A long journey

I’ve been dancing since the day I could stand on my own two feet. My mother likes to tell the story of how I used to mimic Phil Collins and his buddies in the “I can’t dance” video from my crib as a toddler. I was apparently very disappointed by the definition of dancing I had been invited to practice in my first dance class at the age of 3 but I kept going.

I was always fascinated with writing. When I learned how to form the letters of my name, I wrote them incessantly on any piece of paper I could find. I journaled as a girl and teenager. In the first grade, I even wrote an allegory of the transition from kindergarten to primary school. It involved interplanetary travel, revolutionary takeovers and made my father so proud he had me type it up on his work laptop for safekeeping (that computer is now missing).

Dance and writing have been my creative and emotional outlets my entire life but I have also had long fall-outs with them. Not due to lack of love but rather because I got caught up in some of the more unpleasant things in life: money issues, depression, lack of time (or so I believed). Over time, I even started to think that my time with them was done.

My creative epiphany

I started thinking about who and what I was if I couldn’t have “dancer and writer” in the description. I didn’t like it. Saying goodbye to these attributes made me doubt all the other things I thought I knew how to do in life, all the things that gave me value. I realized then how much the takeaways I gained from my creative practice nourished all my accomplishments. They have given me a frame of thought, a desire to connect with others, a sense of resilience, a taste for play and experimentation. But to be able to fully reconcile with my dancer and writer selves, I needed to dance and write again. So I got back on that horse and swore I wouldn’t let myself get off again.

Let’s get creative together

When I applied to speak at The Fearless, I knew this journey was the one I wanted to talk about. Living creatively once more has opened up new opportunities for me and brought more fun and excitement into my work life. I want everyone to have the same (re)awakening I did!

Join me this Friday 17th April 2020 at 5pm CEST to reconcile with your creative spirit: Purchase tickets here.