Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Mental Health For Competitive Dancers

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Mental Health For Competitive Dancers · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: Mental health for competitive dancers is a topic that the industry has shied away from over the years.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: But here at Making the Impact, we're hoping to change that.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: Joining us today are Dr.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Chelsea Firati, a sports psychology consultant for dancers, and Claudia H.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: Stein, the mindset and wellness coach for dancers, to talk about the important issues surrounding mental health and the competitive dance world.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_04: Hey y'all, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_04: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I am here with my co-host Leslie Mueller.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: What's up, Court?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: Not much what's up with you.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: Just hanging out, ready to uh talk about this important topic this week.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_04: Very important topic this week.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: We've been we've been waiting.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, it's been a long time coming for this episode.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_04: Today we were talking about mental health for dancers, which is a very, very important topic.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm happy that we're finally tackling it in season three.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_04: And I think it's finally time to talk about it in season three.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_04: So we're going for it, y'all.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_04: And we have two guests joining us today who are going to be sharing their knowledge on this important discussion.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_04: And we're definitely going to also approach it from the competitive dance world on topics regarding mental health surrounding competitive dancers, because the competitive dance world is just as important as the professional dance world, just as important as the ballet company world and the adult dance life.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_04: Children's mental health is just as important.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_04: So very happy to be doing this topic.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_04: But before we jump in and meet our guests, I want to let everyone know and give a little blast that IDA's virtual competition is back and registration is now open.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_04: So if you haven't registered your solo yet, it's a solo-only competition event.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_04: We would love to have you join us to compete with dancers alongside all across the world.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_04: And you have the opportunity to receive detailed feedback.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_04: You will receive detailed feedback from an IDA pre-screen judge, up to almost 20 minutes of feedback, which is really awesome to take back into the rehearsal studio.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_04: You have the chance to win sponsored prizes, individual special awards, and a chance to recompete in our top 20 live stream challenge as well for cash prizes.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_04: Woo-hoo! So please feel free to head over to our website at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com slash virtual competition to learn more about our virtual event.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_04: And we can't make this podcast possible without our fabulous sponsor, Dance Costumes by Urzua.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_04: Dance Costumes by Urzua offers high-end, custom, one-of-a-kind costumes for all genres, from edgy contemporary to professional tutos, to subtle leotards and sparkly unitards, and sweet lyrical dances to fun musical theater dances.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_04: Choose from a wide selection of fabrics, including hand-painted and custom printed fabric, add feathers, rhinestones, and any other material to bring your vision to life.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_04: You can receive 15% off all of their costumes and dancewear from Dance Costumes by Erzua by using our exclusive podcast promo code IMPACT15 in all caps at checkout.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much to Dance Costumes by Erzua for sponsoring this episode and learn more about them now at DanceCostumesByerzua.com.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: One of the new things we've added this year to our season, if you're a longtime listener or a new listener, is our Buy Me a Coffee opportunity for listeners to support the podcast.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: We have a Kofi account, which allows you to donate any amount of money you would like towards our podcast.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: Your donation goes directly towards supporting the production of this podcast, mics, all the things.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, a lot of things.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of things that go into this.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so we've been so grateful for all of our donors this year.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: So if you are interested in helping us out, if you like what you hear and you want to show your support, visit us at kofi.com slash making the impact.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: But we've had some really, really great reviews over there too, as well as from Apple Podcasts, and we wanted to share one today from a user named Dus333.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: They say, fantastic and informative.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: I love listening to Making the Impact Podcast.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: As a dance mom to a young dancer, I love the insight on topics my daughter is currently experiencing, as well as opportunities she can strive for in the future.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: I look forward to the new episodes each week.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yay! That's awesome.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: We enjoy producing them for you.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: So keep staying tuned.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: We've got a whole several many more episodes left this season, and then straight on into season four.
• 4:39
  unknown: Yeah.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: Season four.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_04: Whoa, that sounds weird.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_04: That's crazy.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_04: Whoa, where has the time gone?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_04: I love it.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_04: All right, listeners, it's time to jump into this important episode, and I'm very excited to be welcoming two brand new guests to our podcast.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_04: First up, I'm excited to welcome a mindset coach for dancers who also was ex-competitive dancer in her previous years as well.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_04: And that is Claudia H.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_04: Stein.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome to the podcast.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_04: Hi, happy to be here.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we're super excited to have you.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_04: I know that when we were trying to find guests for this one and we came across you on Instagram, I definitely connected because you were a competitive dancer in your youth.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that it is important to now see that you are mindset coach helping dancers and carrying that along into your professional life, but can also approach it and have a nice understanding because you grew up as one of them.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_04: So really excited to hear your perspective on this topic and happy to have you here.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_04: If you wouldn't mind telling the listeners and the fans out there a little bit more about who you are, where you're based, and what you're working on now.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, totally.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm Claudia.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_03: I am based in northern New Jersey.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a mindset and wellness coach for dancers, as well as a dance teacher and choreographer of eight years.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_03: I work with young dancers or dancers of all ages to cultivate confidence and balance in themselves so that they can show up authentically on and off stage.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_03: I received my BFA in acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: And I actually really like that I have an acting background as well, because I'm able to bring that into my work.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of my work, especially when working with competitive dancers, is storytelling and that performance quality.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_03: I was a competitive dancer growing up, as Courtney said.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm actually now a teacher at that same studio, which is really cool and really special.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, all my kids now like point to pictures on the wall and they're like, is that you?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, Yeah, yeah, I'm here since the beginning, y'all.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_03: I performed throughout college and a little bit post-grad.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: I toured with the North Carolina Theater for Young People in James and the Giant Peach.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_03: I was a company member with Community Dance Project and the Meegan Doyle Dance Company based out of the 92nd Street Y until the pandemic hit.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_03: And I am also a freelance choreographer.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: I've done choreography for dance studios, for competitions, for even a little bit of ballets back at an old studio in North Carolina.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: My choreography has been featured at Dixon Place, the new Masculinities Festival, and I've done some high school choreography as well for Little Shop of Horrors and uh Legally Blonde.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, do you dabble a little bit in everything?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_04: You do.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_04: That's awesome.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_04: And now you're on the dance teacher side of things.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_04: I am, and I really do love this side of the table.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_04: That's great.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_04: Awesome.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I'm so happy to have you here.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much for joining us.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: So happy and excited to get into this topic.
