I recently took on a new job role as Administrator / Receptionist for the Conservatoire that I had graduated from 365 days ago.
I remember so clearly in the final weeks along with everybody else counting down the days to what was known as freedom. It feels that within a blink of an eye I am back but this time as a staff member and a public face of the school.
This opportunity came to my attention upon my temporary relocation back to the North. My working hours are in return for studio space while the students take a summer break. To be honest I am really enjoying the experience of having a few months learning and developing some administration skills and most important of all (which any established or emerging artist will appreciate) FREE studio space!
I have always had a lot of love for Yorkshire and my time here back up north has been rather nice actually: returning to daily classes again and finally having more creative time and space to develop work & generally just be inspired. How quickly my senses took me back to my first year in training and that daily new dancers concoction: finding my feet, my core and re-finding my seeing has all been missed by my internal system from what my bodies aches and pains are telling me. I wasn’t prepared for all of the soon-to-be-graduates in their last week of term asking me the dreaded question: "So what are you doing now?" Confused looks on their faces joined the obvious next question: 'Why are you here?'
Many questions, many reasons, many answers…
Then I realised that was me 362 days ago with 3 days until I was released into the big wide world of dance thinking, 'I am ready, right?'
Having travelled a lot since I graduated, performing, collaborating and making work for some commissioned pieces and (dare I even say it) enjoying life I then returned back home. I thought this would be pretty straight forward by getting a part-time job. 'I have a good a CV and I can multi-task and I have experience,' is what I was thinking. 'I will take a class and find some cheap studio space. This is Nottingham; it is well resourced with classes," ran through my mind also. Wow how wrong I was!
It was like real life jumped out of the floor and flashed me with reality so quickly once I had returned. Within 4 weeks I was in the queue pulling at my very first ticket and taking a seat at the job centre. That’s right I shall repeat it again I am not a shamed the "job centre" (I can finally insert a honest laugh at this point) but it did take me a year people.
I came across a discussion last week on TED Talks. I was watching some inspiring talk by a guy from the United States entitled “8 Rules to Success” when I came across the discussion further down on the page in which it was the title that first caught my eye 'How you do you balance pursuing your dreams with paying your bills? Or do you just go for broke?'
