01/12/2021
A bit about myself
My journey, "The full circle" :
* Edinburgh, Scotland :
In the days when children were seen and not heard..... I was very excited, I was going to begin Primary School.
* All the other children were already in the dinner hall, when my mother left me, in good faith, with the Headmistress on the school steps. My first day, my big introduction to Primary School. I had been given the heads-up by my one year older sister - how big and fab it all was. Wow it looked even bigger, I was very ready, eager to join.
* Alas, I was not well received by the Headmistress, on returning from the toilet in the downstairs playground I was beaten on my rear end, "you dirty girl pulling pants up outside the toilets!", in floods of tears I was dragged up and down the hall to sit in front of other newbies and waited for lunch, unhappily, from there-on I hid myself under a bushel, I had truly become an introvert, by quickly working out she had spied on me from the cloakrooms.... I hid in the shelter of the upstairs playground - out of sight of all the windows, with my bag of sweets and a comic for lunch, a recluse, I was left alone. Until my change to the secondary School.
* I wonder even today, if this ever happened to anyone else.???
* At the very late age of 13 years I was introduced by chance, through the school, to a class of "free expressive dance" with music, within a special PT class - my heart melted immediately.
I was by then one of four siblings, my mother saw my heart and helped me financially through the first two years of advisory Ballet training of the Grades Exams, and received a grant to help fund a further awesome three years to complete all three Major Ballet and Modern dance exams.
I worked hard, attending every day of the week, in the strong disciplined classes. I had a very keen eye for technique.
* My Certification in Advanced Modern, Ballet, and a Tap dance Medal,
all the training has so kept me grounded forever, through to this
present time in my life.
* Fully equipped, empowering me to choose the companies I wished to
be with, I had a challenging, wonderful career spanning four
decades.....
* 20 years on stage (abroad) with an additional 20 exciting years
teaching, Ballet, Modern and Tap Dancing.
My teaching began with three awesome years in South Africa,
entering the keen mix of children (colour and ages) for their "Royal
Academy of Dance" Ballet exams, with huge success.
* Correspondence from home became more of a worry to me and, I decided to come back to the UK to help my dear Mother, who suffered with worsening Rheumatoid Arthritis etc. (then the Cancer claimed her 9 years from when I came home, I never regretted my difficult decision)
I was aware that in this country you need to work two or three works in order to get a car on the road. Unless you have an established career.
*I enjoyed my first five years as Choreographer for the "Eyemouth Amateur Variety Group" on the East Coast of Scotland where Mum lived, I found I was very much in the way of her independence, living so on top of her.
After the first three years - getting married dictated, I was to move to the West Coast. It was always great just to see mum once a week myself, and together with my husband, 180 mile round trip, every weekend.
*For the next couple of years I struggled with at first where to teach Dance & Exercise together with what was called a "Normal job".
"On the Road Sales" and a single job, later working hard in the care sector for 3 years... Both ended in disaster - the first with a shoulder decompression, the latter I slipped down a client's stairwell, the other shoulder having the same procedure and trapped nerve in my leg.
* After 6 months of Immobility, I had a dental appointment, I later passed the door of a hall where a gentle "Tai Chi exercise class class for Health" had begun, I was invited to watch......after a few lessons I was hooked, such a gentle Art Form, strengthening exercises keeping the muscles around the joints strong and Increasing range of motions. With warm up and cool down exercises.
Destressing from the tension of pain as the exercises progressed with a practice of Mindfulness.
* I had come full circle back into my own niche and am most passionate about empowering others to join with these wonderful, exercises. Awareness of the Universe & Mother Nature with Balance & Harmony.
Margaret