• 7:38
  unknown: Yes.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_04: All right.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_04: And our next special guest who is joining us is actually another podcaster.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_04: How exciting! I think this might be one of the first times we've had another podcaster on our podcast.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_04: I think you're right.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_04: Which is so cool.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_04: I'm super excited to welcome Chelsea Pirati to the podcast.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_04: And she has her own podcast, which you all should check out.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_04: It's called The Passion for Dance Podcast, focusing on mental skills in dance psychology.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome, Chelsea.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: So excited to be here.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're right.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's so fun to talk with other podcasters.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, I know.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_04: We need to do this more often.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_04: I know.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_04: So fun.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_04: Season four.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, all of our fans out there, make sure what you go hit subscribe on Chelsea's podcast.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_04: It is another dance podcast, and there needs to be more of them out there in this beautiful podcast world.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_04: So go give a listen, tap follow, hit subscribe.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_04: And Chelsea, if you wouldn't mind sharing with everybody a little bit more about you.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you for having me.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: I am Dr.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Chelsea.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: I have a PhD in sport psychology.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that's my main focus, as you said, with my podcast and my work is helping with the mental side of our sport.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I have that academic side, but I come from dance first.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I was a competitive dancer all through school, lived the whole studio world and loved it.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was a huge part of my whole childhood, as I think all of us in that world, it's becomes your entire childhood, is all wrapped up in comp in competitive dance.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I come from that world, but I found ballet a little bit late actually and realized how much I loved it.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I transitioned in there.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: I was a professional ballet dancer for a little while.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then another weird pivot, but I ended up coaching a high school team as a way of helping my sister.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so I fell in love with coaching, like in a traditional kind of school coach sense.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I coached high school dance for 12 years.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and so I'm familiar with that whole world as well.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And now I have taken on more the business side of bringing this mental skills work to dancers and to dance educators.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I really love trying to help educators learn more about positive psychology and sports psychology and as a way to like just help our dancers and you know, teaching them the positive life lessons, you know, encouraging and you know, growth mindset and confidence and things so that we can kind of let go of some of the older ways that's you know, we used to be many of us were probably trained and uh you know, coming about it in a new way.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, and that's so important, I think for sure.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm really excited that to also learn that you are a competitive dancer as well.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_04: So we've all we've all been there, y'all.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_04: We've all we've all experienced what your dancers are experiencing.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_04: We've been there.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_04: And now we're finding and developing new ways to handle some of those things that we all dealt with through our competitive dance journey.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm very excited to have you both.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_04: Let's jump on in to this episode.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, listeners, we are so grateful that you're here with us today for this important topic.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's something we've wanted to do for a while, but I just wanted to make sure that for everybody listening, that this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: If you believe you or another individual in your life is suffering a mental health crisis or other medical emergency, contact your doctor immediately, seek medical attention immediately, or call 911.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: Today we are here to provide a discussion forum, maybe give some resources.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: We'll link anything we speak about uh resource-wise in the show notes.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: So we are just here to offer some sort of empathy and camaraderie in speaking about mental health and you know, to to really just say that we are here with you and to support you, and we're super excited to talk to these two, uh these two valuable resources that we have on the pod today.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: So today, Chelsea, you mentioned something in your intro that I wanted to speak about, and I think it's kind of a good thing to get it out of the way so that we can move forward.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: And that's some of the older, outdated ways that dancers were trained.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, and we're all of a certain age where like we all definitely grew up with certain mindsets from teachers, and even I think probab probably also Chelsea, you can speak to this in the sports world of like sporting competitive events that aren't art related, but just sort of the way coaching has evolved and needs to continue to evolve.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_02: And can we speak a little bit about just anything you y'all have experienced with things that just don't work anymore?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you hit on my passion like right out of the gate.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is the thing that gets me super fired.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: But it's you're right.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's the the older ways that I think I certainly was raised in, and I, you know, I think so many of us understand.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it was, it's not just dance, it's coaching everywhere, but the focus was on like that tough love, and I'm gonna push you and push you and push you, and you know, phrases and sentiment like I'm gonna break you to build you up.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, if I don't challenge you, you know, I'm I'm doing it because I love you, right?
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: We say these things, but like there's you're really destroying the dancer in the process.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I think a lot of that dance culture is still is, but the old way that is really the problem was when it's focused on just a perfect outcome without anything about the process and the human behind it and understanding that there is a human behind this, you know, perfect thing that you're so trying to produce.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: But what I'm starting to see shift and my own personal passion is talking more about you know, positive coaching and positive psychology and bringing that into teaching, that it's you can achieve the same competitive results using positive methods.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the thing that people miss is they think like, well, if I go like, quote, soft on them, then we won't win anymore or we won't be competitively successful.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just not true.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the academic in me, like I'm focused on research, and I can tell you there is like legit research out there on this topic that positive psychology not only takes care of the person, but it's just as capable, if not better, at producing the competitive win that you're after.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, especially if you're gonna talk about like the longevity of a competitive career.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So we're the industry's slowly starting to shift.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're able to have more conversations about it, but we're not done yet.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: And Claudia, I'm curious.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: You are, you know, regularly working with students that are in the competitive arena, right?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: As a teacher now.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: And have you, did you grow up with any sort of that tough love mentality in your in your teaching?
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: What you both just said, like the I do it, I do it because I love you, or like I break you down to build you back up.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: Like I wouldn't say it was super extreme for me, like, but there were some moments that I was like, should I, should I be afraid of my teacher?
