Arabian Dance: A performance that took my daughter 2 months of hard training... A mother's story
I will start this post with a mother's confession. You have no idea how happy I am to see the competitive spirit that my daughter has developed over the last few years (at least a couple of years). I think I have already said this, or suggested it, in past posts, but I have never expressed it in such an explicit way. I love watching my little girl grow up integrally. Simply, everything has happened so fast, it has happened so fast that I don't understand how or when it happened. However, I will tell you in this post about the current event where my little girl and her classmates have totally excelled in a new performance: Arabic dance.
Over two months I have been witnessing how my daughter woke up every day, from Monday to Saturday, an hour before the time she was supposed to wake up; that is, to go to school, just to be able to enter the movements of elasticity, ease and review the daily dance routine. Not to add, that Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I had rehearsals and dance classes for more than 3 hours. At first, I thought it was something that all her classmates, at the request of the instructors, had to do. What I didn't know until not long ago, is that none of this was asked of any of the girls? I did find this new habit strange, but I didn't see it as negative either.
But I did not want to sabotage what I admired but was equally fascinated by questions. I have realised that my daughter's mentality works differently (towards the purest excellence) which is something I admire and makes me feel the proudest mother of all. One day, in the middle of breakfast, after a long silence, she looks at me and says: "Mummy, haven't you noticed that I wake up earlier every day to train on my own?" To which I reply shaking my head up and down, but in silence... She has explained to me that she wants to be the best of all her teammates and that the only way to do that is to train when no one else does.
It sounds absurd, but I am deeply captivated by how my daughter's generation has naturalised such abstract concepts as discipline, commitment and sacrifice. In my day, it was much more difficult. In fact, very few, and even fewer from childhood and without motivation or obligation, implemented these codes of conduct into their lives. The norm was to be pampered and a little more spontaneous and where every day was a kind of adventure. It is true that in niches such as gymnastics, football or team sports, sacrifice was part of the competitive logic. But it is no less true that in the case of dance, it is not mandatory.
In the academy where my daughter is, they take everything very laxly. There is competition but it is not rigid, brutal or frontal. To make mistakes and learn is well seen. Fun comes first, and experience is for everyone. However, my daughter understands and understands these values within the institution where she spends most of her time, but she has a competitive soul that really sets her apart. Obviously, I lack the objectivity to be able to tell you this little story, but to tell you the truth, I don't mind too much. I have learned from a beautiful girl the value of doing things with mystique, love, strength and will. Win or lose, just do them.
She was so committed to her dance training/discipline, that during the performance she was one of the best. You could see the lightness in her every move. She floated, like a feather, she was the ideal definition of plasticity and harmony. Moreover, in a period where I have questioned several times the usefulness of so many classes and payments within the dance academy (which sometimes overwhelm me financially) I honestly see with a smile on my face the evolution of the mind of a champion; of a girl who forges her path as she sees the challenges that life puts in front of her. This is a story from a mother's point of view, but it's also an excuse to let you know how much I love you, my daughter. Mum is proud of you, love!