Dance Better Now

Overcoming self-doubt in dance

 

Many of us have worries that we do not dance well. This is despite the fact that logically we know we can dance. We have gone to dance classes, we have practiced and we have received feedback on our progression. But still, we have this self-doubt.

This makes it hard to enjoy dance. If we always doubt our abilities no matter how well we can actually dance, then we will never enjoy dance as much we could or should. And this is what makes self-doubt so insidious. When we should be dancing and enjoying ourselves, we are actually worried that we’re not dancing well, and upsetting the person we are dancing with or that others think less of us. Not only that, but it can also make us think about giving up or not putting as much effort in as we would really like.

Clearly, none of this is ideal. Therefore, overcoming self-doubt will let us enjoy dance more and put more effort into improving our ability.

There are two methods that you can use to overcome self-doubt in dance. One is a bit strange and the other will seem a little familiar. I have found the first one to be easier, but it needs and open mind. The second takes time, but it makes a little more sense.

Tapping

Tapping is based on acupressure points. Point that cause us to take on a more positive attitude toward anything we choose. From experience this works incredibly well.

You can learn more here.

However, let’s cover the basics now.

First, remember these points:

• The side of your hand –the karate chop part
• Just above the eye brows
• The cheekbone just below the eyes
• The upper lip
• The chin
• The collar bone
• The middle ribs on the side – just above where the elbow touches you sides when your arms are down
• The top of your head

Now take one of your greatest concerns about dance. Say not looking good, losing time or forgetting a step. Imagine it happening and notice how you feel.

Now in your head repeat this concern. Say something like ‘I will dance terribly because I will lose timing’ or ‘I just know I’ll do something wrong when dancing tonight’.

While repeating this statement spend around 5 – 10 seconds tapping each of the parts of your body listed above.

Once you have gone through the list, stop and think about your dancing again. You should notice that you feel better about it now.

Next, come up with a more positive statement. Say something like ‘I have been getting better at dancing and my timing since I have started. As long as I work at it I know I will get better’ or ‘Given my level, I am dancing well and everyone will know that’

Now repeat this statement while tapping each of your body parts on the above list for 5-10 seconds at a time.

Once that is done stop again and see how you feel. You will be feeling much better now.

Anytime you’re feeling stressed or in self-doubt about dance, go through the tapping procedure again.

If you want to find out more about tapping, then check out the link to the right and sign up to the email list. Margaret is excellent and really wants to help you.

Removing the fear of choking

Self-doubt can get right into our heads and make us choke when we need to perform at our best. There has been a lot of research into why we choke. The book shown to the right summarises a lot of this research. The author Sian Beilock has done a good job of explaining what we can do to reduce choking and in the process remove a lot of self-doubt.

If you take a look at it, then you will likely find something that you can use.

However, there are two techniques that are simple, make sense and have been tested to see that they work.

Get used to it.

The more you do something the less doubt you have about it. How many tive have you have had a doubt about your ability to walk?

If you think you can push through it, then this is a method worth trying. It will be difficult, but it will work. The other advantage is that it makes your practice as well so you get a double benefit. Before you take this path you need to be clear of one thing – you are going to intentionally put yourself in uncomfortable situations so that you can become stronger and no longer worry about them. Being clear about this in your head will help you apply yourself more and take the edge off the fear.

Once you have committed to this approach all you need do is find as many situations where you will need to dance. Ideally, situations that trigger your self-doubt. This could simply be group classes somewhere else, small comp’s within your dance school or social events. If you feel too stressed then just remember, that the purpose is to get over the stress.

Exorcise the concerns and enhance the positives

Have you ever noticed that when you talk about something that is troubling you that it no longer seems like such a big deal?

Often when we start to worry about something is gets locked up in our brain and we just keep focusing on it. It hangs around and ties us up in knots inside, and then fills us with self-doubt. However, if we get it out, then we feel a lot better.

Once of the easiest ways to get it out is to write it down. Writing it down sends a signal to the brain that the information has been stored, and no longer needs to be worried about. This then means it will no longer be the focus of our brain.

Side note – telling people about plans to exercise, lose weight, start a business etc. can be detrimental. By talking about it, the brain thinks the job is done and focus is lost. If you do talk about it, then make a promise or a prediction that compels you to follow through.

Once you have exorcised the doubt, it’s a good time to build confidence. Start to think about the things you can do. You have been practicing for a while so you have improved in numerous ways. We need to be reminded of this at times. With some conscious effort we can make our brain focus on the positives, and really reduce that self-doubt.

