The Chair Piece

One month ago I took a devastating fall. I ended up tearing my MCL, ACL, meniscus, and fractured my femur head. These combination of injuries are very rare, and might I say very painful.

Coming out of surgery, I have heard so many people say, “You will come back stronger from this Paige.” And it drove me insane. Because I honestly believe that I won’t come back stronger. The doctor had said over and over again that with a combination of injuries like this, I will never be able to dance at the same intensity I once did, it just simply won’t be possible. So I really didn’t appreciate this false hope from people who didn’t understand my situation.

I am a fighter and my first instinct is to be like “I will be the dancer to defy all odds, and I will make a remarkable recovery.” And honestly, I might, and that would be amazing. But that isn’t the point right now. The point is that somewhere in the midst of all the chaos and tragedy, I found that dance is more than just being a performer.

A week after surgery I was prompted in my composition class to perform a two minute self choreographed solo. (Yes, I am still enrolled in my dance classes.) I was in so much pain this seemed impossible, but the idea of creating something, anything was enough to get me out of bed. I decided that I would choreograph a piece for my friend, Katherine. I couldn’t articulate the moments through my words, so demonstrating this piece was very difficult- and in comes the chair.

At first, I was just using the chair as support and a place for rest when we were creating over zoom. But after a few hours, we both decided that this chair had to be part of the peice- as the support it provided me, it became a partner for Katherine. Days later we completed the “Chair Piece.”

Dance is so engrained in my identity, it impossible for me to grasp the idea of never being able to do it again. But through this injury, I found a new part of my identity within dance. Being a choreographer allows be to see dance through a different lens- I was dancing through my peers, while challenging my mind to create authentic original art.

Works Cited:

Lasak, Catherine, director. Paige’s Improv As Lasak’s Comp. Vimeo, 5 Mar. 2021, vimeo.com/515125512.

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