Free to be you and me

The dance world can be an intense place full of judgment and high physical and mental demands on youth. The pressures to have “the dancers body” or to be a “beautiful ballerina” are all over the place and can be quite hard for some young dancers to deal with… and rightly so.  

So what can be done to promote positive feelings and positive dancers?

Pegasus has long been on a mission to promote the healthy dancer. The healthy dancer respects and takes care of their body. We encourage our students to connect to their own body and to embrace the differences that make us all unique. Each of us can bring a different quality to our dancing because of these unique attributes and it is our goal at Pegasus to make sure students learn to cherish themselves for whom they are.

We should all feel free to be ourselves whether we are in the dance studio, in the dance school or out in the world! 

Health Smart! Remaining Focused on personal goals rather than competition

One of our core values at Pegasus is that each person that comes through our door should be valued for their unique qualities. We’ve built our dance program off this principle and it is one of the reasons we rarely participate in competitions. We try to focus on what each student’s personal best is and encourage them to reach it… and hopefully going far beyond it.

This month’s blogs are focused on ballet exams and we wanted to take this health section to talk about the mental health that surrounds a high stress situation for children. Last month we talked about how to encourage children through tough times and one of the suggestions from the experts was to help them focus on their personal goals. A ballet exam, dance competition, recital or even just day to day class, is the perfect forum for setting personal goals. In each situation a dancer will be surrounded by number of other people who all have their own talents and challenges. In our society we are encouraged to compare ourselves to those around us and in the dance world this is very prominent - those mirrors don’t help at all. Comparison can be very intimidating and in the end can turn out to be very harmful. So this month… try setting goals for just you. Are you going to work towards relaxing your hands during ballet class, landing the double pirouette in jazz, get all the sounds in a delayed wing in tap class, or be able to run through the entire routine without forgetting what comes next in modern?

What is always helpful in reaching personal goals is to tell someone what they are. Teachers are a great person because they can they help you stay focused on your goals in class and they can guide you towards reaching them. So… why are YOU doing a ballet exam this year? Or, taking musical theatre for the first time? 

The Month Ahead...

Here is a look at the posts we are planning for March:

Inspirations: Inspiring Dance Quotes
Spotlight: A day in the life of an exam candidate
Health Smart!: Remaining focused on personal goals rather than competition
Parent Toolbox: The exam Toolbox - everything you will need on the big day