The 8 myths you incorrectly believe about better dancers

Most of us have encountered another dancer always seems to dance better than us - not matter what we do. We sometimes look for reasons to explain away their better dance so that we do not need to confront the frustration this can bring. However, many of these reasons we produce are myths. If you confront each myth to find the truth, and use this truth to improve the way you learn dance, then you will become the one that others make myths about.

Here are the 8 myths that people hold about those other dancers who dance better and how to confront them to be a better dancer.

1 They are naturals

Depending upon which country you live in you might or might not follow cricket. If you do, then you will likely know of a man by the name of Shane Warne. He is known for resurrecting spin bowling and delivering the Ball of the Century. He is for this reason considered a remarkable athlete and some would say a natural. However, he is also known for Warne’s rule:

There is no such thing as a natural.

He is certainly not the only person to posit this notion. However, it is noteworthy that one so talented and considered a natural would say this.

The notion of there being no such thing as a natural is also supported by the researcher into expert performance: Anders Ericsson. Ericsson found that all world class experts in their chosen field had completed a period considerable practice to become as good as they were. This was the case for Shane Warne and for those people you think are naturals.

If you know someone who dances better than you and it seems that they have done the same amount of practice as you, then one (or maybe more) of three things has probably happened:

1. They engaged in a hobby or pastime prior to starting dance and developed skills that carried over to dance
2. They actually practice more than they let on – many people do this to create an air of mystique
3. They practice in a more focused (deliberate) manner than you

The fact is that the people who dance well are either now or were once engaging in deliberate practice to develop the numerous attributes that make for a good dancer.

If you want to dance as well as them, then review how much deliberate practice you put in and how focused that practice is.

2 They have a dancer’s body

I have used this one a few times myself. I know men with trim builds who can more easily wrap theirs and their partner’s limbs around their torso. They can also move a little faster because of their leanness. It is true that some people will have a physique that gives them an edge, but it’s not a huge edge so don’t go thinking that this is the reason for someone dancing that much better than you.

And there is a lot more to dance than body shape.

I know I have said this before, but John Lindo is a perfect example of how much more there can be to dance.

 

Nevertheless, depending upon the dance style, you will likely find that a bit of deliberate practice to improve strength, flexibility and endurance will help.

3 They were born in the right culture, which gives them some je ne se

This one is heard a lot. It is especially espoused by people from the respective culture. I personally find it odd that someone would rather try to exclude others from enjoying their culture than try to promote their culture to others and take pride in how it is loved and mastered by so many. But I think this gets back to people needing to find other ways of feeling good about themselves.

But getting back to the point – it is not that they just have some je ne se because of their culture. It is simply that they:

1. grew up with the respective music so they can express it more in their dance and
2. they get the attitude to goes with the dance so they can also express the style easily as well.

The solution to this is once again a lot like practice.

You would be well served first by listening more to the kind of music you dance to. Second, think about the attitude and try expressing that. I only know a few teachers who actively encourage this so if you work on it, then you will quickly improve.

Learning to express attitude can take a while, and is more like acting. However, acting is a component of dance, and is worth trying.

 

4 They pay for more dance lessons

There is certainly an advantage to having more lessons. However, if you know how to practice properly in your own time, then you will make much more out of a smaller number of dance lessons. In my experience, people who pay for more lessons often grow complacent in their practice, and the benefit of the extra lessons is lost.

Remember that much of learning is actually processing what you have learned in your lesson, and not just doing the lesson. Thus, doing more lessons are often just a substitute for practice. Twice as many lessons will not make you improve your dance twice as fast.

Doing the following will make up for any difference that comes from someone else taking more dance lessons than you:

• Focus on processing what was covered in a lesson by going over it regularly (at least once a day with physical practice) and before going to sleep each night in bed to drive it all to the unconscious mind for greatest benefit.
• Record video footage of the key things (figures, techniques, routines and such) taught in each lesson.
• Dance socially – this will really test you. When the other person has learned elsewhere, the leads and follows are different. Which means you need to lead/follow properly instead of relying on the other person knowing what they are meant to do. This will really force you to know and learn the figures.
• Book practice times with other students – it’s free, they might know what you don’t know. And vice versa. You can go over routines with them, and, like social dancing, but not as extreme, you will improve your ability by dancing with another. There are many places that you can practice too.

5 They don’t work, and have more time to practice

It is certainly the case that more practice will help, but quality will always win out over quantity. Practice can cause fatigue if done too long in the wrong context. Focus on the quality of your own practice and make it deliberate.

