Personal Empowerment

Sometimes dancers need to be reminded of what they can do.

Eight-year-old Sienna half-heartedly attempted a single pirouette. Although I had explained the mechanics of the turn, I could see that she was not really trying because she didn’t imagine she could be successful. How could I capture her confidence? Then I remembered something about her. “Aren’t you the one who can do an aerial?” I asked, acting like I had only heard rumors.

Sienna’s demeanor changed as she nodded her head proudly. Suddenly she was the girl who had accomplished something. I added, “Well, then you are definitely strong enough for a single pirouette. You need to figure out how to make it happen, but this is a step you can do.” I was watching a different dancer as she tried again with confidence—and a perfectly straight supporting leg.

Excited by this success, I wondered if the technique would work with older dancers. I found out a few days later when my 9- to 13-year-old jazz students worked to perfect their layouts. Although I was encouraging the dancers to use their flexibility more fully, 13-year-old Sandra barely arched her back. I remembered that she loved gymnastics.

“You can do a back handspring, right?” I said. Like Sienna, Sandra lit up as she said yes. “Then you must have a pretty strong and bendy back,” I reasoned, as if I didn’t know that already. “That means you can do an amazing layout. You just have to get your body there.”

Excited, Sandra tried the layout again. But this time she wasn’t the girl who probably couldn’t do it. She was the girl who had mastered a back handspring. She tried again and her head almost touched the floor as her leg reached for the ceiling.

Reminding dancers of past accomplishments can give them confidence and propel them more rapidly toward success.

© Gold Standard Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Republished courtesy of Dance Studio Life: http://dancestudiolife.com/