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?
