Dance Baggage

By Katricia Eaglin

Dance Baggage was written for aspiring professional dancers but,
can be informative and grounding for anyone. This book offers a
small peek into some of the trials and triumphs of a life in dance.
Using biblical perspectives, the author shares practical advice for
various life challenges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667857183

Book preview

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Book Cover design by Salted Roots Digital Studios

Front & Back Cover Photo by Grind Over Matter

Photo of Author by Kathy Tran

Dance Baggage Copyright © 2021 by Katricia Eaglin

For more content:

KatriciaEaglin.com

IG @ ExpressiveLifeCoaching

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on or by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage ad retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

To dancers young and not so young who are in need of encouragement and insight. Just keep dancing.

Butterfly outline

Acknowledgments

To my Lord and Savior- Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. (New American Standard Version Ps 139:14b)

To my husband and son- Von, thank you for believing from the start that this vision would come to fruition. Kenlon, thank you for sleeping long enough for mommy to do her final edits.

To my mom, dad, and brother- Mom, you’re my most fierce support, always willing to listen to or read a chapter in the middle of the night.  Dad and Sherwin, thanks for patiently waiting and cheering me on.

To Dr. Philip Williams- Thank you for over five years of editing and for gently pushing me along.

To my village- Family, friends, and mentors, your tight circle of support kept me encouraged on and off stage, which inspired this book. Thanks for reading, discussing, editing, and encouraging me through this journey.

Table of Contents

Backpack with solid fill

1      EVERYTHING DANCES

2       PREPARATION FOR WHAT LIES AHEAD

3      SENSEI

4      MEAN GIRLS

5      THE LOOKING GLASS

6      IT TAKES TIME

7      DOYEN

8      THE FINALE

1      EVERYTHING DANCES

Luggage outline

Deciding to dance as a profession was life-altering. My schedule was often not my own. Performances, rehearsals, travel, and my day-to-day regimen as a dancer kept my schedule jam-packed. However, because I love to dance, I welcomed the impact dance had on my life. Depending on one’s perspective, dance impacts different people differently. Some aspiring dancers view dance as a dream job, a career, a workout, a mode of expression, and for many, a pastime. And though dance has a broad reach, there is little information written to inspire or give a unique insight to dance. When I became a full-time professional dancer, I desperately hungered for written wisdom and encouragement from books. I read through several books about dance to motivate me when I lacked inspiration but to no avail. I wanted the books I read to contain the nuggets of wisdom that I often received from various masterful instructors and veteran dancers. As I began my journey to keep myself inspired, defining what dance meant to me and determining my desired outcome was essential. Dance was, and still is, all the things mentioned above: a dream job, workout, pastime, and mode of expression. My desired outcome was to enjoy the journey as a professional and become the best dancer I could be. For dancers like me, who need inspiration, this book can be an encouragement to persevere during dark days.

Being a dancer can be an emotional rollercoaster.

Being a dancer can be an emotional rollercoaster. There are days of great joy and reward coupled with days of severe lows and pains. It is exhilarating to feel your body move freely through space. Allowing your muscles to fire, contract, and relax nourishes the body. But there are days of physical frustration when your body fights the movement it is learning and cries out for rest. Movements once executed with ease now feel complex and inelegant. Because the psyche has power, emotional and mental stress seems to exacerbate physical issues. Dancers wrestle with thoughts of a stressful life outside of the dance studio, such as previous negative dance experiences, unattained goals, or just the mental monster of self-doubt. Poor self-images, toxic relationships, unfavorable casting, unmet physical goals, and injuries creep deep inside your dance bag, causing what I refer to as dance baggage. I invite you to join me on the journey of unpacking some dance baggage.

Traditional Mexican dance, Folklorico, was my entrance into the dance world. It all began when my first-grade teacher announced to the class that one of her colleagues would be organizing a dance group to perform at school and local community events. When asked to raise our hand to get a headcount of interested students, I remember using my whole body to dart my tiny hand into the air with excitement. As a highly kinesthetic child, I was enthused to join the group because I knew we would be moving. Rehearsals were during school hours, most likely during gym class, which is why my parents had no idea that I was dancing until my first performance. My dad left my mom the frustration of buying last-minute earrings, lipstick, and stockings for me. My mom told me later that she was not surprised I wanted to dance because I made my debut in preschool. I performed Folklorico faithfully for three years. It was difficult at