CriticalDance Forum

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and I've been looking through previous posts and its very helpful.
This isn't so much a question...just a search for opinions.

I've been dancing for around 6 years now, and love it. Although, I enjoy dancing on & off stage, people are surprised when they meet me as I'm quite quiet and a little shy at first and I don't consider myself to be "overly" confident. People say that they can't imagine that I'm a dancer because they imagine them to be "showy" and over the top even when they're not on stage etc. (I think this is quite stereotypical)

I try to explain to them that when you go on stage, you're rarely playing yourself...you are usually playing a character or "performing" a story/mood/feeling etc so, for me anyway, the person I am off stage is a different part of me to what I am onstage and also, my love for dance comes through when I'm...dancing which is pacifically why I dance!

These opinions sometimes get me down because I don't feel I have the personality or characteristics to be a dancer, which, naturally, takes a toll on my confidence.

I was just wondering whether people think that these opinions are correct or if I'm just being silly....or just what members of Criticaldance think??
thanks xxx

Hi petitedancer and welcome! I couldn't resist responding to your post! I danced almost all of my youth (first ballet class at age 6) and eventually became a professional dancer with a major company. I was very shy in my daily life outside ballet when I was young...all the way into my twenties! People would think I was "stuck up" or aloof, but really I was just shy and a bit insecure. I used to break out in a rash when I had to give an oral report in school! Being on stage and performing was the place where I could feel differently about myself and the world. So, no...there is nothing wrong with you and how you feel! I totally relate to you...Being a dancer and performing played a huge part in helping me to grow up, and I absolutely loved taking class, rehearsing, and performing!

Thanks Gina Ness, that is very reassuring

I feel the same way--when I'm anywhere else, I'm generally pretty quiet. I also dress conservatively and don't so wild things. But on stage, I'm a whole different person!

petitedancer, I was the same way. Like Gina, the thought of giving an oral report in school terrified me. (Sometime in my late '20s I got over my fear of speaking in public, though.) But I never felt self-conscious when I was performing. So there's really nothing unusual about you.