The boomers who used to tell you not to trust anyone over 30, over 50 years ago, are now senior citizens. But it was good advice. As they themselves have shown, the older you get, the easier it is to abandon your principles. Rather than save us from the establishment with peace and love, they became the establishment, as every generation does. Peace and love never pays as well as divide and conquer.
When I was young and idealistic, I was going to be a famous ballerina. That never happened, for a few reasons. Almost no ballerinas are famous. Debbie Allen told her students that fame was unlikely. Fittingly, she is the only one of them who is still famous. Dancing, like pretty much any art, is what you do because you have to do it. There is something inside that compels you to bust your butt and work as hard as you can for little reward. If you want to be rich, go into politics. Art is created for art's sake.
Unlike music or acting, dancing is for the young. Sure, Baryshnikov was on stage well into his 50s, but most of us are not Baryshnikov. Though I knew I would never have a career anything like his, I was doing all right into my late 20s. Thanks to some medical issues, I unofficially retired at 29. Like Baryshnikov, and a great many others before and since, I got into choreography. I miss being on stage in front of an audience, but working behind the scenes pays more and is much easier on the toes.
Most of the dancers I work with are younger than I am. That is perfectly normal for most choreographers, but I am used to working with people my own age or older. In my 20s, I was with the cool kids. At 30, I sit at the adult table. I accidentally went from a rebel to part of the establishment. I think that just happens spontaneously when you turn 30. That's why no one is supposed to trust us.
I also moved from one country to another. China was probably not the best choice for my career, but it provided opportunities to work in a variety of other countries. Taiwan is a better and steadier gig, but I have yet to work outside of the country. Of course, a large obstacle is that much of the world is highly contagious right now. When I lived in China, the air was cleaner wherever I went abroad. In Taiwan, I am infinitely safer. There were quite a few changes in my life when I turned 30. Technically, this all happened when I was 29, but 30 sounds better.
There are a great many people who will tell you that 30 is still young. And they are correct. I plan on living a long time, so middle age for me should be around 50. Some people say middle age is well into your 60s, but that sounds optimistic. If you get the senior citizen discount, you are closer to the end. Of course, any of us could die tomorrow, so those are all just useless labels.
According to the label people, I was born in the middle of the Millennial Generation. No one called us that when we were young. It was Generation Y, which I always thought was stupid. The generation before us is Generation X because no one could think of a name. After the Baby Boomers, every generation suddenly had to have a name. Hemingway and his gang were the Lost Generation, but no one called the Greatest Generation the greatest generation until they had one foot in the grave. Imagine what would happen if you called teenagers the Greatest Generation. They would not end up so great. With Generation X somehow sticking, all the geniuses in charge of naming came up with Generation Y, followed by, hold onto your hats, Generation Z. The irony is, the X was never about the 24th letter of the alphabet. It was X, as in unknown, alienated, blank. Now it is just another letter. If you have to name every generation, at least come up with a name. Call boomers Generation W and see how upset they get.
Then they started calling us millennials. Not because we were born at the end of an old millennium or the beginning of a new one. Those are Generation Z, who some people like to call “zoomers”, even though that is stupid. Someone chose “millennials” because we started becoming adults at the new millennium, even though that naming convention does not match other generations. Did boomers become adults when the baby boom started? That would be the Silent Generation. I guess we know why they were so silent.
According to the internet, boomers and millennials are natural enemies. Then again, on the internet, boomers think anyone born after they were is a millennial, even though whenever boomers complain about young people, it is usually something Generation Z does. Possibly because Generation Z was born around the new millennium and it would make far more sense to call them millennials. Not that millennials have to worry about it. We are on the winning side. Time has a way of making the older generations obsolete. Long after the last boomer is dead and buried, we will still be here, complaining about those young Generation AAs or Generation Alphas or whatever stupid name someone comes up with.