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_03: And that is something that I as a teacher now really am mindful of and intentional that I don't want to instill fear into my dancers.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like they shouldn't walk into the room like tense and right afraid of just like what I'm gonna think and or what I'm gonna do.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like I do my best to like create a safe and welcoming environment so that the kids feel loved and they feel supported, just like you were just saying, Chelsea, like much more process-based over product-based.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: I often say to my dancers, and maybe um maybe this makes me a bad teacher.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, I don't really care what you do up there.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like, as long as you have fun and as long as like you feel good, that's really all that matters to me.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: I don't care.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not married to my choreography.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like do what feels good to you.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and when there you go.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: When you feel good, like I don't know, I feel good when I try my best.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel good when I when I feel like I've done my very best.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: And like, listen, that wasn't the best thing I've ever done, but was it the best I could do today?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, like that's when I feel good.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, if if you can talk talk to kids at a young age about that perspective of like, no, maybe it's not the best thing in the world, but was it what I could do today?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that really is I I truly could do that and no more, then you've you've done it.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: You've done well, you know.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: That's like my you just summed up like my entire teaching teaching philosophy.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think that it's definitely in the what we what you kind of mentioned, Claudia, about like the fear aspect of your teacher.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_04: I think that a lot of teachers have trouble finding that fine line of, am I your friend or am I your teacher?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_04: And like, can we blend that or or should we not blend that?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_04: Because if you be if you approach it from like the friend side, then you want to think of, yeah, you know, I'm not gonna be mean to you, I'm not gonna be harsh and and I wanna be friendly.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_04: And then you might be, quote unquote, like you said, Chelsea, soft in class and not really firm to get the point across as, well, I am your authority, I'm your teacher.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_04: You still need to listen to me, you know, kids just running around doing whatever, like containing the children.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_04: But I I do think that there is a way to get those results, like you were saying, Chelsea, but from a approachable way of dialogues with your students and without making them scared of you.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_04: I I've I've definitely witnessed, I there are moments in my childhood where I was scared of my teachers for sure.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_04: Like, and it probably just in my head about it.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I don't even know if they were that like, you know, scary.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_04: I just think it was like the perfectionist of I need to please them, I need to make sure I'm doing this right.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, you get so in your head, but also there could be that language that's being used in the studio that makes you even feel that pressure in the first place.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that's hard for kids to navigate, especially when they're getting that from their coach or their dance teacher, where they think it's a safe place, but then it almost feels like a parent figure sometimes, which I feel like could be a little bit of a different mentality, like how parents should approach talking to children versus your teacher.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_04: It's a fine line, I think.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: If I could add to, I feel like it there's a spectrum there, and there's there's a misconception that using a positive approach means no discipline and it's all fun and game and nothing, you know, but that's not that's not it.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: It there's really you can be, you know, consistent and firm and strong and you know, ex have high expectations.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I always had really high expectations of my dancers, right?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that you are loose about it and don't care, but it is it's in the language you use, it's in it's in you know your approach, your philosophy, what's guiding you.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, there's it's that effort around it.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just that you're either coaching from fear or you're being, you know, light and fluffy and not pushing them at all.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, no, you can teach kind of this middle ground of like, I have, you know, principles and expectations and I'm gonna challenge you because you can be a stronger dancer and I believe in you, but in a way that's not causing fear and anxiety and dancers to quit and leave.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_03: And it's a fine line too, because like you were saying, Courtney, like we don't want to be like friends.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like I can be friendly with you, but I don't want to, I don't want to be friends with my dancers, because then that's like, you know, that gets into borderline abuse sometimes and like crossing boundaries.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_03: But like you were just saying, Chelsea, like having you can have expectations, you can have boundaries, you can have, you can be firm with your dancers, but still be loving and operate from a place of kindness and a place of I believe in you, I want you to succeed, not oh, you're you're not good enough.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_03: Like you're you're better than this, do better.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: I totally agree, Claudia.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's about their worth in the process and their effort and their growth and not attaching their worth to the outcome and what you see on stage.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: Love it.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: I remember being in a ballet class at like the ballet studio in my town, and I did not go to a ballet studio.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: My mother's studio does everything, but I would go in the summers and take ballet because I knew I needed more ballet.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: But I was at this ballet studio, and God bless her, she is dead now.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: But anybody who's from Atlanta will remember Ruth Mitchell.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: Ruth Mitchell was 90 when I was taking dance from her a million years ago.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: And Ruth Mitchell had a cane.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: She was one of those, you know, hardcore old school ballerinas.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: And she, and you know, I was new, I wasn't a student at her studio.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: I just came to take the ballet classes, and I was going across the floor with my friend Allison, and we were doing PK turns, and she said this was like eighth grade, and she was like, the bad girls need to go again.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: And like just the worth, like like you were saying, Chelsea, like the worth, it was she wasn't even interested in like helping me.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: She just thought I was bad and that I needed to go again.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that was enough for somebody who was of that old school tradition of let me bang my cane on the floor and maybe that'll make you better somehow.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I I do think that now in 2021, like this sounds sounds terrible, but like that generation of teachers is no longer.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe the next generation after them that are still teaching are maybe still around and teaching, but like surely the women and men and people who are, you know, the the next generation past that have moved past your bad work harder.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think, you know, Chelsea, you were saying earlier the language that's used in class, I would love to speak to that a little bit more because and that's you know, I'm not a parent, but having friends who are parents, you know, thinking about how we talk to children in settings like this is just it's so much more important than I think people ever understood before.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: And like now that there is so much more research, and like, you know, you talk to plants nicely and they grow better.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's research.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're it's out there.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: So like imagine what to do when you talk to children nicely.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I would love to talk a little bit more about that, y'all.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: I was just gonna say, I mean, you know, the dance mom show, and I'm sure there are some like boisterous dance moms out there, but one thing I really believe in is that the dance parents have to leave the critiques and the comments to the teachers.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like, let us do our job.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, the critiques are coming, you know, we're gonna go back to the studio after competition weekend and watch the videos and listen to the critiques and talk about the things that I'm sure the dancer already knows that they need to work.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: on right so after your dancer comes off stage instead of you know like giving a hug and saying like yeah that was good but like eliminate that but just be your the biggest cheerleader for your kid like that's what they need they need someone that's going to be like in their corner 100% and like not to say that their teacher or their coach isn't going to be but the teacher and the coach it's their job to also add that but or I like to say and I always give everything an and you know that was amazing and we need to work on that turn section.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: So just be your kids like number one support system no matter what even if they just stood up there and forgot their entire dance even if they like fell on their butt like just be that cheerleader that they need.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah yeah absolutely and talking about research there's it's getting older now so it could even be worse but there is a large percentage of children who quit in the car ride home because it's that conversation after class, after competition that they're like never mind I'm never going to make mom and dad happy I'm never going to be good enough.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when they shut down because they're doing what Claudia just said and the parent is maybe well intentioned trying to tell you all the things of how to be better.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: But my big push for for the dance teachers and then honestly this is I wear it as a parent my parenting hat too that uh what you say is going to become their inner voice.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever your language is, that's their self-talk.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want their self-talk to be positive on stage and to exude confidence and to feel like they have the ability to continue to grow and be strong, that's what they need to hear from you.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: And constantly focusing on what they made what they messed up on, what didn't go well like that's going to be their inner dialogue and that's all they hear.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: So for parents for sure.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then even for the dance teachers like what you say and how you say it and your language is their inner dialogue.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: So thinking about your language and like what would I want my dancer to say to him or herself like right before she takes the stage.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: What what I want them to think about when they make a mistake.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: And like that's what you want to be saying to them.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise they're gonna they're gonna beat themselves up anyway.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: So they need that like outside advice about how to handle it so we can teach them how to turn that inner dialogue around.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_02: I mean I've been really open I think on the podcast about the fact that I go to therapy and I retired from performing several years ago.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: But the inner voice that you're talking about I don't think again like we've been saying people didn't know about this stuff years ago.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't think about it.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_02: So my inner voice, I call her Mean Leslie and we discovered Mean Leslie in therapy because when I would go to an audition and I would bomb, Mean Leslie's just talking.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: She is talking like the nastiest stuff you've ever heard so mean, so rude, so crass, so awful like just berating me.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: And like I would never speak to another person like that.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: But somehow my inner voice is speaking to me like that.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: And that does come from somewhere.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: Now listen my parents never talk to me in the way that Mean Leslie talks to me in my head, but there's moments there's dance teacher moments where it's like, oh I heard something once and that stuck with me and that comes back to haunt me when I'm getting really down on myself.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's something that I think people in general now don't consider when thinking about children.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know like I think people just don't kids just have nothing to worry about.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: Life is easy.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: You go to dance class it's fun you go see your friends you whatever.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like oh I think Mean Leslie was probably there when I was like 11.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know it.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: But like kids probably have that inner voice sooner than we realize and you don't know what it's saying to them because it's in their head.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I wasn't talking about that in middle school.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely developmentally that inner voice is there by at least seven.
• 25:50
  unknown: Wow.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's starting then and at that age it's really going to be kind of superficial and not bad but it's just gonna get worse and worse and worse if we don't do something about it.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then right around 11, I'm not surprised you said that right around 11 12 is a lot changes in our brain and like sparing you the brain science of it.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: But what changes is your ability to think about your own thoughts.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: We get better at that we can stop and be like what did I just think?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Why did I think that what happened?
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that reflection can spiral you know in a horrible negative way.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: And because we don't didn't know about it, nobody taught us we don't understand that we just let it go rather than stopping it and purposely saying no I'm not gonna talk to myself like that.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it feels weird to like yell at mean Leslie to stop talking like that.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's like I call her not a crazy person.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: But but now you now at 37 I can finally say okay listen that voice is over here.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: She makes no sense she's wrong.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: She's 100% wrong about what she's saying about me.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I can put her over here but like kids can't do that.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_02: So I I think that that's you know so important for I think parents to understand that like if your kid is having a hard time you might want to investigate what's going on in their head because I know what was going on my head was you're not a good dancer.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: You're never going to be a good dancer.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, even though you love this like and oh that's a terrible thing to to talk to yourself about and there's everyone has I mean Leslie no matter what everyone has it.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a matter of understanding it and learning it and and sometimes your most outwardly cheery happy everything is wonderful.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: People and children have the worst inner script.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: So just yeah just know that too like it's it's there for everybody.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_03: If I ever hear one of my kids like say something negative about themselves, I'll say like don't talk about my friend like that.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: Because like you just said that like you wouldn't say that to someone else's face.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_03: So like why are you saying it to yourself?
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_04: That's a good one.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_04: And I think the other thing that's hard right now with with this the kids in the current generation that are teenagers is there's there's even more going on in their head because of what's going on in the world.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_04: Social media.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly social media which we can get into a global pandemic nowadays.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_04: And you know school life dance is already hard.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_04: Now we're adding social media to the mix.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_04: Now we're adding COVID 19 to the mix I mean there's a lot more going on.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_04: So that being said and social media was something on our list to discuss it with mental health we have done a social media episode previously in season one but I do think that it is an important part of this discussion especially for competitive dance.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_04: What are your thoughts on how social media has impacted the mental state of dancers these days I think it's I think it's a huge a huge part of this dance world now for good or for bad I'm not sure honestly when it comes to social media but what are your thoughts on that?
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah I well first of all I completely agree with you Courtney I think and I said this to my like middle schoolers I was like look y'all it is hard to be a kid these days like way harder than it was for me.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_03: I mean I'm pretty young I'm only 26.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't have like real social media until like my junior year of high school and even that was just like it was like the grainy photos on Instagram.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_03: Now it's like this curated like so finely tuned and like picked and like it's so it's so perfect.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it's really important to remind not only kids but like their parents so that they can monitor their children that like Instagram and TikTok or and whatever social media you're on is a highlight reel.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_03: And you're not seeing the rest of the story.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_03: You're not seeing what happens after whoever just posted puts their phone down.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_03: You're not seeing what's going on behind the perfect background right in the other room.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_03: So you know to not like take everything so personally and to like just take everything like with a grain of salt like and I try to use social media with my kids as an opportunity to celebrate each other.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like yes that is your highlight reel and like cool they're posting that they just got their round off backhand spring.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_03: Why don't you like give it a little a little emoji shout out like instead of she got her backhand spring and I I've been working on it for much longer than her and you know then you just go down the spiral the rabbit hole and yeah I think whatever I just said was perfect.
