Words by Rose Royce | Photographs by Mia Maraschino
How many of you spend hours upon hours at your day jobs dreaming about dancing or training? Do you wake up in the morning thinking about when you can dance next? Do you go to sleep dreaming about a new trick or dance sequence? I do. I do every damn day. Everytime I close my eyes, I see myself dancing. But sometimes balancing my passion for dancing and fulltime work can be extremely challenging – and quite frankly, draining!
My dance journey has been something all too familiar to many of you – I go to my first pole dancing class 5 years ago, get hooked after the first hour and ever since wishing to dance all day, every day! I spend my days sitting at my desk working on projects listening to Spotify. I’ll hear a song and think “Oooo I could dance to this!”. I then add the song to my special playlist of potential shows/acts and struggle to not spend all day thinking about it. What costume would I wear? Would it be a pole show or Burlesque? When and where could I perform it? My passion for dancing has been one of the only constant things in my life and I still get so excited every time I head to the studio to train.
However, working in a pretty demanding full-time job has definitely interfered with the amount of dancing I have been able to do.
Over my years as a student, I have found myself wanting to progress as quickly as possible through each level. I think this was due to the fact that I was just so passionate and in love with dancing! I loved learning new things and challenging myself. I also wanted to be just like all of my idols. I was constantly scrolling through Instagram saving new tricks and combinations to learn, constantly comparing myself and my progress to others. Doling that added a whole other layer of pressure (which some of our other Sirens have touched on). I really struggled when I didn’t pick up a move ‘fast enough’ or when it felt like I might be moving backwards. I wanted to do as many classes as possible in order to speed up my progress. There were many days that I would go to class after a full day of work and feel like I wasn’t dancing at my best, my tricks felt floppy and I felt lethargic. All of this really started to get me down! I had terms where I had missed so many classes that I then developed a “What’s the point of going, I’ve missed so many classes already” attitude which only made my mood spiral even further.
One day I would LOVE to be able to dance full-time. That is the dream! But for right now, I need my full-time job. And if I’m honest, I like my job and I’m happy to be doing it! I’m sure some of you might feel the same way. Some of you may not necessarily want a career in dancing. Coming to the beautiful Sky Sirens studio may feel like your safe space, your home away from home where you come to have an hour or two to yourself.
If you’re feeling the struggle to juggle your full time work and dancing - here’s my advice:
It is okay to book in for just one class per week!
I have heard SO many students say “I’m going to take a term off because I just don’t have time with my full-time job” or “It’s not worth coming into the studio for just one class”. One hour per week is and always will be 100% worth it! Don’t be worried about your progression slowing down or losing strength. Yes, this may happen but you are moving your body, you are easing your mind, you are giving back to yourself for that hour each week. That is worth it.
Any time spent moving is good time.
Even if you’re only able to spend an extra 30 minutes in the week practicing, this movement is still great movement! Even dancing around my lounge room gives me life if I can’t make it to the studio. Chuck on a great playlist and practice your floorwork, stretch or just have a freestyle play at home. It will keep that spark alive!
Plan your time.
If you do have to miss a class, try to plan when you are able to do either a catch up or an extra practice session. I know how demotivating it can feel when you have a term where you have had to miss multiple classes due to work. I found that if I did have to miss a class, I would pull out my calendar straight away and lock in some extra time instead.
Your passions are so very important.
Trust me, I know how easy it is to prioritise work and let it take over your life. But it’s so important to not just KNOW that work life balance is important, but to ensure that you enforce it! Your employer doesn’t want you to burn yourself into the ground. They want you to be productive and refreshed! And I don’t know about you, but giving myself time to dance always makes me feel refreshed and just makes me a better human in general. You need to prioritise you every once and awhile.
Don’t add extra pressure on yourself.
It’s just not necessary! So what if you didn’t have a great class and you felt off. At least you showed up! At least you gave yourself some time to dance. And who cares if you didn’t get that new trick, or lost that old trick. Remember how damn cool it is that your body is capable of doing any of these amazing things in the first place. Always reminding yourself why you love to dance is essential.
I’ve recently gone back to taking classes as a student (yay!). I’m only enrolled into two classes per week and yes, I have lost so much strength but I really look forward to those classes. I am so excited to have two hours to myself to do something that I love so much. We need our passions and our hobbies. We spend so much of our time working/studying and whilst some of us may be lucky enough to really enjoy what we do, it is still very important to have something else. Something else that sparks something special in us.