DISCLAIMER: I am not saying that there's anything wrong with dancing for those that enjoy it or choose to do it. I'm only referring to people that are completely done and realize that dancing isn't for them anymore.
Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I have and it's annoying! Say you finally believe that you are done with dancing for good...you are burned out, the money isn't there for you anymore, you want to pursue the career you attended college for, etc...whatever the reason(s) may be. When you stop dancing and you casually tell people this, there's usually a person or two that says skeptically, "Yeah all dancers go through this and they always end up going back to it," as if they do not take your decision to stop dancing seriously.
What, do they think that you're a small child with a short attention span? Do they think that you won't "make it" in the "regular" job world, financially or career-wise? I consider this a bit insulting, even if I can tell that the person telling me this isn't intending to insult me.
Here's one instance where I experienced this. For many good reasons, I quit dancing and was determined to not go back. A few months later with a friend's urging, I tried doing it again for just one day at a place that was supposed to be a little different -- i.e., it didn't require removing any clothing(it was a bikini bar as opposed to a topless club), etc. I gave it a shot and tried it for one day and totally hated it. I was completely miserable the whole time. That's when I realized for good that I was 100% done with dancing. While I was realizing this, another dancer was making small talk with me and she asked me how long I'd been dancing, etc. I explained to her that I had quit doing it a few months back and she said, "Yeah, I understand, now you're back to dancing. We all go through that, where we say we're done, but guess what...we all come back, we'll never leave dancing. As soon as we need money for something and realize that we can't find a stable job or whatnot, we come back."
I felt a bit slighted by this(even though this was not the girl's intentions), especially since that day did nothing but convince me more than ever that I was officially "done" for good. I didn't want to look like I was "going back on my words" or that I couldn't find stable enough employment and thus was at the mercy of dancing when I needed to pay bills. Most people knew I didn't like dancing much and did it only because I couldn't find another job, and they also knew that my #1 reason for quitting was so I could try and pursue a full-time "real" job...so if people thought I'd probably return to dancing soon, then perhaps it was because they didn't see me as competent enough to find and maintain the "real" job I'd been seeking? I'm happy to say that since last year when that happened, I haven't seen that club ever again and I haven't looked back, not even for one day at a friend's urging.
I understand that a lot of people say they are "done" with dancing and then a year or two later they go back to it. So I can see where it'd be hard for people to think that I'm "different" from so many others, but still...admittedly it annoyed me a little. I didn't want people to see me as nonserious about my career goals.
**NOTE: I'm not saying there is anything wrong with dancing for those that enjoy it or voluntarily choose to do it. I am just saying that some people realize it is "not for them" or not what they want to be doing with their lives.


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I'm glad to hear that you were able to move on when you felt ready to leave the industry.



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