Recently, I was scrolling through Facebook (no way! lol), and I saw a video a wonderful dancer and friend had posted from her past. It was graceful and poised, just as she always conveys herself. However, you could tell she was more of a beginner in the dance. This is not a big deal. She had commented how much she had improved. I then spent the rest of my “internet black hole time” scrolling through our videos on YouTube.
After seven years of Troupe Zephyr and six years of hosting events, we have a metric ton of videos on social media! Therefore, the trip down memory lane took a bit of time. While I am not going to share the very first Troupe Zephyr performance (those in the troupe ave seen it), I will share one of our earlier ones.
PURPLE YOUTUBE VIDEO
It brought back very found memories of dancing in my driveway; trekking through the backwoods country to find a lady selling a bunch of random boxes of fabric; and sewing costumes at my dining room table. (You know, I still have those pants and wear them regularly. I think I need more….hmmmm…)
Then I went back through the videos to one of our most recent. I was happy to see we were getting better at choreographing, incorporating more advanced steps and combinations, and just becoming better dancers, in general.
SCHOOL HOUSE RAQEUS VIDEO
I also picked up on some habits which I, myself, need to work on that have carried though all of these years. Video is a great tool! It helps not only preserve the memories, but it can emphasize the good points; illuminate areas needing improvement; and boost the ego when necessary. I’ll never be ashamed of where Mandy and I started. All those days in the basement have blossomed into this and we have many more to anticipate! While I have heard some dancers insist their older, perhaps not as polished performances be removed from the internet, I feel they should stay. They should stay as a testament as to how a dancer can grow, mature, and develop. We have come so far, and we have so much more to go. Thanks for hanging out with us on the journey, so far. But y’all better hang on to your seats, ’cause we are not done!
