TIME

Time is the issue for a mom and a dancer/choreographer.

I am committed to being a mom first and then a dancer. This is very rewarding and I would not change my choice.  I do still have time to be a dancer but the time is limited. 

The time I have is in the early morning from 3-6am (before the family gets up), nap time from 9-11am (when my daughter is at school 3 days a week), and nap time from 1-3pm and my once/twice a month(ish) rehearsals with the company on a Saturday or Sunday.  Being committed to being a mom first means that when they are awake, I am with them. So the segments of time during the day where they are sleeping, I MUST be super efficient and motivated to get into my creative groove and get physical with out delay, or the time is wasted.

With this schedule, it doesnt leave much free time to be "social" or create or build recreational friendships. When I'm not being a mom or dancing, I am with and developing my first and foremost relationship with God and my husband.  This means I have to say no to a lot of things. At first it was hard, but once I realized that keeping a focus on my priorities made all the little moments with family and dance, AMAZING life-changing moments, learning experiences and creative spaces.  

This schedule has been working for me for 4 years now. It evolves as the children grow and I get more and more time to dedicate to making work, rehearsing, planning for rehearsals, applying to festivals, and hosting a festival of my own.  Somehow making these choices has undoubtedly fulfilled me.  I haven't missed a moment with my children and dance it is growing slowly but surely. I don't have fame or 10 performances a year with this dream I have with dance. Honestly, I have little evidence to show of it in my day to day life. But being a mom the majority of the time makes it easier to dive in to my slots of time to work. I am physically and emotionally ready for a change of pace and am able to focus on my goals for my times alone.  I have this innate trust in what I am doing, that my relationship with dance is something that must happen and that it is informing my life and that it doing some good in the world.  I keep working with this instinct to keep me going.  The question is always: Am I doing enough? Well, it's always hard to answer. But I always come to the same answer. Yes. It has to be, it must be, because in the end the fruits of my labor feel right. And then, no more asking for a while, because it wastes my time to worry about it. 

L. BROOKE SCHLECTE is the founder and artistic director of Out On a Limb Dance Company (OoLD Co.) since 2003. Schlecte is director of the {254}dance-festival in collaboration with Waco Cultural Arts Fest in Waco, Texas. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, where she received the “Excellence in Choreography Award” in 2007, as well as honors in her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin.