The third Q&A from dancers is about what to do about bullying teachers and coaches. Question: Some young dancers unfortunately find themselves in unhealthy situations with coaches or teachers. Some may feel too attached to their school or coaches to be able to leave, but may actually feel bullied. What would... read more →
May
20
May
20
Today's Q&A for Dancers' Mental Health is about self-care. Question: Do you have any day-to-day simple calming techniques for dancers who feel overwhelmed? Meditation, breathing and visualisations. For good mental health meditation is helpful. If you don't practice mindfulness meditation already then there are a... read more →
May
20
Training to be a ballet dancer was a way of life for me that started at a fairly young age. Going to my ballet classes was all consuming. My family, friends and my parents’ friends all knew that my dream was to become a professional ballet dancer. Whenever I... read more →
May
11
Today's post starts a series of Q&As from dancers regarding Mental Health issues for Ballet Dancers. Mental Health Awareness Week UK It is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK this week (May 8th -14th 2017) so I am addressing some questions that have been put to me by dancers.... read more →
May
06
I enjoyed being one of the smart kids at school I grew up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania USA and was always a perfectionist at academic school. This came naturally to me, but was also a trait from my... read more →
Apr
30
Narcissists are around us in all walks of life. All performers, to a certain degree, are narcissists, otherwise they wouldn’t want to get on stage and perform to an audience. It depends to what extent narcissism takes over as to whether or not it becomes detrimental to those around the... read more →
Apr
11
Susan Marlys, retired Royal Ballet dancer, explains how her image obsession stayed with her even after retiring from performing. I feel somewhat embarrassed by my neurosis. Is my obsession because I lived in the image conscious environment of the ballet world and should have shed the self absorption when I... read more →
Apr
09
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Apr
05
Gifted potential Each child is born with a unique range and combination of gifts, traits, skills and talents. This is the basis for their potential. Each attribute or skill can be positive or negative depending on how it is nurtured. If a child shows... read more →
Apr
02
Thank you to Sophie Coster for candidly telling her story of how anorexia halted her dancing career and for sending me photos of her to post with her article. She told me that she hopes telling her story will help others. Sophie's story: Sophie at ballet... read more →