Feeling Anxious About Fall Dance? This Will Help!

Safety is obviously priority #1 for dance studios and teachers right now. We’re all feeling anxious about so many things, and top among our anxieties is how to help our students not feel anxious.

Yet, students of all ages are likely feeling anxiety, just as we are. They may be worried about if they’ll get sick (even if they aren’t verbalizing that concern), feel conflicted about wanting to go back to school and the studio, and probably confused about the virus itself and how it works.

And naturally, you and your staff likely also have similar concerns about staying healthy, well, and positive, for your own benefit, and for the benefit of your dancers.

So if you’re feeling anxious, know that you’re not alone! I’m all about supporting my fellow dance educators and studio owners, especially with mental and emotional wellness tools, which is why I’ve updated this blog post (which originally appeared here back in March) to give you resources, tips, and inspiration to calm your nerves, so you can breathe a deep sigh of relief as you plan for the rest of the summer and fall.

Keep reading for the practices and tools I’ve been using since March (and that many fellow teachers have been using with great success) to support your dancers, their families, your staff, and yes, yourself too!

You can help soothe anxieties about health with mantras. ‘I am perfectly healthy’, and ‘I am safe and protected’ are two of my favorites.

Practice these mantras with these coloring sheets. There’s two different designs; one geared towards young dancers and one for older dancers.

Here’s a download of more coloring sheets. Use these dance concept coloring pages with young dancers.

If engagement and connection in your classes is feeling lackluster, check out my Engagement Intervention webinar replay. It’s a 60 minute training you can share with staff, and includes both workbooks for teachers and students.

I’ve made my Dance Studio BodyPosi Challenge available as a condensed, free, 3 day workshop. If you’ve been curious about how to bring body positivity into your classes and studio, this is the place to start.

Growth mindset in dance is vital to a long and healthy career. These worksheets are a great thing for your tween, teen, and even adult dancers to use.

Give your dancers easy to follow warm ups and cool downs with this playlist of BrainDances.

I’ve also made a BrainDance specifically to address anxiety and stress for young dancers. Pair this movement sequence by engaging all of your senses: play some soft music, get a diffuser or candle going, and maybe have a tasty treat after you finish the video.

And here’s another warm up that’s great for littles that gets them relaxed, focused, and ready to dance.

Moving Mantras are a tool you’ll find in the Dance Studio BodyPosi Challenge as well. These are short, easy and gentle movements combined with positive affirmations, and totally transformational.

We’ll get through this my friends. We are a community of strong, capable and generous teachers and business owners, and support is all around us. I hope you find these resources useful and helpful - I’d love to see how you and your students are using them during this time! Come find me over on Instagram or Facebook and let me know how you’re getting on. Sending you all my love!