Blog Post #2

Cassandra Ostermeier

Comm 160

26 September 2017

Blog #2

Growing up as a dancer, I was always told that in order to grow and become better, you had to get over your fear and get out of your comfort zone. When I read the lines, “Fear is what makes us great. It’s what makes us commit to the lead and dive in, full-bodied, and risk and dig and push”, I just thought to myself, wow that is dance in a nutshell. I felt like I related to it so much because I was always told, just got for it, dive in, take that risk. 

I remember the summer before my junior year of high school, I was working with this amazing choreographer, one of the hardest my studio had ever had, and I got to have her choreograph my solo for that year. I remember being so scared and nervous and fearful that she was going to be disappointed in me because I was not the most flexible or most talented dancer she had ever worked with. My solo that year involved a chair, and no it was not in a sexual demeanor, it represented the person I had lost and I was yearning for them back. The first night of working with her, I was so shaky and off balanced due to my nerves but I found that I was literally throwing myself into the things she wanted me to try and do. Now looking back on it, I realized I was more willing to do and try those moves, even though I was absolutely terrified of the outcome. It was fear that drove me to do those things and although some were successful and others were not, I learned a lot about my body awareness and how successful I could be in dance if I stepped out of my comfort zone and got over my fear of doing things for the first time. I noticed that it made me work harder and want to continue growing and getting over my fear of attempting and executing dance moves. 

In the article, Turn Fear Into Success, written by Kevin Daum, he states, “There are some who believe that fear is negative. . .For many that's true, but great leaders learn to master their fear and use it to their advantage.” He goes on to use the example of Daredevils and how they may state in interviews they are fearless but truthfully, fear is what makes them respect the inherent dangers they much overcome (Daum). Fear is the motivator that drives all these Daredevils to go after their passion. They want to prove to people they can do, as I see, these crazy, insane things that are almost inhumane or impossible. They want to beat the impossible and set a new “impossible” standard. What I liked most about this article is Daum states along the lines that fear actually motivates him to work harder at his job or just in life. I believe that is so applicable to not just Daredevils but for me as a dancer. Why would I have pushed myself harder than I ever had as a dancer up until that point. Yes, the choreographer somewhat set that standard of what she expected for us, but I was not about to disappoint her. I was terrified of the consequence so I pushed myself further than I knew was possible. Gomez states, “It is the symptom of my passion. . .” and I could not agree more. Dance is my passion and one of the things I love doing most. I would not be the dancer I was if I had not learned to push myself and get over my fears, especially over the past eight years from high school and studio dance into collegiate dancing. 

Daum, Kevin. “Turn Fear Into Success.” Inc.com, Inc., 30 Oct. 2013, www.inc.com/kevin-

daum/turn-fear-into-success.html.