Screen names

[jimpickles]

One of the intriguing about this board is seeing the screen names people choose, because for one brief moment they have the licence to let others see their dreams...

 

So the young people choose names with a heavy emphasis on "ballerina", "princess", "lightning feet" etc.

 

For adult beginners its more like "trying", "just want to", "beginner" and so on.

 

On to gritty realistic middle age with "just the driver" (my favourite).

 

How come we lose our dreams as we get older?

 

Signed: "Nureyev_II" (NOT)

[Swiss_Chard]

So what does your screen name mean? I think that losing dreams is more a process of becoming more aware of one's limitations.

[Guest sally-mandy]

I use Sally Mandy on everything online that requires a user name. It's the nickname my grandfather called me as a child, and it doesn't represent a specific ballet dream but rather that time in life when I had too many dreams to count (and a grandfather who nurtured them).

 

My name's really Barbara. Being Sally Mandy reminds me to keep dreaming as an adult.

[Mel Johnson]

And until they start sponsoring a ballet company, I really doubt that we're going to see many people register on a ballet board as "rollsroycephantom". Unless, of course, your name IS Rolls, or Royce, or Phantom!

 

(Hey, he's got to ride around on something other than that horse, right?)

[olddude]

How come we lose our dreams as we get older?

Signed: "Nureyev_II" (NOT)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe it's just different dreams, or dreams in a different context. Relatively few dancers are men, and relatively few are old, so being an old dude active on these forums is - for me - a pretty ambitious dream. Another dream of mine is to eventually acquire some maturity to go with my age. That means (among other things) giving up vanity. Ballet class has been a great help there!

[Guest pink tights]

Now I could have registered as "old pink tights", but then in a few more years I would have to change to "really old pink tights."

[Trying_to_improve]

Although my screen name involves trying it doesn't mean I'm not without dreams.

 

I never intended my name as a pejorative statement about my self, my dreams or my current ability. It is how I live a lot of my life, always trying to do things better, so as not to stagnate and to try new things even though I might not be any good at it to expand my horisons.

 

Alot of people don't try at all.

[JennyKaye]

My screen name is just my first and middle name - plain and simple

 

Love Jennifer Kaye Harvey xx

[LaMusicienne]

I don't think you lose dreams as much as you come to terms with the way you are right now, both in age and in skill. If having "ballerina" as part of your screen name means that you want to be professional, then very few adult dancers, unless they've been pro, will call themselves BettyBallerina! So I think that, for the most part, people's screen names reflect what's most important for them, so it must vary among young dancers and older dancers.

 

As for my screen name, well, I am a musician (and much better at music than ballet!), but only for fun. I have no professional aspirations but I do want to push myself and be as good as I can get

[jimpickles]

I've been enjoying reading these responses. I hope they keep coming, because it is clear that the issue of our dreams goes really deep.

 

By the way, to the one who asked what my screen name is: the screen name is just my first and second names put together (studiedly neutral), and the Nureyev_II name was just a joke, one that possibly fell completely flat.

 

One thing is now clear reading the posts, is the importance of having dreams at all stages of our life. Studying ballet certainly helps me to have dreams, and even helps me carry some of them out.

 

So please keep posting - it is wonderful to read the responses!! - and thank you to everyone who did!

 

Jim.

[l2daisygirl]

Most people over the years have thought that my screen name was "12daisygirl", with the first two characters being the number "twelve".

 

Actually, when my DD was in 3rd grade, she and her best friend, who had the same first name, that started with an "L" thought they would start a girl-rock band that never materialized, (imagine that?).

It was called l2(lower-case L, 2, because their were two of them) daisygirl. Hence, l2daisygirl beacame the elusive "band" name, and my DD's first AOL screename as well. It makes me think of those wonderful nine year old times!!

 

This will explain why there may have been returned private messages from some of you. Even my closest friends thought the first two characters was the NUMBER TWELVE. Ha, Ha!

[twirly girly]

I'm not an adult so feel free to delete but I like to turn! Can you tell by my name?

[mmded]

miss my daughter every day

mmded

[Blanche]

I had a hard time coming up with a name that represented me but wasn't already taken...something along the lines of "allegrodancer" or "petiteallegro" as I am best at pretty much anything quick. I never really thought about calling myself something related to wishes or dreams, more what would really capture my essence. Then I decided that I didn't want to oversimplify myself in a screen name; I'm way to complex for that!

 

My screen name actually has nothing to do with Tennessee Williams (though I suppose I have relied at times on "the kindness of strangers"), and I was worried about the possibility of those on this board who are familiar with literature and/or theatre making that connection somehow.

 

I finally settled on the name my office-mate at work has called me for the past (almost) ten years. It started out as a joke (and one some perhaps would consider not very politically correct), but the name stuck...

[Mel Johnson]

Think; it could stand for Blanche Morton, the nice sensible lady next door, played by Bea Benederet, who was put into a constant state of perplexity by being the sounding board for Gracie Allen's "explanations" of things, which were madness themselves, but had their own horrifying internal logic! Benederet cultivated a look of, "This is awful; I understand what she means!"