Questions:

• Do you take notes at the end of each lesson to remind you what to work on until the next lesson?
• Do you take notes when practicing so that you have focused questions at your next lesson?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to both of these, then you’re going to find that practice quantity counts for less. This is because the quality of your practice will now be so much greater.

6 They are the teacher’s favorite

Teachers do have their favorites. However, apart from when it’s because of sexual attraction, it is a result of solid learning habits and a focus on improvement by the student. If you take your learning seriously, then you will likely be the favorite.

Of course, it’s also wise to ensure that you are a pleasant person to dance with.

And even if you’re not the favorite, your learning is your responsibility. Utilize your teacher to become a better dancer, and their lack of motivation teaching you when compared to other students will become meaningless.

7 They have a better teacher

There is such thing as a bad teacher, there is also such thing as a bad student. However, there is no such thing as a good teacher or a good student; only a good student teacher relationship. The key is to match the learning style of the student to the teaching style of the teacher.

You have a few options here if you think someone has a better teacher/student relationship:

1. Change teacher – obvious really.
2. Manage your lessons – by focusing the attention of your teacher on the things you need and extracting the information you need in a form that works for you, it will matter less how your teacher naturally teaches.
3. Adjust your learning – it’s like the opposite of option 2. I would be careful about trying this. If you adopt learning methods that don’t suit you, then it’s hard to conceive how you will dance better. However, you might find that your teacher is actually on to a better method if you give it a go. So be cautious, but try it.

 8 They are more confident

Probably because they practice properly or because they can fake it.

Once you are up and dancing, much of what worries you disappears,  and it's all down to practice. Practicing under stress can also negate the effects of nerves when performing. Therefore, confidence (or lack of it) is not a reason to not dance well.

Nevertheless, it is more enjoyable to dance when feeling confident. This is one of the best methods I have tried to boost confidence in dance.

 

 

Do you pay enough attention to the music? Hypnotic dance.

This post is inspired by an experience I had when learning Viennese Waltz. For those who do not know the Viennese Waltz, or Waltz as the Germans call it, it is actually a very repetitive dance.  Take a look at the video below to see what I mean.

You can do a few extra figures to liven it up a bit, but on the whole you are usually doing the basic figure in one of two directions.  This means that you mind can start to wander. It certainly means that for me. I need to then find something to concentrate on. At first this felt like effort; however, it opened something up to me that I had not yet experienced.

I felt the music much more deeply.

The music was all that I really had. If I did not anchor on the music, then I would lose focus, and something would go wrong. This is not to say that the Viennese waltz is an easy dance. Take a look at the video below and notice how much time the presenters spend explain how to do the basic right. It has a lot of subtle nuances. This is another characteristic of the Viennese waltz: subtlety.

However, for this post I am focusing on my experience with music and what this could mean for you if you want to gain an extra insight into your dance experience.

So you already know from the above that I was learning Viennese waltz and after a while my mind wondered. Basically, I was bored! I was doing the same thing over and over – perhaps some pointers from the teacher and I would have had more to focus on, but I was also meant to be solidifying what I had learned before progressing. Thus I was in a way stuck, but I needed to make this a bit better.

That’s what made me decide to focus on the music. If you have read about musical appreciation, either by me or elsewhere, then you know that an aspect is letting the music induce emotions in you and then feeling those. That’s what I did while I danced and I let the feelings influence my dance.

The feedback from my teacher was positive. My mind was more engaged, and I danced better. However, for me it was even better. It was good to know that I was dancing better, but now that I was focusing on the music so much (the repetitive dance allowed that) I was able to let go more and have my body guided by the music. It was a bit existential in fact, and I started to understand why some people talk about the hypnotic state dance causes in them. I was no longer trying to dance or trying to focus. I had entered a new state of consciousness where I was relaxed and calm, but still able to move in a manner required for dance.

The best thing was that once this was opened to me, I could take it to other dances (which have a greater suite of skills) and get more from them. In fact, I could get more from them without feeling the need to do a large number of figures. Instead, I could connect with the music more and change the style to express the music.

What does this mean for you?

If you would like to work on your ability to feel the music, express the music or you just want to get more from the experience of dance (at least one of these would be useful regardless of your interest in any of dance sport, exhibition or social dance) then you could simply do some Viennese Waltz. You could also choose the dance you want to get better at and do only the basic. This will get boring, once it does, try focusing on the music and get into it (almost lost in it). You will start to notice a transition in the way you feel and the way you dance.

