Growing up, I loved to watch ice-skating, especially figure
skating. I used to love watching the couples dance but I also used to find
myself drawn to the individual figure skaters.
I loved how they would choose a piece of music, and then
design and choreograph a routine to go with the beat and rhythm and energy of
the music. Whether it was an upbeat pop song, a slower-paced ballad, or a
piece of Classical music, they kept in tune with it, adjusting their speed,
adding flourishes, including the basics, and adding a few spins, twists or
jumps.
The double axel jumps* were always the steps that drew and
held my attention, because one moment they would be skating, backwards, or forwards, and in
the next, switch to the new move, and suddenly build into this fantastic spin - (the sit spin, the camel spin or the upright spin)**
- and of course, the leaps, when they gather their energy and
focus into that moment when they need to begin the jump, stay in that moment as they are flying through the air, whilst remembering that they still need
to land on one skate, and carry on skating to continue with the routine because
this is only a small part of the performance; the song isn't over yet.
What amazes me is the thought of how much time, effort and
energy they needed to invest into this routine that in the final competition
might be no more than 5 minutes long.
How long must the choreographer have spent in designing the
dance, how long to design, make and embellish the skater’s outfit, and the
hours and hours and hours of rehearsal in private to master it all. To master
the basics, the steps, the combination of skating and timing of the music,
never mind the order of the steps to create an elegant, cohesive whole that will
be seen by the public and evaluated by the judges.
Even then, the skater needs to prepare themselves for the
judges’ verdict; to be evaluated on their technique, and their performance. It's perfectly
possible to get a good score in one aspect, less so in another, but overall
it's the combination of all of those
aspects that leads to the final score and ranking.
The skater needs to focus fully on herself, her skating, and
her performance, regardless of the other competitors - she has to know she has
given her all and done her absolute best.
And once the competition is over it's back to the drawing
board to choose a new piece of music, design a new outfit, and rehearse a new
routine, with the benefit and insight of the judges' feedback.
I've been learning to master my Dyspraxia*** for two years now,
and in that time I have learnt and incorporated many strategies and continue to
seek new and better ways of accomplishing tasks. It has involved many hours of
practice, of repetition, and refinement, to improve myself, my work, my
approach and my presentation. It sometimes feels as if what people see on the
outside is a five-minute performance that is the result of months of rehearsal.
When I'm facing a challenging task, and it takes me longer
than I would wish to understand and complete the task, it feels as if I am that
lone figure skater who needs to build up all that energy to lift themselves into the
air, to spin, and land successfully on that one skate. When I imagine myself as
a figure skater, a challenging task is only a small part of the performance,
and landing safely leads me into the rest of the routine to finish with a
flourish.
The entire performance relies on a combination of my
routine, my appearance and my technique. All three are vital to the final
result and all need my attention and polish.
It also reminds me to complete the task – you can't stop a
jump a mid-air.
Visualising myself as a figure skater reminds me that the
performance is a combination of different steps which all come together to the
music. It allows me to see myself objectively as others do, and evaluate myself
and my performance.
It helps to remind me that rehearsal is a part of the
process, as is feedback, and as long as I focus on that, I can keep improving,
and grow to become my best self and to strive to express that to others.
Lynn
*** Read more about my diagnosis and experience on my blog, Dyspraxic Pioneer
