Being in the Moment

Some very good reasons to just sit back and enjoy being in the moment

I can speak from personal experience that I remember very little of the events that I photograph. Even looking back on the photos, they often feel like someone else’s memory. This has been true of parties for people I know very well and my own child’s sporting events. Linda Henkel, a professor of psychology at Fairfield University in Connecticut, studied how taking photos impacts experience and memory. She found that the subjects remembered less about things they took pictures of.

For our dancers, having a video immediately for them to dissect their performance isn’t necessarily helpful. At the end of the performance, they have a memory of their time on stage. Let that sink in. Enjoy that moment with them. Talk about that experience and its highlights. Help those memories become core memories.

If your studio is creating a video, wait for it. It should be better than what you generate with your cell phone, and you get the best of both worlds. You will have a real memory of having your dancer have your full attention and all the thoughts and emotions that go with it. Then, when you see the video, it can help you relive those emotions and memories.

If there won’t be a video (and your studio allows you to make videos during the performance), I might suggest trading recording duties with another parent so you can be fully present for your dancer.