200. The Four Pillars of Dance Excellence: Insights from 200 Episodes

[00:00:00] Hey coaches and teachers, if you are new to the show, it might be a little overwhelming to know which episodes to listen to. You can always go back to the beginning and binge listen, of course, but I also know we don't have a single spare minute in our days. So to help you decide where to start, I have a short five question quiz that will tell you which episodes will help you with whatever is going on right now.

It's kind of like a personality quiz, and after a few quick questions, you get a curated podcast list of the top five episodes that will help you most where you're at right now. Maybe you need some motivation or inspiration, maybe your dancers need something to listen to for help, or maybe you're looking for a little boost of confidence.

Whatever support you need, take the short quiz and find out, go to chelseaperotti. com slash podcast quiz, all one word to get started. That's chelseaperotti. com slash podcast quiz. Click the link in the episodes show notes, if that's helpful. And thank you for being here. I'm so happy to have you as a part of this [00:01:00] community.

Hello, and welcome to Passion for Dance. I'm your host, Dr. Chelsea, and I have now created 200 episodes talking about topics to help dancers be happier and more successful. I can't believe we are at 200 episodes. It feels crazy, but that's also a good time for intentional. Reflection. I always advocate for the power of taking time to pause and genuinely think about where you've been and what you've learned.

So I'm going to take a little of my own advice today. And to celebrate 200 episodes, I'll share my top piece of advice and what I've learned regarding the four pillars of this podcast, mindset, motivation, resilience, and community. Those pillars haven't changed, but I have learned a lot.

I've connected with so many people in the community and I [00:02:00] think our dance industry has changed in the four years I've been creating this show. So let's talk about the best advice and lessons learned over 200 episodes of passion for dance.

Welcome to passion for dance. I'm Dr. Chelsea, a former professional dancer, turned sports psychologist. And this podcast is for everyone in the dance industry who wants to learn actionable strategies and new mindsets.

I know what it feels like to push through the pain, take on all the criticism, and do whatever it takes to make sure the show will go on. But I also know that we understand more about mental health and resilience than ever before, and it's time to change the industry for the better. This podcast is for all of us to connect, learn, and share our passion for dance with the world. 

I started this podcast on my birthday in February of 2021. And now we're four years into the project. Some things have changed and some things are the same. I started the show as a way to share my knowledge as a sports psychology consultant and to try to bring research to [00:03:00] actual strategies that you can use in your classes and in your practices.

When you go to competition, I want to make it accessible to everyone in the dance community. I hope I'm still doing that, and that's still the plan. I've added some wonderful interviews along the way and met so many amazing people. I've also created more episodes speaking directly to the dancer, and that's a trend I'll continue this year.

Here's my biggest lesson when I think about how our dance industry has changed in regards to mental skills over the last four years. I think we need mental resilience more than ever. I hear stories every day of dancers bursting into tears at small challenges, crippling anxiety in younger and younger dancers. Young teachers who don't understand how to support their dancers while holding boundaries. And of course some dancers are thriving and doing better than ever, but broadly I think the lack of mental skills are more apparent now than they even were before and we have so much work to do. I also know that after 15 years of [00:04:00] teaching mental skills to dancers that this stuff works.

I get to hear from dancers who take a simple lesson and apply it the next time they compete and feel completely different. I hear from teachers who feel like they're more mentally prepared to handle the challenges in front of them. Now these challenges are still hard, don't get me wrong, but teachers have the mental skills to be resilient and handle the challenge in front of them.

And that is so wonderful for me to hear. 

Ultimately we're all here because we're passionate about dance. And while it's an ever changing and challenging dance world, dance is also beautiful and rewarding and one of the best experiences we can be a part of. So let's get into practical advice from each of the four pillars of the podcast. Here's some highlights and lessons learned regarding mindset, motivation, resilience, and community.

We'll start with mindset. When I talk about mindset, that covers a lot of ground, including handling things like comparison, perfectionism, negative self talk, and practicing mindfulness. [00:05:00] What I've noticed over the last few years is the need to bring in emotional intelligence. It's Ability to understand, label, and manage our emotions and make sure that's not getting in the way.

I think more and more dancers are struggling with that emotional regulation and have this inability to understand, label, and manage our emotions. And that's getting in the way. It's feeling bad about a competition or your spot on the floor or having a bad day and not being able to handle the negative thought and negative emotions and show up to class anyway.

Being able to manage stress, maintain a healthy balance of discipline and rest can all come back to your emotional regulation. I believe that mindfulness allows dancers to be fully present, enhancing performance and personal satisfaction. It's about connecting deeply with each movement and emotion. But in order to do that, in order to dance in the moment, We have to learn emotion management and regulation [00:06:00] because understanding and managing your emotions not only improves your well being but also your ability to connect with your audience makes all of our performances more authentic.

And that's why training mental skills is so powerful. So I've been talking a lot more about emotion and I think I'm going to continue that as well because I see the trend only going up from here. The other subcategory of mindset that I have seen the most need is overcoming comparison and it's twin building confidence.

Dancers are getting sucked into comparison traps and struggling to let go of that and build their own personal confidence. So while it's true that comparison can be the thief of joy, it can also be a source of inspiration. Training your mindset allows you to train your confidence, not wait for it to happen or wait until you are better than everyone around you to feel confident.

