True story:
It was the summer of 1996, and I had had it with how I was ignoring all the messages shouting at me to “Dare to Evolve.” I opened two duffle bags, chose the necessities and prepped my dog for our big move from Florida to NYC in an effort to find out what the heck I was all about. Flew to NY, moved to Brooklyn, and couch-surfed for 2 weeks until I found my “dream apartment” that allowed pets. Gave thanks to the hoarder who previously lived there and happily spent 2 additional weeks dumping and scrubbing away someone else’s past so that I could begin my journey towards the future.
My intuition had poked me enough to inform me that I needed to expand my horizons by taking more risks to enhance my relationships – to improve my quality of living and to learn more about why I just couldn’t quit my love for dance and “all things movement.” So I did what I thought was right, which was to sink my life into dance workshops and movement intensives. And while that was crucial to my development, something was missing.
I was hitting the “Dare” part for sure: jumping into new classes, meeting new people, barely having enough cash to keep the electricity turned on, etc. The “Dare” part can become addictive to me. It sends that wave of energy to the spirit, and that is a wave that feels pretty darn awesome when you choose to ride it. But the thing is, the ocean is vast, mysterious, and pretty scary at times. If you don’t take the time to listen or check in with how it affects you, you either give up or lose sight of why you’re even in the water!
So here’s the cool part. I worked at Capezio, dance and shoe shop, on 51st and Broadway. This was the store that supplied nearly every Broadway dancer with tap, jazz, ballet, and character shoes in the theatre district. This meant that I was able to watch the cream of the crop elegantly saunter in to be fitted for shoes. (Plus, I got a discount on Broadway shows.)
At the time, “Forever Tango” was playing at the Walter Kerr theatre. I knew nothing of Tango. I was intrigued, but that was pretty much it. A few of the cast members came into the store to be fitted. As they made their way through the shop, I couldn’t help but notice how magnetic their presence and grace was. Of the three dancers that were in the shop, there stood an extremely well-poised older Argentinean gentleman (and I think that was the first time I ever felt the word “gentleman” fit to describe someone). His name was Carlos Gravito. Most of the store employees were star-struck by this group. I kind of hid in the corner observing the beauty of these people, and Carlos noticed.
He walks up to me, asks me if I’d seen the show and if I would like to. Another Dare! I took him up on his offer with boundaries set (just in case you needed that info). I had no money! It was a real-life Cinderella story. I borrowed shoes, a dress, and a purse to make it to the show dressed like the average theatre-goer. As I sat in this magnificent theatre, watching these beautiful dancers of varying ages, communicate stories by physically, emotionally and spiritually connecting through this cultural dance form, I couldn’t help but go back to my own story and think of what it had lacked… which was Trust. On that night, I was fortunate to observe the dancers’ “Evolution” merge with the “Dare” part because of one thing: Trust.
Trust in the choice, and journey. Trust in the growth. Trust in the mistakes, vulnerability, and fear. Trust in the movement, and trust in the relationship you have to it. Everything I witnessed that night was a depiction of trust, passion, skill, pride, and grace. And all of those things spoke to me beyond the spectrum of what those words look like on paper.
It brought tears to my eyes, mainly because this was the voice that had been shouting at me. “Trust in your Evolution!” Because THIS (what you see before you), THIS is what could be. These are your teachers. Search yourself (not Google) to find and follow what makes your life an epic one.
The night ended with a dedication to Carlos at an Argentinean restaurant and Tango club. I was unaware of just how much of a giant this man was to the Argentinean community and the world. Every moment of that night was an opportunity to learn, from accepting an invitation to dancing with a tango master to trusting that I somehow was meant to be there.
Fast forward to October 2012. Sitting in my cramped apartment in Japan, listening to Tango music… staring at my clubbells…thinking of my experiences in NYC and recognizing that it’s time to “listen” to the “next me.”
“It takes two to tango,” right? It takes trust, skill, passion, pride, and grace to learn a new skill, right? It takes awareness, compassion, and commitment to live your transformation, right? Now when you take the skill of clubbell training, the expertise, creativity, and expression of dance and marry them…you…Dare to Evolve! It starts with the relationship you develop within yourself and extends to the relationship you are about to embark on with your “partner”: The club.
The work part extends so much further than the physical outcome. This is why “Dare to Evolve” has spoken to me on such a deep level. We can’t evolve without first daring – can’t have one without the other. Just as in tango, we are more interesting when we trust in our partner and truly Dare to Evolve.
Kathy Lucas is a DEL Certified teaching artist with over 30 years experience as a dance teacher and performer. Her work is comprised of inventive dance fusions influenced by contemporary, urban jazz, and African dance styles. As an inquisitive movement geek, her choreography is an exploration that draws from dynamics and quality of movement, natural elements, athleticism, and cultural dance forms. Her passion, intrigue, and respect for the body’s capabilities led her to further her education as a certified Circular Strength Training Coach, Tacfit Instructor, and Pilates Mat Instructor. She has recently developed a 4-part creative conditioning program called “MUVZ.” The MUVZ series is comprised of dynamic body weight flows and exploration, mobility isolations and Clubbell dance sequences.
What a fantastic post! I am so inspired when I see what you are doing. Recently I just started putting on a lot different music from youtube when I do clubbell routines because it seems like when I do it, I can just go on and on endlessly. You have added a whole new thing. Thank you so much for breaking new ground.
Thank you Richard! Happy to hear that you are inspired. It’s interesting to notice how music can affect a club workout. I guess it’s the innate form of expression in both the tool and the music that sort of drives the motivation, eh? Cheers!
Hi Kathy
AWESOME> don’t know much about clubbell exercise but love tango. I am Mary jane’s friend from her job…In my next life , I will be dancer. lol
Great to hear from you Pat and thanks for your interest! Much like the deep connection we experience from Tango partnering; we can also find in Club training. The two really are a great match! Both guide us toward deeper focus, intuition and movement awareness. Add the sultry music, and before you know it you’re tapping into the spirit of dance!