Maddie Voigt: Strive

maddie voigt

Hey Spotlight Fans,
Now that competition season is up and running, its time to get serious and focused on what we want to conquer this season. Every year, something new is given to you and it can be kind of scary to take a chance, whether it’s a new job or just trying a new move at the studio. As a dancer, I know it can be very scary. There are two ways it could go; you could totally conquer it and move on, or you could not make it the first time but keep trying.

My first year being on the competitive team, we had a leaps and turns class with the advanced girls, and I remember getting the opportunity to dance with these amazing girls and try a lot of new moves. One week, we were practicing reverse jumps and I was doing such a good job that my teacher had me do them all by myself as an example. I took the opportunity that was scary and succeeded in it. Sometimes, it doesn’t always go like that. Another time, I was in that same class and we decided to work on barrel rolls. These jumps still scare me to this day. I was trying to do this move for the first time in my life while the older girls were watching and fell flat on my face in front of the whole advanced team. After that ultimate fail, I got up and tried again and now I can do them pretty well.

Fear is something that holds a lot of people back. Often when dancers are asked to do something new, like an advanced jump or turn, they might not want to do it because they are scared. Now, that’s understandable; everyone gets scared, but it’s something that you have to push aside to grow in the dance world. It doesn’t mean that fear or nervousness will go away completely. I still get nervous to try something new or perform, but it means that we, as dancers, need to find ways to help us control our fears. When I’m nervous about performing a dance, I always get with a friend and go over everything together to make sure I have it all down. If this is a solo, you can do this with your dance instructor. Also, something that helps my nerves at a competition is just laying down, closing my eyes, and listening to my music and imagining what I want my dance to look like.

So, as you already know, contemporary is definitely my strong suit. When I go to conventions and it comes to styles, I’m not as comfortable in like hip-hop and tap. I get pretty nervous and intimidated by all of the good dancers around me. When it comes to dancing those styles, I just try to remember to keep an open mind about all the choreography that’s getting thrown at me and try my best no matter what. The biggest factor of nervousness for me comes from watching people who might be better than me and I then get very intimidated. When this happens I have to remember that they might be older than me, started before I did, or get more opportunities than I do. I also try and remember that it’s not a competition between them and me, but instead, a competition between myself right now and myself the last time I was given that opportunity. Yes, it’s nice to win and get recognized for doing something you are good at, but I think it’s important to remember that all the praise people get didn’t come from them not working. It came from them working hard until they reached their goal, and they continued to strive for more and more.

So, the next time you are faced with any of these fears, remember you are good enough! Work hard, and strive for more. Never settle for anything.
I found a quote that says, “There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” So never settle or say “this is good enough,” instead, always strive to be better than best version of yourself.

Hope you guys enjoyed my blog and can’t wait to write more for you. Have a great competition season and conquer those fears! Also, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @madelinevoigt_dancer. Hope you have a great rest of the month, Bye!