So I want to remind dancers that confidence comes from within, not from measuring up to others. Focus on your unique journey and celebrate your personal [00:07:00] progress. 

The second pillar of the show is motivation, and I've talked about this a lot in the context of leadership and communication. Being a motivational leader is about allowing for empathy while promoting Individual goals and creating a supportive environment that's focused on growth.

I think effective communication as a leader, isn't just about conveying dance steps and technique. It's about sharing big visions and fostering trust within a team. Leading with empathy creates a supportive environment where dancers feel valued, which leads to more cohesive and inspired performances.

The way many of us. Of a certain generation grew up dancing was not one leading with empathy and compassion. And I'm glad that we're starting to shift and include that in our leadership, but that doesn't mean we have to be soft and lax and let them get away with anything. We're working with a generation of [00:08:00] dancers that needs more of a balance between challenge, discipline, feedback, and on the other side, empathy, understanding, and compassion.

I totally get that that balance is challenging, but if I've learned anything over the years of talking with dancers of all levels, we can strike that balance. You can balance discipline and compassion, and I believe as teachers, we motivate our dancers the most by maintaining high standards, high expectations, and protecting mental health.

You're advocating for a balance between discipline and empathy. You can do both. So while discipline is crucial, balancing it with compassion ensures long-term growth and prevents burnout, which is ultimately the root of a lot of our loss of motivation. So let's start at the beginning and create that environment of empathy and compassion with a good dose of discipline and hard work.

The third pillar of the show is resilience, and I have long emphasized resilience as the foundation [00:09:00] of important mental skills like confidence, focus, and grit. As dancers, we can train these skills just like we train turns and leaps. Developing grit is essential for dancers who want to reach the next level.

It's not just about talent. It's about perseverance and passion for your longterm goals because mental toughness and the ability to be resilient and bounce back isn't innate. It's a skill you can cultivate, but you have to put in the work by embracing challenges and viewing failures as opportunities to grow.

You build the resilience you need for a lasting dance career. I think this ties back to the idea of. motivation and mindset. It's all cyclical. And when we're able to work our mindset so that we can show up and put in the work and handle those negative thoughts, that's where we build resilience and true confidence.

The ability to train resilience is centered around the idea of redefining success and learning from failure. I have focused on this concept a [00:10:00] lot and I keep coming back to the theme over and over again because I think when dancers learn to control their own sense of success and see failure as an opportunity for growth, they unlock new levels of potential.

As dancers, we need to redefine success beyond competitive outcomes to focus on personal development and effort. Each setback we experience from a small mistake in class to a big mistake on stage is an opportunity to redefine success and grow stronger.

There's one big lesson from resilience. It's that embracing failure as a learning tool allows dancers to take risks and push boundaries and that's what leads to true artistic growth. and competitive breakthroughs. 

The final pillar is community. And I've always included it because relationships is a personal core value of mine.

I couldn't do this work without a sense of community. I highly value building supportive networks within my own life. And I see the need within our dance [00:11:00] community. We are all stronger when we allow for and emphasize the positive outcome of collaboration, mentorship, and shared experiences.

Building a supportive dance community enriches your own journey, providing encouragement, shared experiences, and collaborative growth. There's a reason that the people at the top collaborate more. \ it's not about holding on to secrets, the people who are thriving and happiest and most successful, have a community of people around them.

We all thrive when we surround ourselves with positive influences and mentors within the dance world. And later in life, you can be a mentor and a mentee. I think you can be both. And that is incredibly powerful as well. We always have something to learn, and that value of community fosters both personal and professional development.

Focusing on community is where I want to take this podcast moving forward. When I sat to think about what I've learned and where I want to go, I [00:12:00] want to connect more. I want to be able to share real experiences and support on the show, because I believe we learn so much from other people. So, as a dancer or a teacher, if you would like to talk to me about a mental skill you're struggling with or one you wish your dancers could build, whatever has been a challenge right now, I'd love to hear from you.

If you're brave enough to share your story and let others learn from our conversation, I think we will all thrive in a community of support focused on growth and personal success. Let's apply this and see how this really works. What's working for you, what's not working for you. And find a common ground and a place of support.

So if you're willing to step out of your own comfort zone and be on the show, of course, anonymously, if you'd like, please reach out to me. You can email me at hello at chelseaperotti. com or send a voice message at passionfordancepodcast. com. I love podcasting. I love reaching so many people in our dance community, but as I sit and reflect on this process, it's a little [00:13:00] one sided over here behind a microphone.

So if you're willing to join me and tackle a challenge you've been facing and as a result, help others who are going through the same thing. Please let me know again, you can get in touch through the podcast website at passionfordancepodcast. com. And whether you've been here for 200 episodes or one, thank you for being here and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.

Thank you for listening to Passion for Dance. You can find all episode resources at passionfordancepodcast. com. And be sure to follow me on Instagram for more high performance tips at doctor. chelsea. parati. That's P I E R O T T I. This podcast is for passionate dancers and dance educators who are ready to change our industry by creating happier, more successful dancers.

I'm Dr. Chelsea, and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.