Dancers of the Light
Dancers of the Light
Let's Talk About Burnout...
Written by Jeanne-Marie Branche | Aug 1st 2020
Recently, this topic of burnout has been re-introduced to me and brought to my attention. I realized myself that I am a little burnt out and I thought I’d share my thoughts and advice with you guys. I usually feel this especially during a normal semester but surprisingly I have felt it so much during these months where I had to be home. First not being in a normal schedule or routine, I found myself wanting to be over-involved with things at home. I find at times being busy is how I keep myself sane... but I slowly realized that that was the opposite. Staying in quarantine has definitely taken a toll on me mentally, as I’m sure it has for all of us. I found myself so burnt out in trying to do extra things that I thought would be beneficial to me, only to realize that I can’t keep up with the pace I wanted to. (Shocker I know)
I think as I begin to reflect, quarantine for me was a time to slow down and focus on a few things and get good at them. I always like to have a lot on my plate to feel accomplished, but I think I truly realized that taking it slow and steady is beneficial as well. There are times where you need to be a little overwhelmed, but not all times. I focused my ideas and interests on specific things and now those have become skills of mine to only get better! Taking things at a comfortable pace was uncomfortable, so to say, but I realized the importance of doing it one step at a time even though I still feel like getting a million things done every day. I have to remind myself to stop and breathe.
Additionally I found myself not dancing as much which mentally was not good for me either but I think I needed the physical and mental break. That being said, I was able to get into my studio two weeks ago, and it felt like I never took time off... and that was such an amazing feeling. Granted that I haven’t been adamant about my stretching either... it just felt so good to move again and move however I feel to whatever song plays on my shuffle. I was able to identify smaller moments of pure joy and the things that are truly important to me that make me happy. I think I was able to find why I dance again and why it is such a big part of my life.
As I experienced this burnout, I was forced to sit back and see what I want versus what I don’t want in my life. Some parts of it have been super discouraging, but I have never felt more sense of relief and peace with where I am in life right now. It also gave me the chance to reduce my time on social media and to be at peace with my own personal circumstances. I was able to finally take charge of my life with a laser focus and focus on just myself, no one else. Through this, I have been slowly but surely finding one of my purposes in life and I am so excited to share this journey over the next few months.
About Author: Jeanne-Marie Branche
Jeanne-Marie Branche is a student at the University of Tampa double majoring in Communications and Applied Dance. Her hometown is Palm Beach Gardens FL. She has been actively involved in the dance industry and is continuing to train and choreograph professionally in college. With her current training, she plans to perform and choreograph for dance companies/programs while teaching younger children through her passion for creativity and dance!
Jeanne-Marie intends to blend both of her studies to integrate proper marketing and branding for individual dancers, dance companies, and artists locally, nationally, and globally.
About Dancers of the Light
Dancers of the Light is a blog that focuses on the comfort, community, and purpose within the arts industry. It is a growing circle of dancers and artists who are on a mission to find their purpose in the fine arts and to meet others with like-minded ideas and motives for why they do what they do. I hope to inspire and network with others as I see this blog grow!
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