Sitting Pretty and Quirky Intuition

It is not that uncommon for me to be spotted as a dancer or asked if that is what I do. Yet, every time it takes me by surprise when a complete (or an almost) stranger comments on my posture. 

Any dancer knows posture is drilled into you whether you like it or not, and for many it becomes second nature. I'm at the point where 
A) it genuinely gives be back ache if I sit with poor posture for a while (my hairdresser actually apologises to me when she needs me to sit back in the chair because she knows it's uncomfortable), and
B) I completely forget that other people don't sit like me and they think it's weird

Fortunately, most people comment on it as a good thing, and it actually sparks a lot of conversations with people. 

At the gym today, I was on a quad resistance machine and when I came off it to clean it (a recent COVID-orientated addition to the routine) a lovely lady complemented me on my beautiful posture when I was sitting on the machine and asked if I danced. I thanked her and explained that I don't like to lean back on them because it's too uncomfortable after years of being trained one way.

In recent weeks, I've had the same comment from my optician, a lady on the train, and a server in a restaurant. This got me thinking about how you can spot dancers and what you can tell about them. A non-dancer may only be able to pick out 'the dancer' in a group, but trained dancers sometimes have strange intuitions about each other.

I have on two occasions known a dancer would be a fantastic tapper before I'd seen them dance at all; on my fist day at NBS one of my classmates said she bet I had good feet - my high arches are one of my few natural gifts - and she said this while I was in trainers and I'd known her for literally ten minutes; one of my friends once picked out a girl and said she bet she was super flexible...the legs spoke for themselves when she started moving; and another friend picked someone out as an amazing turner.

How is it we know these things? What is written on a dancer that tells their attributes when all they are doing is walking across a room? Do we have some kind of ora or physical telepathy going on?


I find it fascinating that dancers have their own little badge for the world to see. You wouldn't know a doctor or a chef if they walked into a room, but you may well know a dancer. Perhaps it's our physicality that gives us away to the rest of the world, but I like to think there is some sort of connection between us that gives us our dancer intuition.

We are, after all, one big creative, diverse, talented, passionate family.

And if there's one thing family can give you, it's weird quirks no one else understands. Maybe this is one of those? 

Either way, next time someone comments on my posture I'll be smiling that such a tiny part of this wonderful profession can elicit such kindness, positivity and friendly conversation.



Comments

  1. Kirsty Walker23 September 2020 at 08:31

    Hi Roanne, this is a super interesting post to read and something I can definitely relate to being a fellow dancer. I often experience this when I'm in the gym stretching or doing balance work and agree it can be really uplifting and spark beautiful conversations.

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    Replies
    1. Roanne Cox23 September 2020 at 11:34

      Hi Kirsty, yes stretching always catches people's eye for me too! I'm not at all naturally flexible so compared to other dancers I'm the inflexible one but to everyone else I'm still super bendy. I love that you have found the same positivity with it! I think maybe part of it is there is an element of respect and admiration - not for the flexibility/balance itself but for the recognition of something that takes time and commitment and comes from a personal passion.

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  2. Katie Malone5 October 2020 at 02:22

    Hi Roanne! I definetly think that our quality training is so important and we will carry that training into every other aspect of our lives- possibly without even realising at times. I suppose it just feels natural to us to have good posture due to the many hours a day we spent working on it. It is interesting to question whether we can notice another dancer because we all have had similar experiences and passions that it shows through into our bodies- which is like if you have a constantly negative mindset it will start to show through into your body.

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    Replies
    1. Roanne Cox8 October 2020 at 23:16

      Yes definitely! I would say you embody your thoughts and they come out as physicalities that can be noticed by others. Training gives you mental and physical habits and sort of gives you a walking, talking profile. It's interesting to see how it manifests in different people and what similarities and differences they have x

      Delete

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