A Little Inspiration: Dancers That Face Adversity and Triumph

We all face adversity in our lives. Obstacles for dancers can come in many forms. They may be physical (a chronic injury, muscular or structural limitations, sometimes even a person’s height can stand in their way).  They may be in the form of other people (a discouraging teacher, a negative co-worker, an unsupportive family member).  They can be mental obstacles or those that come from within ourselves (an eating disorder, procrastination, perfectionism).  In fact, probably the obstacles that most dancers face fall into the latter category.

It is inspiring to know that people can overcome great odds.  And it can be uplifting to realize that, not only are there others who struggle against adversity, but Read more

The Back-to-School Teach-a-thon is here!!

Read more

Negativity

The mindset plays a very serious role in how we dance. Negative self-talk is damaging and has a way of oozing out to the people around you, actually affecting the performance of others. For instance, a little joke, a negative or sarcastic comment about your dancing can lead to another dancer feeling worse about any problems he/she may be having in the class. Even your teacher may feel as though she is failing the class in some way or respond to your negativity with more negativity.

At their best, negative comments accomplish absolutely nothing and, at their worst, succeed in increasing doubt and even hurt feelings throughout the class.

Once I had a teen in ballet class that seemed so unmotivated and negative. I could tell she liked barre but felt uncoordinated in center work. Her confidence was low in areas outside of dance and it was reflected in her lack of presentation with her upper body. I was determined to see her succeed in class, mostly because I could see that she didn’t believe she could. There was just no ignoring her, either! She was very negative about anything in class that she “couldn’t” do and used her quick wit to complain or put herself down, ruining everyone’s experience. I often felt horrible about the class afterward but, I knew that there was more to her actions than what was on the surface. I didn’t give up.

That year we did a dance with a variety of characters and I decided to play up the strengths in her lower body and letting her arms free flow as it fit for that particular character. Obviously we still worked on upper body in class but in the dance she was just as important as all the other characters. From that point on she was a different kid and improved her port de bras by 200%.

To illustrate how far she’d come, I wrote her a note at the conclusion of the year and encouraged her to avoid taking a step backward next year. You see, I was leaving and wanted her to keep going forward with a new teacher. I reminded her that a new instructor would have different and important things to teach her and asked her to imagine her progress if, from the beginning, she willingly responded to guidance without any negativity or fear.

Maybe you can identify with that student. Perhaps you are feeling insecure or uncertain. It’s easy to be afraid of something new, something untried, and of not being good enough at what you do try. Your strengths can and will shine more brightly than any weaknesses if you allow them. This is a lesson I think every dancer has to learn, myself included. In fact, it’s something I still struggle with every time I take a class that is challenging. Once you learn to truly appreciate what you do well, the areas in which you need improvement (which can seem overwhelming at times) will become less of a hindrance. Feeling good about yourself will unlock your full potential as a dancer, and possibly in other areas.

Others have lots to say on the topic of negative self-talk and/or positive thinking:
Dance (in this case belly dancing) and negative self-talk (the themes in this article can apply universally)
Psychology of Dance (also see an excerpt of this book here)
The Power of Positive Thinking
Enhancing the Body/Brain Connection
Train Your Brain: A Teen’s Guide to Well Being
Improve Your Attitude in Dance Class

How has negativity (yours or someone else’s) affected you in a dance class?

What are some things you can do to help “positively charge” the atmosphere?

Strengths and Weaknesses

Dancers are an interesting sub-species. Observing dance students in their natural habitat (the studio) reveals that they tend to revel in their strengths and dwell heavily on their weaknesses. Dancers maintain a detailed mental list of their shortcomings as they wistfully pine for the “natural” abilities of another. Meanwhile, a dancer will redundantly practice the things he/she is already good at. For example, those with high degrees of muscle elasticity can always be found stretching at every opportunity, quick and powerful movers constantly hone their ability to explode into a leap at any given moment, and “turners” spin like a top in a quest to eek out just one more revolution in their pirouette. When searching for the Achilles Heel of most any dance student, simply look to the skill which he or she most regularly avoids.

