In the pre-professional dance world, young dancers are encouraged to keep a journal. I especially remember hearing that advice at summer intensives, as a way of remembering all the corrections you receive in such high volumes during such a short time. But it is rarely acknowledged how a journal can also be a valuable resource for professional dancers.
When I was a student, I was always eager to write about dance. I still am, but often it seems like knocking on an empty door. What truly deserves to make it onto the page? And now that I no longer receive eighty odd tips and corrections, like I did when I was a student, the dance journal has become more of a place for worries about casting than a place for goals and inspiration.
So, the purpose of this post is to go back to the roots. To the SALTiness of it, in keeping with the theme of this blog. The theme of sweat and tears and ocean water and experience — what drives us as dancers. To set true goals. And I've never been able to truly feel I've set a goal unless I wrote it down. Here are five journal writing, goal-setting prompts to get the dance journal back to where it should be.
1. What was the most inspiring moment of this past season?
2. If you had to focus on just one image in class, what would that image — or color, feeling, experience — would it be?
3. What dancer do you see in your place in the next five years? What dancer will you be five years from now?
4. Name three songs, paintings, or ballets that inspire you. Try to explain why they are unique.
5. Write a message to your first dance teacher. What would you say? How have you grown?
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