• 30:30
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• 30:44
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• 30:54
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• 31:01
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• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: Check out all of their designs now at dancecostumesbyerzua.com no absolutely I think the the comparison part is a huge issue for me and where that where it gets scariest for me.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: But taking it another way too the reason I think it causes so much issues with mental health is the focus on external validation.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: Everything about social media is driven by likes, followers, you know, that external success and we're programming it into kids' brains at a very young age I my worth is attached to this external perfection which as we were saying at the beginning and that's like the opposite of what we want our kids' brains to be learning and thinking about.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's you know if we could that's where it scares me right that we're focusing on this external validation and instead like I want to help young dancers find the validation within themselves and like be proud of their own work even if no one sees it.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: And social media makes that really hard.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: It really does feel like it's not good enough unless I can put it out there and people liked it.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so it shifts that focus away which really scares me.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's some good sides and there's you know like you said you can celebrate each other.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's some positive things that can come of it and it gives access to things that may not have been there for some people and there's definitely some positives but the the comparison and the focus on somebody else telling you if you're worth anything right is is my big issue with it.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: I agree.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah and I I remember you were saying like you know if you if you got your skill and nobody saw it it's like back in the day you would like be it in your alone in your room and do a triple pirouette and be like nobody saw it.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_04: Like that was as as hard as it got that was like it was like nobody could see it because it was only you and you didn't have a phone and but now the phone is already ready it's right for your triple pirouette.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_04: TikTok TikTok moments later and then you have five trillion likes.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_04: You know like I totally agree uh with you both and I think that's the thing that makes me a little bit nervous uh when it comes to social media like you said there are some perks but it just feels like it's like consuming their lives to a point where like they need that validation for every single thing that they do and they need to paint that picture perfect life.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_04: And it's tough.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_04: I mean I even feel that pressure as an adult.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_04: So I think what makes me nervous is for the kids that are being brought up like if I had that when I was a teenager like I would I mean it's just a lot y'all like oh my gosh you're already going through a lot as a teenager you know bullying at school and trying to fit in and trying to discover who you are as a person and so many other things that we all navigate as we grow up and then adding the comparison game of social media to the mix like oh man I feel for these children and I don't I don't know what the solution is.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_03: I don't just take away social media you know that's not happening like that's not going anywhere unfortunately but yeah I think if you like just implement the idea that it's okay to like delete Instagram for a day like it's okay if you miss out like you're not missing out on anything.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_03: It's impossible to keep up with all of your followers all of the time and that might even be I know that caused me some stress until I was able to set some real social media boundaries for myself.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_03: So like teaching kids that like hey take a break from social media it's all good.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_03: You don't have to be on it all the time it's okay like life goes on with on the without the little box.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_04: I'm almost comparing it to like this same scenario as everyone thinks that you need a million tricks in your competition dance to win because they're like well the dances with all the tricks win all the time.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_04: So they must be doing something right.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_04: So then comparing social media to it well if I have a million followers and that means I've won or if I'm on social media every day and I'm posting content every day then I'm going to get more followers and then I'm going to win.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's like that same thing where it's like that well if this person's doing it and it's working then that means that's what I need to do to succeed.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_04: And it's I just that comparison of like you know connecting social media to like a dance scenario of what people say all the time it's like we always say like you don't need those tricks to succeed.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_04: Like if you're a great dancer, if you're a great person, then you're gonna be successful even without it.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_04: I think the same thing can be approached in in how social media feels like it is so ingrained and forced into this current 2022 life that we're living in that it's like eat, sleep, breathe if you don't have this many followers, then you're not good enough or whatever people come up with.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for the the parents and the teachers who are like as you said, we can't just take it away social media is not going to just go away but you can like I guess give dancers credit for how intelligent they are and like just have real conversations and making them be aware of like how did you feel when you saw this and like what how what encouraged that reflection and as you said it's hard for us as adults it's hard for me as an adult all the time and I have to like step away from it and shut it down for a while.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: But being honest with with your with your teenage dancers about it with your middle school dancers about it of you know helping them like how why did you get really excited when that happened and do you need to share this or what what made you how did you feel when you saw that or got that like or didn't get that and you know if you can have honest conversations like yeah this is hard.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that something's wrong with you because this is bothering you or it's not that it's supposed to be easy.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is hard and I'm here to try to navigate this with you.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_03: And validating those feelings is so important.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_03: Mm-hmm.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: Because we don't want to shame them for feeling any type of way.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like those feelings are there for a reason and let's let's just explore that.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_03: Let's have that conversation.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_03: I just ask my dancers to pay attention.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah absolutely well and making sure I think you just y'all just both hit the nail on the head with acknowledging the emotions because look right now it's the pandemic it's been two years of this 16 year olds that were 16 in March of 2020 are now 18.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_02: But are they really 18?
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_02: No they still have the mindset of a 16 year old they didn't get these two years.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_02: Their emotions aren't quite there yet either so like I feel like if there's just the acknowledgement of like you're gonna feel this way and this way and this way and this way and those are all valid instead of I think a lot of times especially in competitive dance there is a little bit of suck it up, let it go, move on, do your dance, just leave it at the door.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like oh sometimes you can't leave it at the door.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah like you got to bring it into the door you know yeah leave it at the door is a big like issue for me.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Of that because it's that same that phrase of the way we were all raised of like the show must go on and leave it at the door and like yes there's some truth to that in the sense that like you need to figure out how to handle this right now so you can get up on stage and but you can teach how to do that in a way that's like process and handle what's happening and then go execute, not ignore it and stuff it down and go execute.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're still gonna ex have high expectations they're still going to get on stage they're still going to do that competition or they won't if it's really in a bad place.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: But like they're it doesn't mean that you have to like just cuddle them and say it's okay.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do anything.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you can have these high expectations but have them process and dealing with the emotions along the way rather than stuffing it down, leave it at the door forget about it.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to hear it like that's which is I think as many of us heard.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I think giving the dancers like agency over their choice like instead of suck it up, get on stage just do it then going back to like what we were saying earlier like that that's they're operating from a place of fear.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_03: Whereas if you're able if they're having a moment and they're feeling nervous like you can as their coach, as their teacher, like look them in the eye and be like, what do you need right now?
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: Do we need to take a few deep breaths?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_03: Do we need to like like shake it out like and get some of that energy like moving through your body or do we need to just like do I need to leave you alone for a little bit do you need a moment like I ask my dancers all the time like what do they need and often they get like caught off guard.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_03: They're like no need to ask me that.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah and I'm like well what do you need think about it right and then and then let me know when when you know yeah yeah and that's so important to ask them in the moment because often you're right often they're like I have no idea.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah okay so then we'll do our best to figure it out but then let's talk about this when it's not competition moment and figure it out.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like as you're prepping to get on stage what do you need do you like to be like super pumped up and energized or do you need to be like zen and chill and ready to go and what you need and what your best friend needs is not likely the same thing.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: So like working through what state do you need to be in before you take stage is huge.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: And rather I think we the old way of doing it is like you do it the way that your teacher does it and the way teacher expects and everybody's the same and suck it up and do it this way.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: For some dancers it worked and for others it was like against what they really needed.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that's those are the ones who are going to struggle.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah helping them I love that agency and helping them figure out like you can decide what you need and that's gonna make you you're gonna have the best version of you on the stage which is going to produce your best performance.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_04: Totally and that being said since we're kind of talking in the competition world right now I think that we talked about maybe just dance as a whole and the studio life in the room but how do you feel like the competition element of competitive dance is affecting how young dancers you know progress as far as their mental state, how they're experiencing the competition world do you think it's good?
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_04: Do you think it's bad?
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_04: How can we improve it?
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_04: I I think as well could be helpful on all ends teacher parent dancer side studio owner side competition side any any thoughts on that competitive dance world when it comes to mental health?
