Life Is Improv

Life Is Improv

Moving out of mental health awareness month and into pride month (and Autistic Pride Day on 18th June), I want to tell you a little more about my own experiences of dance and what it means for me personally, a little on mental health and cultivating pride in our younger generation.

Growing up autistic in mainstream society isn't easy. Not because being autistic is the inherent problem, although I admit there are some sensory challenges in aspects of life that often get overlooked as well as nuances in our brains that make thing difficult sometimes. However, ultimately, it is a constant learning journey and for me, I've never had a period of my life where I've hated being autistic but I can certainly see how, over time, that perspective can be developed.

Language barriers exist but the ways in which identities intersect, such as an autistic person communicating with a non-autistic person or neurotypical person but even amongst 2 autistic people, communication styles, sensory profiles and triggers can provide barriers to unity too.

Dance breaks down all of this into 1 universal language.

Music becomes the ultimate unifier of culture and of people. The rhythm connects with you and your body moves. In my younger years, I would dance a lot to speak where words failed.

When I was younger, dance was my social glue, even though once the spotlight came my way as perhaps a result of my craziness or maybe my aloneness on my nights out, I shied away from it.

It was a constant loop of joy and disappointment when I sought connection but struggled to make anything from it. But it was still one of my most prominent forms of communication.

I dabbled in being behind the scenes, editing the piece Dance: A Form Of Expression when I was in college. I made a silly video at college of me dancing on the stairs (and a few other dance videos I just randomly filmed or my dad filmed who always used to say "Do the sideways moonwalk, Cal!)

And most recently, I danced a little with Founder of Diamondz, Abbi in my Ripples project (available on a platform called Substack but off-shoot standalone pieces exist on Youtube).

This most recent experience was reconnecting with my younger self, embracing collaboration on a scale I hadn't done previously regarding dance and it felt incredible!

I immersed myself in the experience and after many nights feeling socially disconnected, emotionally drained from the people who would eventually clog up the dance floor or I'd feel self-conscious about judging me being on my own as vulnerable, it was an absolute joy to chat with, dance and act with Abbi.

Because I was 'acting' in the sense of bringing characters to the screen but it was also my authentic, creative self coming to the forefront.

I felt proud to be in that moment. I had fumbled the choreography of life's typical paths and found a way to find my own groove anyway.

So I leave you with this.

Dance for you. Be proud of how your body looks, feels and moves. But pride is a process.

Me performing Secondary School Strife under the autistic pride flag.

Absolutely learn the steps to but a few missteps can be okay too.

There may be sequences in life that you want to master or aspirations you have that require certain levels of commitments or routes to entry (competitions, music videos, etc) but life is also improv. Mental health may ebb and flow as will the moments in which you feel pride in your own movement journey but finding safe and empowering people and places can help you feel less afraid to be your authentic self.

Dance is a universal language. Speak your piece.

QUESTION TIME: DOUBLE UP!

1. Do you have a favourite dance?

2. WHERE do you most like to dance?

Until next month, check out these blogs in the meantime! "<https://www.diamondzdance.com/blog >https://www.diamondzdance.com/blog"}}{\fldrslt{\ul\cf2\cf2\ul

Join the conversation with your thoughts and feelings on our socials with #DiamondzDialogue