Ask any dancer why s/he has chosen dancing as a profession and more often than not, the answer will be “I could not imagine doing anything else.” A career in the arts is often unforgiving; the stereotypical portrait of the “starving artist” is not without some truth. Working in the arts does not pay well and often demands a secondary career path. However, unlike the assignment of quantitative and tangible measures of success used in so many other fields, artists are driven by something else; something that cannot be measured, whereby the meaning of success is different and personal for each individual. That something else is passion. The innate and inexplicable hunger for what makes us feel fulfilled, what gets under our skin and defines us.
Passion, for those who may not understand it, is a frightening thing. We are easily consumed by it. Those who devote their lives to their passion surrender themselves completely to it, exposing their vulnerabilities, letting it engulf their homes, their lives, and their entire state of being. Passion can make someone become obsessive, neurotic and crazy to let something so abstract dictate our way of life. What others may not see is how the intensity of this passion translates to the immense happiness of fulfilling it, and essentially living our dream. Those who follow their passion are often those who make their dreams come true; those who inch their way closer to their dreams through blood, sweat, and tears. These so-called obsessive, neurotic, crazy people, however, eventually reach that peak; never needing to ask “what if,” never knowing the regret of giving up on a dream or worse, the regret of never even trying at all. There is nothing like the joy, the liberation and the serenity of living your passion, whereby sacrifices are easily forgiven and soon forgotten.
Passion is what we dedicate to 2012. As such, we welcome this New Year by honouring some of the remarkable artists that we are privileged to know. Throughout the year, we will be featuring these artists and their words. We have asked each of them to share their passion with us by telling us why they do what they so lovingly do. We are humbled to be among them and hope that your passion, whatever it may be, continues to inspire you, strengthen you, and bring you unconditional love and joy.