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: I might take a different approach to this than you would expect but I actually feel like the competitive aspect of our sport can be a really positive thing and it can be a really good thing.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's back to what we said at the very beginning though, if you approach it from this fear-based teaching style, that's when it's harmful but I feel like there are so many incredibly good life lessons that come from competitive sport, including competitive dance.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: I use sport and dance interchangeably in this context.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's a whole other soapbox for me.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: But that it's that competition is a good thing.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're teaching kids that there are challenges and you don't back down from that challenge.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's okay to make a mistake and get up and do it again.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you know you're again your worth is in your process and your effort not necessarily in the outcome that some judge decided on that you didn't have any control over.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: And you know teaching them to control the controllables is another like big important lesson.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so much of that comes from the competition side specifically of dance.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so it I think if we go about it in that kind of the the positive approach, we it's a great thing and it's something that I would want my kids involved in and it's something I think can be so powerful for our dancers if we go about it that way.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's dangerous and it's scary when we do it from the fear and punishment based version.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_03: Totally I totally yeah I think I really loved what you just said Chelsea about like it doesn't always have to be like what the judges think it can be like it can come from you.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I again I say this to my dancers and sometimes they look at me and they're like what and I'm like yeah we don't always have to agree with every single thing the judge says we can take what we need and leave the rest.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_03: Like what what do you need in this moment?
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like you can't apply 12 like 12 comments to like what at one moment you need to like take it in bits and pieces.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_03: I also love what you said about controlling the controllable.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_03: Again I think that gives dancers like a lot of agency and like you know you can't control what your competitor is about to do on stage right after you it's simply out of your control.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_03: You really can't control like at like to a certain extent like what's going to happen like to your music, to your costume like if something happens things happen.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_03: You can be as prepared as possible but things happen life happens and to like not if like your head piece falls off to like not be like it was ruined that's the end of my life as a competitive dancer like I'll never dance again like it doesn't have to be that big of a deal.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_03: It's like my my headpiece fell off next time I'll add another 12 pins to it.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_03: Right and then something that just made me think about from one of your earlier podcasts uh the winning versus losing I think it's so important like the competition nature to like teach kids how to win and lose Like appropriately to like not be super cocky, but also to not be like super modest, like to own up to like, yeah, I actually I did do really well.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for the compliment.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for your congratulations.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_03: And then to also give that to another dancer.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_03: And then in terms of like losing, to not again like let that ruin your weekend, to let that ruin your career, your competition season.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_03: Like it's not the end of the world.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_03: Like at the end of the day, it's just a plastic trophy.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_04: That's it.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: We have so many sitting in the back of a closet somewhere.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: So many, all of us.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_04: My mom's always asking, like, what does she want me to do with all these trophies that are sitting at home in Maryland?
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, just throw them out.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I don't know.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_04: Like, there's a whole basement full of trophies.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, truly, everyone, when they look they're fun when you're a child.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_04: Like, look at my room of trophies I have.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_04: And then it's like, what do we do with these?
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_04: Like, do we donate them to Goodwill?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I mean, truly.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_04: It's not like mom and dad are gonna keep your trophies for forever.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_04: Except for Robin.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_04: Except for Robin, my mom.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_04: They're going in the trash soon, it sounds like that's a good idea.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_02: Except maybe, maybe for keep like your nationals like tall as you trophy.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe that'll be a three that I kept, and the rest I was like, yeah, the most meaningful ones, you know?
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_04: The ones that you always want to run.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well that's what some of them are like, some of the meaningful are the big ones, and some of them are like this was meaningful to me because of some moment on stage that time, right?
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: Even if I didn't actually place that high or score that well, or there's those few that yeah, they're more meaningful.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: But that's that's the power of what I think sport can teach us and what competitive dance teaches us of like what was your win?
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe the judges agreed with you that time, maybe they didn't, but do you did you have a win in there?
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, to the parents asked out there, like asking your kids of like what was, you know, your high today, what was your win, what got better?
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe a certain skill got better, or maybe you'd felt more comfortable today than you have in a long time, or you know, it's what find those small wins and like celebrating those small wins, and they may not directly correlate to a score sheet somewhere, and that's okay.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually they will, like that will add up, and you'll start to see the score sheet, you know, go in the direction you want it to go.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: But it's those life skills that we learn through competitive dance that then translate, as I think all of us understand now, how much like I have so much of my adult life is better for my mental skills learned in competitive dance.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it's yeah, you can do it in a positive way, or that's the whole goal, right?
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: To get out of the fear and punishment side and do this in the right way and still learn the same lessons.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_03: I ask my dancers often like, what does winning mean to you?
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_03: Like, define winning for yourself because it doesn't have to just be first place double platinum, whatever.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_03: It can be right.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_03: I told a story or I connected with my partner on stage, or you know, I really lost myself in the music.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_03: I I nailed that trick that I've been a little nervous about.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_03: It can be whatever it wants.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_03: It doesn't have to be just one way.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: And same with teachers and studio owners out there, like what is success to you?
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_00: And like really thinking about what success is in for you and not what social media says it is or what you know outward recognition says it is, and when do you feel successful?
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you can own that as the adult in the room, then that's going to translate to how the kids feel.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because if the if the teachers and the studio owners are all about the rankings and the accolades and the outward success, then that's the message.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like whether you actually say it out loud or not, that's what the students hear and that's what they know you care about.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_00: So for the the teachers and the owners to think through that too, that's the message that will get down to the kids where they're able to define their own success.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: And they're gonna last a heck of a lot longer.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_02: Ooh, speaking about lasting longer, can we talk about burnout?
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think in this past several years, there's not only students but teachers.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we are on the Dance Teacher Networks, and man, the amount of teachers who are just like, I'm I'm burnout, I'm I'm done with this.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_02: What are some signs of burnout that you you should be on the lookout for if you are a teacher of children, you know, that these kids are either working too hard, they're being too hard on themselves, they, you know, let's how do we avoid that let's quit in the car on the way home conversation?
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_02: Because nobody, you know, unless you really are just like, listen, dance is not for me and that's the truth, okay, then maybe you quit and go play lacrosse.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, if you love it, like there shouldn't, that conversation shouldn't happen just because you're burnout.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_02: Because we shouldn't ever get to that point.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, what can we look out for as teachers?
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_02: And then how can we sort of help alleviate that in the future?
• 48:45
  unknown: Yeah.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I have kind of an academic answer, but Claudia probably has more of like, what do you see in your dancers?
