As a teenager, contemporary dancer Eveline Kleinjans felt like nothing she did was good enough. Auditioning for university dance programs paralyzed her: “I was so focused on every move I made and what people would think that I wasn’t able to be free, to be myself,” she says. And her intense perfectionism had real repercussions. […]
We all know that pursuing a professional dance career comes with a dose of healthy competition. But sometimes that competition isn’t so healthy. Whether it’s against others, or against yourself, it can feel too easy for a positive drive to spiral into a negative fixation. Enter, The Whole Dancer Program. Designed by health coach and […]
It’s the day of competition. You’ve practiced your solo hundreds of times; you hum the music constantly, and you dream about the steps. But as you approach the wings, an unsettling feeling begins to set in. Suddenly you can’t remember what comes immediately after the aerial. You can remember, all too clearly, that week of […]
It’s an all-too-common scenario: You’re dying to impress a particular teacher. You want to hear her opinions on your dancing, and apply her corrections to your technique. But no matter how hard you work in class, she barely seems to notice you—because she’s too busy lavishing attention on a single favorite pupil. Favoritism is common, […]
The night before every big competition, 14-year-old Tessa Wilkinson, who dances with Plumb Performing Arts Center in Scottsdale, AZ, has the same dream: “I’m onstage performing, and then I either mess something up or completely forget part of my choreography,” she says. “I usually wake up worried—and immediately start going over that section of my […]
What you see isn’t always what you get: Dancers with body dysmorphic disorder have a distorted perception of their appearance. (Illustrations by Lealand Eve) When dance student Monica developed hips a few years ago, she began struggling with new insecurities. Now 15, Monica remembers staring unhappily at her body in the mirror. “Eventually, I […]
Last March, Kendall Shepherd, coach of the Lake Oswego High School dance team, led her group to competition victory. “We were thrilled to win for the second straight year,” she says. But the enthusiasm quickly turned to disappointment. “We hadn’t even left the arena before the backlash started. Within hours, my girls saw updates […]
Usually, you can’t wait to get to the dance studio. Classes and rehearsals are the highlight of each week. But today, you just don’t feel like dancing. You’d rather go to the beach. Or be with your boyfriend. Or watch TV. Or take a nap. Is something wrong with you? Should you feel guilty about […]