Embracing Love, Confronting Fear

A Dancer's View Week 1

This Catalyst Dance series offers the dancer's view into the research and development of "A Port in the Storm" premiering July 2nd, 2015 at The Mansion in Vancouver, Canada

Embracing Love, Confronting Fear

By Lily Cryan

I got over a big fear of mine recently. On the first day of Catalyst Spring, Director Desirée Dunbar had us work on handstands, which I have been afraid of for forever.  We worked our way up from downward dog to assisted handstands to using the wall.  Usually I am terrified of being upside down, and I still am, but the baby steps and the trust made the exercise manageable.  Part of breaking down fears is seizing all available opportunities and going further in your skills and process.  That is how the Catalyst process started, with Desirée daring us to take the next step in our dance careers.

All six of us Catalyst ladies are at various stages in the completion of our Dance BFA programs at Simon Fraser University.  Because of this, we all have a similar technical background and facility so much of our work is going beyond the technical dance requirements to get at what makes us interesting and vibrant dancers and artists. 

One of my favorite parts of this program so far has been intention setting as a group. One of the Catalyst themes has been finding self-love and self care in order to be better dancers and people.  We generate this love in the studio as a group through dancing, meditation, reflection, and creation. Then, Desirée asks us to send out the loving energy we created into the world so that it grows and develops in the community.

As RuPaul says, “If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else.” That love that you cultivate increases a hundred-fold when released willingly into the world. The beauty in dance comes from embracing love and confronting your personal fears because your courageous love empowers others to live fully. 

Lily is a dance and communications major at Simon Fraser University and a dancer with Catalyst in Vancouver, Canada

The Catalyst Dance Project offers optimal performance training for dedicated dancers.  Dancers work in The Dancing the Wild method- drawing on cutting edge strategies in athletic conditioning whole-foods nutrition, belief structures, communication, mindfulness, energy work and creative process.