Passion Makes All the Difference

I agree completely with Ms Graham. It is passion that makes a dancer great. I would extend that to any kind of artist. Great musicians aren't great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. The same for great singers, painters, writers, any kind of artist. Which is not to say that technique is not important, it is. But it's the passion that makes the artist stand out.

I was never by any stretch of the imagination a great musician or dancer, but I have done both. I miss both greatly and want to do both again.

I was very good at both, not great, but very good. One thing I learned has really stuck with me over the years. There were songs I knew by heart and loved to play on the piano. I practiced them over and over and over until I didn't need music.  I didn't think about it. I just put my hands on the keyboard and played. It was at these times that I was my best.

There was something in me though, something that remains with me. Something that kicked in when I played them without thinking. My brain would kick in at some point and tell me to think about what I was doing more. At that point when I let my brain squelch my freedom on that keyboard I would mess up. Every time. Although I wasn't great, I was best when I let my passion come through. When I just felt the music. When I let the music fill me and pour out my fingertips. 

I think there is a life lesson in this. I think as the years go on we forget our passion. We ignore it. We ignore the thing that could transform our lives as it transforms artistic expression.  

Life takes a lot of brain power, no doubt about that. But a great life, a great life experience, takes more than brain power. Perhaps great lives are great because of passion. 

I want to share two dancers with you. Both great in their own way.

The first is Marquese Scott. The things this guy does with his body are amazing. The music he dances to is very modern and his dance style (Dubstep) is very modern. 

The second is Polina Semionova, a ballet dancer. She is dancing to an instrumental by H. Gronemeyer. There is such beauty and grace in her dance.

Two very different dancers that evoke very different emotions. Two people who work very hard in order to dance so well. When they started dancing every bit of brain power went to learning technique. And they still think about technique, but they have mastered it. Which frees their mind to simply feel the music and pour the music and the emotions it creates within them into their movements.

Enjoy.