From the Desk of Ms. Crystal-May
Dear Showcase parents and dancers,
What a whirlwind life has been these past several weeks. Social distancing, virtual dance classes, homeschooling … it felt like the world turned upside down in March! And yet, here we are, persevering and making it work. We are stronger together, even though we’re apart.
It’s fitting, I think, that I had already planned for our May Believe Challenge to center around perseverance, because to BEperseverant, you have to be willing to do hard things to get to the outcome you desire. And right now that’s what we’re all doing: Hard things. Whether it’s through school or dance or our home lives, doing what’s right is more difficult than doing what’s easy. It’s more effort, more accountability, and more self-motivation.
I’ve been so proud of how our SDS team has persevered through this change … learning new technology, changing their teaching tactics, and creating fun content for our dancers’ online learning. They’ve shown that to BEperseverant, you might have to make some sacrifices and stretch yourself in new ways!
To BEperseverant during this challenging time, you have to be willing to flex your resilience muscles! And it’s important to remember that you can only control yourself and your efforts, not anyone else’s. With that in mind, I encourage you to BEperseverant by trying these ideas:
-
Don’t let yourself give up when something gets hard. Whether it’s a school assignment or a dance skill, tell yourself you can do it, even if it takes extra work!
-
Commit to attending all of your online classes. That choice will be a powerful influence on your progress.
-
Keep developing your physical fitness: Practice your dance routine, do some yoga stretches, or go outside for a walk or bike ride.
-
Set a long-term goal for yourself, such as making the honor roll next year or landing a clean double pirouette in jazz. What small, daily habits can you establish to achieve that goal?
To BEperseverant, you have to be willing to go above and beyond your usual effort. Perseverance means that you have the ability to do what’s needed now to get where you want to be in the future. You might have to ask yourself: Do I want to be the dancer who returns to the studio and needs lots of time to “catch-up” or do I want to be the dancer who returns to the studio prepared and ready to go? I think ALL of our dancers want to be the latter!
I know it’s not easy to juggle so many adaptations in this “new normal,” but watching our students move forward with grace and grit and kindness is humbling in every way! I hope you will all continue to BEperseverant … and I’ll see you online soon!
Sincerely,
Ms. Crystal