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_03: Well, first I want first I want to say, and like I know we've said this, but like we are living in unprecedented times.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_03: Like we are still in a global pandemic.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_03: And I think just a big thing for kids, but like everyone, is to just give yourself a little bit more grace.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like go a little easier on yourself.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's just there is just a heightened heightened sense of stress collectively.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, that I think is like a major point because I don't know, I don't know about all studios or all schools, but I have definitely noticed this year, and particularly like in an academic school setting, like I feel like some of these teachers are just kind of throwing their kids back in like nothing ever happened.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_03: And like we're just kind of ignoring the fact that these children have missed like a year and a half to two years of like quote unquote like normal education.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_03: So just to put that out there.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_03: There's that.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there's that.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_03: There's that.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_03: But some signs of burnout that I notice, well, first is just like a general sense of like apathy, like kids that are like really into like one thing or like a certain aspect of dance or even not dance, and like now they just kind of have like a blank stare over their face and just like generally look at look sunken, kind of like you know, unenthusiastic when speaking about whatever this thing is.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_03: Like, oh yeah, I guess I had a good day at dance today.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like that's like that's a red flag.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_03: Mood swings, like going from like extreme excitement to extreme like sadness or like even anger, I would say.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_03: Like some of these kids get like really angry, which is hard hard to watch because I'm like, oh, you're having some big feelings, and I just want to like take them away from you, but sitting through them is important.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_03: And then another one is just like lack of focus, like and in the classroom, I can recognize like when collectively we're like losing it.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_03: And then you know, I switch gears, we we try something else, we do like a little game.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_03: But like if it's one kid and if it's like from the start of class and they're already like not present, I'm like, oh, something's going on like at home or something's going on in your life that like you just need to take a break sometimes.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_03: And I think giving kids those per that permission that like you're allowed to like take a night off, you're allowed to like take even like a week off.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like, yeah, maybe your your dance, your parent or your teacher will be upset for a little bit, but I think in the long run, it's important to like recognize that that is necessary and that's going to help them stay longer, like we were just saying, as opposed to like, oh, I'm burnt out, I'm done.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, that's another issue with like dance culture is it's 365.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like we don't have a season.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it does not stop.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, when when we're off season, quote unquote, then that there's all the extra camps and trainings, and you go, you know, and I did that too.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: I went and lived in the dorm in the summer with ballet companies, and like you don't pause and you don't stop.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the expectation, first of all.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the like, I am not good enough or I'm missing out if I don't do that.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that that 365 pressure is not good for anybody, including the teachers.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like everybody needs to pause and find that break.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: But um, Claudia, you hit on some great ones, and I think that those are clear red flags I have seen working with dancers this year too.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: The apathy that is not usually there.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, when I talk to coaches and teachers, like even last year it didn't feel last year was hard, and I still this feels worse.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_00: So there's more apathy now than I've seen.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_00: But with burnout, there's really like there's symptoms of it that we may not realize are burnout.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's there's the behavioral symptoms of like just giving up.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, the one in class who is giving you 50% energy, the one who's looking down all the time, and you know, it that's not like their usual MO, right?
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_00: Who is just doesn't care anymore.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: It can actually be like decreased ability, like tricks that they used to have that they can't do anymore.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, just actually not being able to execute what they used to, which adds to more frustration.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_00: Then so there's like the behavioral stuff, but then there's like physical symptoms of you know, um, insomnia is really common in burnout too, and being able to not sleep, which then trickles into all sorts of other issues.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: One interesting one in sport, they research a lot, there's like a decrease in coordination.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_00: And as a dancer, it's like, well, yeah, then that's gonna be it's gonna hurt everything you're doing.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you have, you know, just being tired, but then that decrease in strength and coordination then translates to not being able to execute and the frustration that comes, and again, that bad rabbit hole.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then then there's all the mental stuff too, like just kind of a Claudia hit on some of those too, being super irritable, not being able to concentrate, and you know, uh losing motivation and disinterest, and even just like that decrease in self-confidence.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not, you know, I'm not worthy, I'm not good enough.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, what's the point?
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm never gonna get XYZ, so I'm done.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, and I think for many dancers and teachers out there, there's gonna be some combination of the physical and the mental and the behavioral.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: You won't see all of it from everyone, but like not everyone will experience all of the symptoms, but you'll see it looks different on people, but you can see it if you are paying attention to look for it.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's more than just having an off day that's gonna happen, of course, but it's the consistency of it.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: When you see, you know, the dancers who are consistently tired or consistently not executing anymore, who are really moody or that anxiety that I'm all the time, like you'll see that shift where it's just dragging on and on.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just you know, the off day that a night that taking one night off is gonna fix, it's gonna need to be longer than that.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_02: I know, yeah, that's that's sobering.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_04: Wow, I'm burnt out listening to like all of this wonderful advice.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_04: No, I'm just kidding.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_04: Um, we need to take a night off.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, we're not very good at that as adults either.
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: No, Courtney.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're not.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_04: I know I need I need a break.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_04: I have a weekend off this week.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_04: Weekend off.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_04: That's true.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_00: We do that when it's something we love, right?
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, oh, but it's my passion and I love it.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so we don't stop.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_00: And like that's yeah, it's hard to like, it doesn't mean you love it any less if you don't do anything dance related for a day.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's gonna be okay.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_04: It's gonna be okay.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_04: It's so true.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_04: Ah, well, I feel like we're in a good spot.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_04: What do you think?
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_04: Anything else you want to touch on, Leslie?
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to talk really quickly if both of y'all could maybe recommend some mindfulness exercises for dancers, because I never really got in tune with that till my adulthood.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like it's something really important, like just maybe one basic thing.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_02: I know, I know none of them work for everybody, obviously, but anything that you find, you know, that you've been able to use for yourself or on dancers that you know, just something that sort of calm nerves or just get into the right mindset before class, or if they're having a hard time at competition, anything that you can think of.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_03: So we might be familiar with box breathing or four, seven, eight breathing.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_03: So I put a little spin on it because I don't know.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_03: When I first started practicing this technique, for some reason the like counting was really messing with me.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_03: And it's probably because I usually count five, six, seven, eight.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, correct.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_03: That was my hard time with that one too.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_03: So I actually kind of shifted a little bit and it like kind of breaks the rule a little bit, but I think it's if it works for you, it works for you.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_03: So you can either do inhale for a count of four and then exhale for a count of five, six, seven, eight with the holds at the top and the bottom.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_03: So inhale, one, two, three, four, hold five, six, seven, eight, exhale, one, two, three, four, hold five, six, seven, eight.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_03: Or if the holds mess you up, because I think some dancers really get like anxious when they hold their breath.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_03: So I for even if we're like when we're first starting practicing this in my classes, I'm like, cut the hold.
• 56:41
  SPEAKER_03: Just do inhale, one, two, three, four, exhale, five, six, seven, eight.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I find that really effective just because again, like that is the count that we are just constantly doing.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_03: Like, dancers don't know how to count.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_03: Higher than eight is always the two.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_03: And then once they get into like a calmer state of mind to connect to the senses, like feel something, feel the ground underneath your feet.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_03: What do you smell right now?
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_03: What's something that you see?
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_03: What's something that you hear?
