OK, this is a cool one… At first an injury is always very tough, as much as you may need holidays and a break from everybody, “forced holidays” suck. I am not a huge dance freak and as soon as i am injured i miss dancing terribly, and even watching seems like missing out on loads of fun. It seems like the teacher has been waiting for you to be off to bring out the winner steps, and all sorts of choreography being created suddenly feels like it would be perfect for you if you were up and doing it, i know its crazy, but i swear its how it feels! (injury brain has to be a thing).

You are also sure you will be the exception to the rule and will have a miraculous speedy recovery.

Than the next wave of disappointment hits when you finally come back, surprise surprise, you are in a lot of pain and there is no way in hell you will pick up from just where you left of.

So you work through that, and after a while, dancing is still hard (for me at least) but its the kind of hard you are familiar with and here is where the positive begins!

You now have a new excuse as to why you are not as good as you should be, and i am not saying you have an excuse for other people, you use it mostly for yourself. Deep down you know you are back to your not so good, but fit self, but you suddenly start blaming the familiar little stumbles on your fresh injury, lack of confidence for being off or fear of hurting yourself again, and suddenly everything is possible, you seem to be able to convince yourself that if you work very hard you might still be the next Marianela, its delusional, i know, but its a great new source of motivation.

And as a professional dancer Motivation is what makes you wake up and walk out of bed on your tiptoes every morning, not because you feel like a magical disney princes, but because of tendinitis, it takes a good half hour until my heels will agree to touch the floor.

Enjoy this feeling and hold on to it, who know, you might really be the next Marianela!

by Life Between Lines