Pivot

Growing up a dancer, I was familiar with pivot turns from an early age. I would keep one foot anchored in place and then use my other foot to switch direction. This one step has repeated itself over and over throughout my life and my journey at Sixthman is no exception.

I started dance at the age of three and was taught many of the disciplines; ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, modern, tap, hip hop and musical theater. To say I loved it is an over simplification. It was my life. I worked hard to improve and sharpen my skills and the lessons I learned in that tiny studio room for 14 years, shaped my life in ways I am only beginning to understand. One of many lessons was to be ready to adapt. We were taught to understudy everyone’s parts in the routines because we never knew when we would have to step in. Let me say that pivoting happened all of the time. Injury, sickness, other commitments caused our team to shuffle around and change course. It was a great lesson at an early age to learn not to get too comfortable.

I am now in my 9th year at Sixthman and many moments mirror those I experienced as a young dancer. Not only are there daily reasons to pivot, but similarly at Sixthman, I am surrounded by people who push the envelope and encourage the best out of each other. We know our co-workers will pick us up when we fall and also hold us accountable when we mess up. Working events, you never know what is going to happen from one moment to the next, but regardless of the situation, you need to be ready to adapt. One prime example is when we encounter the occasional rainy day at sea where the captain is unable to navigate around bad weather. This results in a rainy-day pivot turn…

Rainy-day Pivot Turn:

By keeping one foot firmly planted in what we know, we are able to keep the other free to switch direction and adapt.

Rachel Voorhies
Senior Operations Manager

Number of cruises: 82
Number of days at sea: 370