The Dark Side of Online Dance Education

In the dance studio, we’re taught from early on, to try it again… nope again… do it one more time, just for good measure. (And then again, for 15 minutes after class is over and the teacher has left.)

I credit my success as a dancer, a teacher, and an entrepreneur to the work ethic that dance taught me. One of the things I love most about dance is how it teaches us to always be learning, growing, and adapting.

But.

I don’t love that it turns many of us (especially women) into perfectionist minded, obsessive control freaks, and I don’t love that in times like these (hello, COVID-19 pandemic), our obsessive, gotta-do-it-all tendencies come roaring to the surface.

We have so many awesome virtual dance classes, and resources being offered up for free in the wake of COVID-19, and dancers (being the overachieving types we are), have been gobbling them up.

So much so that I’ve seen young dancers on social media commenting that they’re now taking more classes, watching what they eat even more closely, and doing more workouts, than they would be during their normal daily routines.

This is the dark side of online dance education.

Your dance students are home, alone with their thoughts - thinking: ‘do it again, it wasn’t good enough’, ‘don’t be lazy, you can take another class’, ‘I can’t rest, I’ll get so behind and out of shape!’.

We can’t control their thoughts, but we can guide our students out of the dark, critical corners of their minds and show them how to treat themselves and their bodies with respect and kindness, leading them to become resilient dancers who are physically and mentally healthy.

Now, more than ever, is when we need to teach our students how to take care of themselves. Have you taught your students how to take care of themselves? Do they know what to do with their inner perfectionist? Do they know how to handle that mean inner critic who tells them to do it over, and over, and over again?

So I say (bluntly, but lovingly), what are you going to do about it?

To help you teach your dancers these important tools, I’m teaching a mini workshop next week in my Facebook group, the Dance Studio Chaos Cure.

Your dancers don’t need more technique classes. They need to be taught how to take care of themselves. They need to know how to deal with their inner critic when she shows up. They need to know it’s ok to rest, that rest is actually essential to dancing their best. And they need to know that the body they’re in, this body, right this minute, is in the perfect shape for dancing.

I’ll show you exactly how to guide your students towards better thoughts - thoughts that help them from the inside out, so they can be healthy physically, mentally, and resilient in the face of chaotic times like these.

We start next week! Join us and get a jump on getting your dancers in a better headspace - you won’t regret it.