The intently inspired and spiritual Bo loves dance, living life to the fullest, and finding the positive in everything she encounters.
Pre-COVID you could find Bo out enjoying fitness, friends and fun in the sun following a long work week. Frequenting ATOMIC doing social dances like bachata, salsa and samba, along with other fitness activities have been an integral and enjoyable part of her work-life balance for quite some time. So when COVID restrictions forced dance centers to close their doors, Bo like many others was disappointed, but later got creative to get through those hard times.
Practicing with a partner at home, they worked with each other and partook in virtual sessions to keep active and connected with others in the community even while abroad in her native Poland she aims to keep plugged in to her beloved dance community.
About her time in quarantine Bo describes, “It has been a time to grow professionally and personally. My mom passed in September 2020, and I had the luxury to take time to grieve her loss. It felt like the whole world was grieving with me.” So many relate to this sentiment of friends and strangers alike coming together to lift each other up in shared grief, struggle and triumph throughout this unprecedented year. Bo’s favorite quote, which has become a life lesson is “Hurry to love people they leave so quickly“ by Fr Jan Twardowski. Elaborating, “Dance is a very important component of my life. It helps me process my feelings and emotions, as well as dealing with grieving the loss of my mother.”
Dance is a great outlet to have, especially in times of great challenge and change. Not only can it help you fight off the Quarantine 15, but it has also been shown to improve cognitive function, as well as boost serotonin and other “happy” chemicals in the brain; so with all of those healthy benefits dance really can make a positive difference in our lives, and even help us get through difficult times as it has done for Bo and countless others.
Bo, along with the entire dance community are eager for ATOMIC and favorite dance events to be able to get back to business again, realizing that things may be different for a while with a sort of “new normal” in order to work with local guidelines and keep things safe. In regards to thoughts on what dance studios and events should do to make dancers feel more safe and comfortable as they return to class, Bo suggests, “I would recommend that studios and bars provide hand sanitizers, limit the number of dancers that are admitted and require face masks. Bars and dance studios may also require that couples stick together and no one changes partners, maybe. It’s a little against the dance culture but maybe necessary to keep people safe initially.”
On just how much dance and ATOMIC Ballroom has impacted her life both as a dancer and personally as a whole, Bo encapsulates with her contagious positive energy, “ATOMIC Ballroom and my private dance teachers have given me a tool like dance to cope with stress of COVID.”
As restrictions begin to ease and regulars return to their favorite corners of the ballroom floor, how wonderful it will be to see and hear the stories of how the anticipation of returning to dance has kept so many going through the toughest of times; uplifting one another while inspiring newcomers to take their first steps.