Mastering Strengths and Overcoming Weaknesses

In my opening I am gently mocking what I’ve witnessed both in the dance studio and even within myself at times. However, despite the tendencies of a dancer, there are dance students that manage to master their strengths and overcome substantial weaknesses in their desire to improve. TapDanceMan includes the focus on developing strengths and improving upon weaknesses as one of his 10 Habits of Highly Effective Dancers. And, he’s absolutely correct. A dancer’s ability to spend more time and effort on areas that are lacking than on the things that give the ego a little boost, separates him/her from the crowd. That doesn’t mean the dancer necessarily reduces time spent on strengths, just that he/she puts in extra time on the weaknesses instead of avoiding them. It’s hard to do this, to face our weaknesses head on and diligently overcome them while still keeping our edge on the things that come more naturally. But, there’s no way around it either. If you are aware of something that you’d like to improve, you can expect to get acquainted with TEDD in order to correct it: time, effort, desire, and diligence.

Transforming Weaknesses into Strengths

Some weaknesses can be turned into strengths. For example, in an article describing the success of the musical Chicago, Nancy Cameron muses on Bob Fosse’s highly stylized choreography, stating,

“He took all of his bad habits and utilized them to his advantage. He didn’t have great placement. For instance, he didn’t have clean use of his arms, so he’d detract from that by wearing gloves. He didn’t have a strong turn-out in his legs, so he’d turn-in instead.

“He transformed all of his habits, even the way he walked. You know how Fosse dancers tend to lean back, with their tail tucked under – that’s supposedly how he walked. And I’m not quite sure, but I think maybe he didn’t have a particularly good hairline, and that’s why he always wore a hat.”

Not everyone will have the success of Bob Fosse, however, James Robey at DanceArt.com does a great job of pointing out that within Fosse’s story there is a lesson to be learned on being yourself. This is not to say that you should stop working on the things that are problematic for you (remember, solid technique is important in preventing injury), only that you can learn to accept your quirks or the things you can’t change because they can actually help set you apart.

Learning from Others

It is dangerous to constantly compare yourself to others, however, a lot can be learned from observing the strengths and weaknesses of fellow dancers. If someone is doing something well, try to assess what they are doing that you are not. Try not to focus on what they’ve got that you don’t. Instead analyze their actions – for example, adding strong dynamics to the movement, sharply spotting turns, executing a deep plié before a jump, etc. Study the weaknesses of others in the same objective manner, making sure that you do not repeat their mistakes. Dancers that watch closely whenever they are not dancing during class will absorb and apply the corrections given, leading to noticeable improvement.

In the Zone

Often dancers must leave their comfort zones to recognize or address their strengths and weaknesses. It can take an awkward audition to realize that perhaps you need to work on your speed in picking up new choreography, for example. Likewise, you may not recognize your particular ability to connect with the music until a stranger in a master class mentions it. New discoveries can be made when you dare to push yourself into uncomfortable territory in class (going for that quadruple pirouette or letting go emotionally in a new combination, for example). In all of these situations, you may risk exposing a weakness, but recognition is the first step in improving or transforming that weakness. Plus, the risk is worth it if you discover a hidden strength.

Be Persistent

There are rarely quick fixes in dance and a smart and effective dancer knows this. Dancers often hit plateaus in their development before their next “growth spurt” (physically and mentally). If you’ve been working hard on something and feel like you’re stuck, read The Dance Primer’s account of how sometimes weaknesses can suddenly become strengths if you don’t give up. And speaking of not giving up, I’ve written a page that offers encouragement to those who are struggling: I Can’t encourages dancers to accept challenges in a positive manner and serves as a reminder that every dancer has strengths and every dancer has weaknesses.

Bullying in Dance Class

What does a bully look like?

We tend to picture a bully as a big, tough, boy that picks on those smaller or younger than himself. However, there has been a lot of discussion lately within educational circles about bullying and we are slowly learning that bullies come in many forms. Although dance can foster understanding and a sense of community among young people, dance classes are not immune to episodes of bullying.

Boys in dance often receive taunting, teasing and physical harassment from sources outside their dance school. Sometimes the effects of this bullying can have serious consequences as they did for one young man in Derby, England. It is not as widely recognized, however, that male students can sometimes be bullied by females in their dance classes. After all, boys are typically outnumbered and often a subject of fascination for the females in a typical studio environment. In fact, girls are every bit as capable of bullying as boys, however their style or methods of tormenting usually differ.

