Michele Lynch describes how a career-ending dance injury forced her to confront her identity beyond her body. The injury triggered depression and self-doubt, but eventually became a catalyst for self-reflection that helped her find a larger sense of purpose.
Chapters
I think being injured as a dancer is probably one of the hardest moments, especially as you start to get older as a dancer. You don't realize how much you rely on your body and how great your body has been to you and how it has served you and how it has gone through the abuse and classes and just toil. And then when you get injured, it's like a part of you is taken away. I just remember so many— I was depressed and I just thought, how am I ever going to recover from this? I don't know that I fully believed I could choreograph. I think I doubted and I wanted it so badly, but I think I had a lot of doubt. I actually think the time off being injured forced me to look within, go deep, and ask all the questions that needed to be asked and face those fears that needed to be faced and say, What are the options? Okay, get up and do this. Do it. So I could glibly say, "And then Jerry called the day the workman's comp was off." But the dark time in between, I think, led me to get to that place. And then I think, you know, the energy in the universe, it all comes together. And in retrospect, I think it was a blessing because I don't think I would have had to face those fears and make those decisions. If I didn't have that time off, I was forced to do that, you know.
