Intermediate student: Help! I'm becoming a diva!

[GypsyStacey]

Hey fellow dancers!

I have been dancing for about a year now - the last six months I have had a very fast progress because I started to supplement my lessons with DVDs.
My problem is that I can feel myself starting to think less of the other dancers, and believe that I am much better than them, and I am really afraid that I will get all diva-ish!

What can I do to prevent the diva-sickness? - I am better than the others in my class, because I practice so much, but I want to stay down-to-earth and humble to the dance (can you say that? - I'm Danish so I have trouble expressing myself in english sometimes).
I read a lot about the dance (four books and tons of internet pages) - I feel like I know everything - of course I don't, but I can't help getting that feeling, because nobody in my class (including the teacher) knows anything --> here we have the diva-problem again.

Please give my some advice!

Love,
Julie

okay maybe this is just me, but i find that belly dance is just about me. it's about my journey. my abilities. my improvements. its one thing in my life that is ONLY about me, for me & i can focus on me. now i understand that sounds really selfish, BUT if the others in my class are better than me so what? if others in my class are not as good as me so what? doesn't prove anything, because it's not about them it's about me. do i notice if someone in class does something really well of course & i enjoy it. i even notice if those things that some people need to work on, but i'm sure they notice things about me too....lol. at the end of the day it doesn't matter who is worse than you & who is better as long as you are enjoying what you are doing.

 

[onela]

I dunno, if you have the clarity to think "Oh my god, I'm turning into a diva!" then you're probably level-headed to nip it in the bud before you start throwing tantrums that people expect you to drink tap water instead of bottled spring water I don't have anything new to add other than to keep an open mind (about the other dancers) when you're in your group class. Or, do the opposite and don't even spare a single thought in your brain for them- especially not a negative thought. Just concentrate on getting all you can out of the class.

 

[walladah]

first aid against the "diva sickness"

1) as many others told you in the forum, see "good" as relative. Youtube is shock therapy of the illness you are so afraid of!

2) Classmates are not a good comparison starting point, not only because you might arrive to have a biased idea about your and their abilities, but also this comparison reveals that you spent too much time looking at others than your teacher or youself in the mirror. And if you do not pay attention to your teacher (to every detail of her movement) and yourself, you will soon be left behind the rest, no matter how "good" you might be now "in comparison to them".

3) Video shoot yourself dancing. You might be happy with what you see the day after, but some weeks or months later, you will be pointing out issues you have to resolve with your dancing. Our own videos are so harsh with us, the dancers!

4) Be honest with your mirror. Mirror is the harshest judge because he/she never takes your feelings into account. It just shows everything you do or not do while dancing.

And if you are conscious of the diva illness, you are not really in danger... just spend less time being afraid, and more time practicing...

 

[Shanazel]

My problem is that I can feel myself starting to think less of the other dancers, and believe that I am much better than them, and I am really afraid that I will get all diva-ish!

Oh, honey, you've been dancing a year and are plagued with feelings of superiority? Just keep dancing: it takes decades of practice to achieve true humility.