focus. “Enjoy lang, wag masyadong ma-pressure,” As some dance instructors would say it. Then I realize that when I dance, I think more of the outcome of the whole routine and never really learned to enjoy while listening to the beat. I learned that dancing is a kind of camaraderie with your body and the music. The reason why I lack the grace is because of the pressure, and the reason why many people who wants to dance but are not given grace is because they lack self-confidence.

          Before my 18^th birthday, my friends and I decided to have a dance number and practiced for weeks. I noted all the things I’ve learned from watching the dancers at the UST Quadri Park. I enjoyed the beat, hit the timing, relaxed my body, and felt that dancing began to love me more and more. At the day of the event, the crowds cheered and my 18^th birthday, even though I had some flaws, became memorable because my first love was there.

I hosted an inter-school hip-hop dance competition at the Lyceum of the Philippines a few months back. I watched the contestants do incredible stunts and amazed on how the girls move gracefully, as if the music are their boyfriends. I noticed that many loves dancing. Dancing, like any other talent is not for people who give up and back-out every time they loose hope on it. I love watching people dance. Often times, I watch Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde do the ballet and do some incredible tiptoes while wearing glittered tutus, cheered with high hopes with the UST Salinggawi dance troup and observe several hip-hop dancers rock the dance floor.  

Every one of us has talents of our own. If you love dancing but simply can’t do well on it, I’m sure you are good on other things.