DANCE

Talent vs skill?

Growing up, I never thought much of dancing. Sure, it was interesting to look at, especially paired with mindblowing choreography that made the dancers seem inhuman as they coordinated their bodies and facial expressions into making the dance routine seem completely incredible. Yet, it never caught my attention. For one, I was too shy and hated any form of embarrasment so in an activity like dancing where one small mistake could ruin everything and take the viewers eyes of the others, I was determined to keep as far away as I could from dancing. Instead, I developed a passion for writing. The means by which I could pour out the thoughts floating around my introverted, reserved brain were for years very, very satisfying.

But when I reached the oh so jolly ripe teenagehood, everything took a personally unexpected turn for me. High schools differ and there are always different individuals with different personalities and of course unique skills and talents. From the math geniuses whom appeared as if there was no math problem beyond their understanding to the Prince's who could play almost any instrument their eyes laid on to the Beyonces whose vocal range was on another level and of course those athletes who seemed to be naturally gifted at mastering their chosen sports. There were even those kids who possessed the ability to contort their bodies into positions that made you wonder if they are made up of the bones you were taught are supposed to be rigid. But, above all there were one set of people who really stood out to me.

"Koral!" Just one of my friends Izzy. Excited and painfully blunt. I just nodded to indicate I heard her. I really didn't have strength to gist with her because she really loved to talk. " Julie and her people are having a dance battle!" she squealed excitedly. It sounds stupid but dance battles are super important here. Losing one can end you especially if you claim to be a dancer. Before I could however respond, Izzy had whisked me away to class where it was going down. It was lunch break and since our class teacher is super chill, she allowed us do what we wanted during break time as long as things didnt get out of hand.

As I entered, my ears picked up on "Tyla's water" meaning only one thing. It was a TikTok dance battle. My eyes on the other hand were stunned. Julie was out there moving her hips in a way that was so hypnotic. Her body was not playing around as she danced that whole thing effortlessly and smoothly. And all the while, she wore a peaceful smile on her face as if this was just everyday business. How!? Not to even start at her coordinated footwork. I could register the cheers and hailing from our classmates. I mean you can call this dance seductive but Julie crushed it. Her opponent tried her best but something seemed off and Julie won the round. " Julie is scary. How can she move like that. Its so smooth."gushed Izzy stunned. Yeah, you know that last group of people I talked about, I meant those blessed with dancing talent.

At night, it seemed my TikTok fyp was against me because I was bombarded with so many dancing TikToks from different dance challenges. Yet when my eyes landed on Blue Ivy's performance during her mom's tour, I lost it. How could an 11 year old dance as good as that and thus, for the first time in my life, I tried to learn the choreography.
3 hours later...........................................
I lay on the floor drenched in sweat. My mind and body aching from trying to master the dance. I had gotten the steps down but for some reason, it just wouldn't come together and even when it finally did, it felt stiff and awkward. All wrong. And then I scrolled to the next video. It was a group dance of the same choreography I tried to perform. After watching the video, I ran to the comment section and something struck me. Wanting to confirm my suspicions, I checked other group dances and at the end of it all. It clicked to me.

I noticed that in each comment section of these group dances, there would always be one or maybe just two dancers that would be constantly praised and talked about. The remaining members of the group were hardly individually mentioned or praised. It was either the group as a whole or the stars. It made me wonder if some people just had that special thing that made them stand out when dancing. Two people could be doing the same routine step by step  yet it seemed one was doing it better. I still couldn't wrap my finger around it. Is it that the person is more talented? Is it the energy? I didnt know.

As for me, I was frustrated to say the least. I knew dancing wasn't my strong suit but deep down, I just wanted to know how to dance and for some reason, my moves were stiff and mostly uncoordinated. I know the old saying " Dont give up" but at that point, I didn't even know what I was doing. Till my mom asked me " Koral, why are you dancing. Be honest. Do you like dancing because you yourself are passionate and interested in it OR do you like dancing because the way others dances made you feel passionate? " I couldn't respond because I knew the answer. I had never cared too much for dancing and only put myself in this position because I wanted to be like Julie. It seemed my mom knew too because all she left me with was " Do what you love. Do what comes from you." That was it.

Today, Im an adult and sometimes, I remember that time period. Of course, I still dance just for fun and I have improved a lot actually. Ive however also accepted that I will never be on someone like Michael Jackson's level but hey, we move. Crazy right? As I grew up, I realised my younger self was just asking the age old "nature vs nurture" AKA " talent vs skill" question. Even now, I dont know the answer but all I can say is that " Unless you're willing to sacrifice for it, dont start." See ya.

Author's note:
Hi everyone. This is my first work in the platform so comments, criticism, suggestions would be highly appreciated. I mean show me some love but dont be reluctant to hit me with the truth so I can give you better stories. Im planning on writing something more mature than this BTW. Im just using this one shot to test the waters of Wattpad😁😘. Thanks