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_03: How how far in the distance can you hear?
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_03: And then can you track the sound back to what's happening, like right in your room?
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I think that's a really fun one for dancers, especially young dancers, because it's like simple enough that they can grasp it and like tactile that they can like do it right in the moment.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it gets you out of your hands are great ones because you're using your senses.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_02: That's I like that one too, just for myself.
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a huge one that I think a lot of, you know, again, there's the research on it, and then the dancers who I've like seen do it in the moment and feel the difference, and grounding in your senses is huge.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_00: And to add to that, if it helps, you can add the tactile, like if you actually like trace your fingers, like you hold one hand out and like trace, so you would trace uh from your palm up to one finger as you count in one, two, three, four, and you're at your fingertip, and then you go back down five, six, seven, eight, and then in one, two, three, four up to the next fingertip, down to your palm, six, seven, eight.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we have so many nerve endings in our hands that it really does activate that sense.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a good, like, as you were just saying, Leslie, like get out of your head and get back to your body.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_00: And for dancers to get back to your body, like that's usually what helps us, right?
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: And to help understand.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, our body can control our mind as much as the mind controls the body.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you can like doing the deep breaths to control your body helps your mind.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if I were to add one, I think the other thing that I've seen, especially with a little bit older dancers, so like older high school, college dancers is journaling and just helping them be more aware of their thoughts as we were kind of talking about like how did if if things didn't go well in competition this weekend, do you know what you were thinking about right before you got on stage?
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: Were you stressing about your con your costume?
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_00: Were you worried about, were you watching the routine before you and you know, worrying about them?
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like what were you worried about the routine that was 30 minutes ago that didn't go well?
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you can stop and reflect on those things and learn more about yourself and more about what you need.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_00: So there's and there's lots of great, you know, journaling prompts and things that you can do to help direct the attention, you know, to competition mindset, to help confidence, to help, you know, mood states in any way, but especially with a little bit older.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think you can start it in middle school and they will start to get it.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_00: You'll get more superficial answers at that age, but it's not a bad thing for them to start to learn it, but it can really be more effective with that high school and older age.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_03: I highly recommend the Hundred Days of Dance guided journal by Taylor Lee.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_03: Just some great prompts, all from like, you know, how do I feel when I execute this type of move?
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_03: And then to like as abstract as like visualize your dance.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_03: What does it look like?
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_03: Like in terms of abstract uh imagery.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_03: So I think that's uh a really great resource.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_02: Nice.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we will link to that in the show notes.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_04: We love resources, helpful resources over here making the impact.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_04: Well, y'all, this is wow, this was really informative and such a great and necessary discussion that we knew we needed to have on the podcast.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_04: So I really appreciate you both joining us this evening and sharing your wisdom and knowledge on this topic.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_04: It was so refreshing, and I learned a lot sitting here and listening to you both.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_04: So thank you so much for sharing.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_04: And how we always have our guests lead us out on Making the Impact is by just sharing any final thoughts that you'd like, whether it's to dancers out there, whether it's to dance teachers, studio owners, maybe even to the dance parents.
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_04: Any final thought you'd like to say in regards to mental health for dancers?
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_03: I'll give a little message to my dancers out there.
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I already said this, but I think I can say it again.
• 1:00:41
  SPEAKER_03: Just go easy on yourself.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_03: Give yourself some grace.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_03: Get back to the the why of like why do you love to dance?
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_03: What brought you here in the first place?
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_03: And can you connect back to that while you're dancing or when you're leaving the studio, or even when you're first arriving at the studio?
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it doesn't have to be such a big thing all the time.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_03: But if you get back to like your why and like, is it fun for you?
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_03: Then I think you can move forward in your dance career with a lot more optimism and positivity and clarity, I think is is another word that's coming to me right now.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's totally what I would say to dancers too.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so then I will share maybe thoughts for the the the teachers and the studio owners to think about the culture of your studios and if your if your why, you know, there had to be a why that you went through all this and created this place, so or why you chose to be a teacher.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_00: And does that come through every day in your teaching?
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_00: What is your language like?
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because I sometimes what's in our heart is not what comes out and you know, being able to really think about that, get back to it.
• 1:01:51
  SPEAKER_00: If social media is hurting you in that way, like put the brakes on it, figure out how to protect yourself from that too, but focus on, you know, the growth mindset culture and of culture of like hard work, but appreciating the growth and the process and not so focused on the outcome, and the outcomes will happen.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and part of that, as we said earlier, the outcome is your definition.
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_00: What is success to you?
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know that and you keep coming back to that and you keep sharing that with your dancers, you will see more kind of growth and outward success that comes with it.
• 1:02:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but then you're not as attached to it and it's more you get to define your success, and that leads to a lot more of the health and happiness that we want to see in dance.
• 1:02:30
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode about mental health for dancers.
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_04: Be sure to follow our special guests on social media.
• 1:02:37
  SPEAKER_04: You can find Claudia at ClaudiaH Stein and Chelsea at dr.chelsey.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_04: Also, don't forget to check out our guest services on their websites to learn more.
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_04: Head to ClaudiaHstein.com to learn more about her mindset coaching programs for dancers.
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_04: And make sure you tune in to Chelsea's podcast, Ash and Forget, now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_02: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_04: Be sure to check out IBA affiliated competition Star Talent.
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_04: StarTalent will be celebrating their 16th season in 2022.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_04: They are thrilled to continue working with Impact Dance Adjudicators by having IBA judges on their judging panels.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_04: StarTalent holds events in Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_04: And their national finals take place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from June 15th through 19th.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_04: Their program was created to offer a positive dance environment for both recreational and competitive dancers.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_04: Their goal is to provide you with an atmosphere that is fun, organized, and fair for dancers, teachers, and parents.
• 1:03:49
  SPEAKER_04: StarTalent believes that competition is about becoming the best dancer you can be in performance and attitude.
• 1:03:55
  SPEAKER_04: Awards are presented by category and division, and high score awards are separated by three levels.
• 1:04:01
  SPEAKER_04: StarTalent also offers cash awards, scholarships, and title opportunities.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_04: To learn more about Star Talent and register now for their upcoming 2022 season, head to StarTalent Productions.com.
• 1:04:13
  SPEAKER_02: We are on a roll in season three with some awesome episodes coming your way.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_02: Stay tuned for keeping dances fresh throughout the season, how not to be a stage mom, and transitioning from comp dancer to comp teacher.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks so much for tuning into this week's episode.
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_04: We'll see you next week.
• 1:04:28
  SPEAKER_04: Until then, keep dancing.