If you’re facing a moral dilemma

It was a question I wasn’t expecting. A female choreographer for a dance piece I was in asked the women in the group if we would be OK performing topless.

She requested that we think it over and then come to her with our thoughts. While my initial reaction was to feel conflicted, I could tell that the other women were excited about it, which made me hesitant to speak up. I didn’t want to ruin the choreographer’s vision or spoil the experience for my friends. 

During my time as a dancer, I have become very comfortable changing in front of colleagues and dancing in tight costumes, so technically I wasn’t uncomfortable with the concept of dancing topless. But it still didn’t feel like something I wanted to do. I knew it would take courage to speak up for myself, but I didn’t want to avoid doing so based on fear of being different or not being accepted. I wanted to speak up for myself based on whatever decision really felt right for me. 

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