Monday, July 16, 2012

The show must go on - part 2

This is a quick note to follow up from yesterday's post in which a girl performing at a ballet competition had the music fail on her yet she carried on and came first. I have been thinking about why the girls manage to get through the various prop and music malfunctions.

It came to me that these girls understand what the essential elements of their competitive dance is. Essential elements are those parts of the dance that they must get right in order to be successful - the things they get judged on. The music and the operation of the props is part of the routine but aren't essential. Technique is essential, facial expression is essential, stage presence is essential. These girls carry on with the parts that are essential.

I suppose the reflection for me is that when things go wrong, it usually isn't the end of the world, in fact I suspect that very few times is it an essential element that breaks. Understanding what is essential, what is important, and what is extra may be an important part of perseverance and resilience - more important than I had realised.

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