48. stop being so perfect: breaking the desperation mindset & learning to trust yourself as a freelance dancer with Sam Assemany

Two years into taking his class, Mike Esperanza pulled Sam Assemany aside and told her to stop being so perfect, to mess it up a little. That is the fear underneath most desperation, the belief that if you are not flawless or constantly visible, someone is going to forget you exist, when usually the opposite is true.A Western Michigan University dance grad, Sam moved to New York in September of 2015 and took her first class with choreographer Mike Esperanza a month later, a class she still calls the most life changing hour she has ever spent in a studio. She has since become a member of BARE Dance Company, spent six years teaching at a studio on Long Island, and now works within NYCDA, one of the largest dance convention circuits in the industry.We get into the audition she didn't book two years into taking Mike's class, and why she walked away sad but not angry, not even a little.We talk about the desperation mindset dancers fall into, the fear of being forgotten if you are not constantly in someone's face, and the one uncomfortable conversation Sam finally had that changed that. We also get into what social media and convention camera culture are doing to young dancers' patience and their ability to just be bad at something in peace.If you have ever stayed too available out of fear that pulling back would mean being forgotten, this one is for you.Stay in the loop with me 🤍Instagram & TikTok: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabbyFind Sam here 👇🏼Instagram: @samassemany