Time Flies, Community Lasts

One thing we can never get back is time. It seems like yesterday that we were kids. Or we were in high school. Or we just finished college and we're looking for our first post-grad job. Before you know it; life has taken its winding, bending, always fluid course. Time flies. The street dance community isn't immune.

Our younger brothers and sisters may not have that frame of reference yet. When you're in high school or college, the world still seems brand-new. You're figuring out things on your own, sometimes for the first time. So when you dance too, street dance community can feel so present. You can easily forget about the past. Not just what happened thirty years ago. But the weight of those thirty years. Any OG dancer can tell you how that feels. When you live with something that's been a part of your life for more than three decades, it runs deep in your veins. It's hard to let go.

Tastes change. Politics evolve. But the one thing that remains is our community. As we grow older, we lose touch with our classmates, former lovers, and one-time close friends. We start our own families and our lives that become framed by their needs. The beauty of street dance community is that it can keep us connected to each other. More than any social network, true vibrant community allows us to grow and work out our flaws together. That's why class reunions are always awkward. So much time has passed that we're no longer connected to each other in meaningful ways. The ties we had as classmates are gone.

But dance community isn't on a graduation schedule. The artform keeps us united in our common passion. And as we grow and evolve, we find ways to make our time together meaningful. It's better than having a time machine. We don't have to regret the past. We can enjoy the present and move to the future.