Girls tend to practice what is called relational aggression. They manipulate, taunt, and tease on an emotional level that often flies under the radar of teachers. Here are some sources that will help you spot and understand relational aggression in action:

• Girls Bullying Girls
• Girl Bullies
• Relational Aggression (defines some of the “types” like Queen Bee, Bystander, etc. and offers additional links)
• The Ophelia Project

A Teacher’s Role

In all cases of intimidation, there are usually adults that excuse bullying with, “boys will be boys” or “girls will be girls,” feel that bullying is just something everyone must deal with at some point in life, or consider the behavior as part of a phase that will pass. Even though certain age groups are more prone to experience or exhibit bullying behavior, students deserve to learn in an environment that is safe from abuse. Dance classes for pre-teens and teens are a social, as well as an educational environment where cliques and competition can flourish. In addition, students often bring their school-lives into the dance studio despite being urged to “leave it at the door.” Dance teachers can help to combat problems by learning to recognize episodes of bullying and adopting a no-tolerance policy on destructive behavior in their class even before it becomes a problem.

Why stop bullying?

It’s been my experience that students thrive when they are free to create, succeed, and fail in a class without the stress of facing snickers, rude comments, or pressure to join in on bad behavior from other classmates.

Need more reasons?

The Stop Bullying Now! website has a concise list (please visit their website for details and more information on bullying).

1. Many children are involved in bullying and most are extremely concerned about it.
2. Bullying can seriously affect the mental health, academic work, and physical health of children who are targeted.
3. Children who bully are more likely than other children to be engaged in other antisocial, violent, or troubling behavior.
4. Bullying can negatively affect children who observe bullying going on around them–even if they aren’t targeted themselves.
5. Bullying is a form of victimization or abuse, and it is wrong. Children should be able to attend school or take part in community activities without fear of being harassed, assaulted, belittled, or excluded.

If your pre-teens or teens are already engaging in bullying behaviors,

What can you do in your dance classes right now?

Take some time out of an upcoming class to sit down with the students and create rules about bullying. Having a heart-to-heart right after an episode occurs may embarrass the bullied student (which is not the point) of the exercise. However, now is better than never. Essentially, as soon as you feel prepared to address the subject calmly and objectively, go for it!

Start out with a discussion about what constitutes bullying.

1. Ask the students to come up with a list of actions that they would consider to be bullying (whispering and giggling, rolling eyes, etc.).
2. Next, have them create a set of rules to follow in class that will stop bullying.
3. And finally, come up with appropriate consequences for breaking the rules. Make sure the rules are clear and concise so that the bully can’t talk their way out of punishment. For example, No Whispering. That means no whispering… period. Doesn’t matter what the whispering was about because they will try to convince you that it wasn’t malicious. Stick to the rule and the consequence every time.

I’ve also found it helpful to create, in general, a supportive environment in class.

1. Encourage students to clap for other groups after they’ve crossed the floor or performed in front of the rest of the class.
2. Offer comments like “good try,” “don’t give up,” or “you nailed the timing, Susie!” in addition to corrections is helpful, and don’t forget to praise students who exhibit supportive and positive behavior.
3. Demonstrate constructive criticism, teaching students to look for positives and “needs improvement” in others’ work, then make it a point to provide opportunities for students to practice constructive criticism (Teach students how to properly offer constructive criticism. Be careful! If there is already a lot of negative behavior running through the class, do not allow bullies to use this exercise as another opportunity to intimidate or belittle. If this is a problem, consider holding off on allowing students to practice criticism until behavior and attitudes have improved overall.)

What to do if bullying continues.

Pull aside the offender after class. Provide specific examples of his/her bullying and/or breaking the rules, make it clear this is not acceptable, and let him/her know that this is a warning that will be followed with specific consequences if the behavior does not stop. It may also help to pull the bullied student aside and let him/her know of your plans to end the bullying so that he/she feels some reassurance that you are aware of the problem and are taking action to prevent it.

There are lots of ways for parents and teachers to deal with and prevent bullying. The links I’ve included above offer suggestions, as well as support for victims and even more links on the subject of relational aggression.

Have you been bullied in a dance class? If you are a teacher, how have you prevented bullying behavior in your class/school?