My name is Mariana Herrera Juri, I’m from Cali, Colombia.
Today I want to tell you very calmly about something very bad that happened to me during a show.
That day was a normal ordinary day, I got out of bed and dressed because we were going to a presentation at a very famous club in Cali called Country Club. My mother helped us put on makeup, comb our hair to be ready to go to the club. I was very happy and excited to dance!
We got to the club, representing our dance school called Be! DANZA, to which I have belonged for 10 years. We were warming up and getting ready for the show when they called me because it was my turn. I went on stage ready to perform my choreography.
Right in the middle of the dance, a waitress passed behind me and did not respect what we were doing or the art. She did not have any knowledge about how staging should be respected. When I was in a very demanding jump, my legs got entangled with her body as I was in the air.
I fell. On my left arm. Very hard.
It hurt so much that I couldn’t keep dancing so they took me to a hospital. They took x-rays and I happened to fracture my arm. I was in a cast and immobilized for about a month or so and was unable to dance and train.
I had about three weeks before having one of the largest hip hop competitions in Colombia and in the world, which I had to train hard for because we had to defend our title as a company. Yes or YES?
With my doctor’s recommendations, I could continue dancing and practicing with my group. It was a little difficult because I couldn’t use my hand at all because it still hurt so much. At the end, they took off the cast and I started strengthening therapy to be more prepared for the big day.
I did it! I was very proud of myself and very grateful to my family who always supports me a lot, my dance teachers who were always there taking care of me, and my colleagues and friends who never left me alone.
Moral?
Never give up. Failure and falls are a constant struggle towards success and what you want to achieve. If you fall, get up and go with more desire to achieve that goal that you want so much.
NextGenRL is a group of young artists from within the R.Evolución Latina community inspiring others through the arts. This next generation of young artists thrive on each other’s talents, providing a safe space to create art and action in their own communities. Being bold, being diverse and Daring To Go Beyond is their motto.