Milestones

I've been dancing for over a decade.  In that time I've had regular classes, taught myself to work on technique, taught regular classes, and found joy and challenge in learning and working on dance as much as possible.  And ever since I've started dancing, I've had very strong opinions about using props.

Veil dances frustrate me.  The vast majority of the time, if I were to envision the dancer without a veil in their hands, they would literally just look like they were walking around or spinning on stage.  It just looks like if I were to hand Squishy a veil, turn on music, and let her play around.  When I bring this up to a lot of dancers, they flat out say they use it as a crutch, so they can let the veil look good for them.

For the same reasons, I'm not fond of skirt dances, or veil fans.  Sure, there are more actual moves involved in these pieces, but a lot of the time the prop is what is doing the work on stage, and it shows.

If I am going to use a prop, I want to use something that means I have to actually dance along with it.  Something that gives me options to expand my dance, and showcases skill.

It goes without saying that this means I've always been a fan of zills despite being horrible with them, and swords.

Oh dance swords.  Something I was drawn to from day one.  It showed so much skill just to be able to dance how one would normally with it balanced.  It was a badge of expertise, rather than a crutch.

For one reason or another, through the many many years I've been dancing, getting a sword wasn't feasible.  It was just out of grasp, because I couldn't justify it, or simply didn't have the means.

When this year rolled over though, I was determined to finally get one.  This year I would get a sword and perform with it.  I knew my skill set was enough that I could dance with it without much issue.  And finally, about a month ago, I decided it was time.  I went to the site where everyone generally sources their swords from, and noticed that not only did they have the most trusted sword, but a smaller version as well.

Well, shit.  Now what did I want?  Did I want the tried and true sword, or something that might be a little more comfortable for learning.  I posted online, asking if anyone had experience with that smaller sword.  I found a response from my first teacher.  She said she was still trying to sell her sword.  A quick conversation, and I was hopeful, but things went quiet.

I went back to the site, and they were running a special.  It would have made it so getting the swords in both sizes would cost about as much as just a large one.  Welp, I threw money at it.

A few days later, my teacher gets back to me, and says she'll be in my area that weekend.

Long story short, I now have three swords.

I'm so fucking happy with all of them, and have been practicing with them every day.  They'll be getting their first time out for performance at camp.

I'm so excited to learn how to do so much stuff that looks insane!