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Okay, so read the title.......read it again.....once more for emphasis....
Cool, so i've told you and you can stop making excuses today :)
The biggest thing that stops people from doing what they love, is the idea that you have to follow your passion from an early age in order to enjoy it fully or make a decent career from it. The thing is, that's absolutely not true. It may sound corny, but you really can achieve what you put your mind to, the only limit is your perserverance.
Yes, starting something like dance at an older age does have its setbacks. Your fitness level may be different, your mobility may have declined, flexibility of any sort is non existant, and you're constantly worried about the looks you may get from your friends and family. Here's the thing, it may be harder and it may take longer, but as long as you are willing to put in the effort, it WILL happen.
Having not taken class when I was younger, I always thought it was too late to make a viable career out of performing in any capacity. I'm not flexible, i'm not confident, and I have an over-curved spine due to my Sheuermann's Disease. For me, starting classes not only seemed daunting, but physically impossible.
"Why?" A voice said.
What? Haven't I already thought about how impossible it is?
"And...?" The reply.
DING DING DING! Houston we have a lightbulb moment.
(Image: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/File:Garfield-well-duh.jpg)
I got so caught up in the things that could stop me from dancing, that I forgot to even try; which seems so stupid now. How can I know I can't do something until I attempt it?
Fast forward four years to now, I still have a long way to go but suddenly things don't seem so impossible anymore as long as I work on them. The things I thought would be my downfall became my strength as everyday I pushed through my mental and physical barriers, fighting through pain until I barely noticed it while I was dancing.
Everytime I take class, i'm contantly reminded that a good 90% of the people around me decided to take the leap and break preconcieved barriers.
Dr. Rohini Bhate, a Kathak Dancer, started at the age of 28. Diane Laurenson (Fosse legend) started dancing in her early 20s, Phil Talbot (owner of Prinicpal Academy of Dance Perth) started in his 20s, Misty Copeland started at age 13 (considerably old for ballet), Eileen Kramer still dances despite being 103 years old!
I urge anyone and everyone to go after the things you want, because the only way to find out if it will work out is to just do it. Whether you're looking to make a career out of it, or just looking to enjoy life, in the words of Shia Labeouf
(Image via: https://www.neatoshop.com/product/JUST-DO-IT-3)
Anyway, I promise Firdays with Dean will not always be sappy self improvement, 'you can do it' content. This is just a little intro before we start to delve into the world of dance.
May the turn-out Gods be ever in your favour!