The Dance Rush Members: Meet a Wife, a Mother, a Dancer

A day in the life of the Dance Rush Members. Meet Erika Gatt Coleiro, a wife, a mother but most especially a dancer. 

A relatively fresh face to YADA and I can say that my experience so far has been a positive one. I would be lying if I said it isn't tough having to juggle two jobs, dedicating quality time with my husband and a 1 year old child and trying to keep up with the housework  and cooking before making it to class and late night rehearsals...on time! 

Planning where my little one will be spending her evening is a HUGE headache with daddy working very irregular hours.  I get people, mostly family members and relatives, asking "why do you do it?". I guess it is the love I have for dance and joy that it brings to my life. It is the fuel that drives me to keep going and face the following day with a smile. It is that time of the day where I get to dedicate some time to myself, where I try and forget the pressures of life and release that bundled up tension to focus solely on dancing. 

I believe that dance is therapeutically and beneficial on so many levels; be it psychologically, physically and even socially. It gives the person inner strength to keep going and come to the realisation that in dance there are no limits. There is always room for improvement, which leads me to another reason to "why I do what I do". It is the desire to strive for excellence. The thrill one gets before and during a performance and the satisfaction and sense of achievement that follows is enough to forget about all the sacrifices made. Yes, exhaustion does strike but the body learns to adapts (and so do the people I depend so much on).... eventually! I am extremely lucky to have so much support from the people around me who are making this dream of mine become a reality. 

YADA has given me confidence in my dancing and the opportunity to explore different styles of movement, making me more versatile as a dancer. It also tapped into areas on a deeper level namely positivity, dedication, commitment, and acknowledging moments when things do not go your way. I have learnt to pull myself together on 'bad days' as opposed to resorting to self-pity by persistently trying till it's right.  I feel privileged to be a part of such a strong and dynamic team and look forward to this wonderful opportunity to be dancing in San Francisco. I fell in love with the place while on honeymoon three years ago and I cannot wait to go back amongst such a culturally diverse population and a city which does not fail to impress in terms of artistic richness and spectacular scenic views.

Erika