The above assumes two things:

1. You are competent in the basic
2. You have a partner who will do this with you (you can do it alone, but that might not be as enjoyable for you and having a partner will help you ensure proper posture and such while you do this)

Give it ago and see how it changes your dance experience.

What teachers want you to do

Introduction

On 2nd May in 2013 I conducted a survey of dance teachers about what they think students struggle with most when learning social dance and what students should do to improve their dance skills the fastest.

Teachers were asked what they thought male students had the biggest challenge with, what female students had the biggest challenge with and what they thought would best help students improve. Each of these questions were multiple choice - they were allowed to choose three options for each of the first two questions and two options for the third question. The responses to these questions are summarised graphically below.

Responses

What do these results tell us?

The most obvious result is that the two major issue teachers see with their students is leading & following, and musicality.

This was true for both men and women; however, there was a difference between men and women when it came to musicality. For men, the focus was very much on timing. For women, there was a near equal split between timing and expression. This could mean that most teachers think men just need to work on timing before even thinking about expression while women have timing and are thus ready to move on to expression. It could also mean that teachers think that the expression of the music is more in the domain of women and that this is not fully understood by many women. In either case, it is likely that as a student musicality is something you need to work on. Along with leading/following.

If musicality and leading/following are the two biggest challenges for students, then it would be expected that this would be at the forefront of the teachers' minds when considering what students could do to improve. The top responses are all related to practice outside of lessons. There was an even split between practicing alone, practicing with another and dancing socially. While there were differences between the teachers regarding the specific type of practice, there was definitely agreement that practice was the one thing that students need to do more of. Practice is always a good thing, but we can probably extract from this that leading/following and musicality are things that can really only be learnt from practice.

Teachers were given other options that they could highlight when thinking about the challenges faced by students new to social dance. These covered things ranging from learning to memory to physicality. While there seemed to be a slightly higher response to the option of physicality for women, there seemed to be relative equality between the response rates to these other options. This would suggest that while musicality and leading/following are challenges faced by most students, once these challenges are overcome each student will have their own unique combination of challenges that they need to deal with.

A variety of issues would probably mean that there would be a variety of solutions as well.And this is what was seen in response to the third question. After a strong emphasis on practice (regardless of its nature) there was an even spread between things such as using different methods of learning, trying harder, improving fitness and paying attention. Therefore, it does appear that once you have improved your leading and following, you will need to determine your own strengths and weaknesses to work out what you needs to be improved.

The first three questions were multiple choice. This means that key issues could be missed. To account for this, teachers were asked if they had any other comments on what they thought students could do to improve their dance ability.

Comments in response to this question did reiterated the issues highlighted in the earlier questions. It is thought that after being limited in the multiple choice questions, they wanted to highlight the importance of the other options. Therefore, the conclusion that there are a variety of issues you might face remains true.

However, there were other themes that presented themselves.

Attitude

A number of teachers made reference to things such as confidence, ego and reactions to things going wrong. In summary, teachers want you to realise that dance will not come to you instantly, but you can get it with practice. This will be especially so if you have not done much dancing before or if the physical demands of dance are new to your body. You will likely make mistakes, you will need to work to get better (including practice outside of lessons) and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's expected. As one teacher pointed out "this is not Dancing with the Stars - you are not practicing 6-10 hours per day. Be brave. We were all beginners once."

Perspective

"Understand the difference between social dancing and competitive." this was a comment from a teacher that seemed to summarise what a number of other teachers said. As a student it might worth thinking about what kind of dance you're actually interested in. And it need not be only one type. Once you know what sort of dance you're after, you can then make sure that you are taking the right perspective for what you want to do. This then carries over to the next theme.

Reflective learning

"NO SUCH THING AS BAD STUDENTS, ONLY BAD TEACHERS!!" This was from a teacher who also said that everyone learns differently. I have said in the past that there is really only such thing as a bad student teacher relationship. However, this quote does summarise what a number of other teachers talked about. Your teacher will likely do their best to help you become the best dancer that you can. nevertheless, they can't read your mind, and do not always know what you need to be able to progress further. For this reason teachers want to know "what works" for you and to "Ask better questions". Basically, they want you to think about your learning and work with them so that you can progress faster. Try thinking of your teacher more as a partner working toward the goal of helping you get everything from dance that you want from it. I am sure that you have noticed how this theme aligns with the diversity of issues and solutions apart from musicality and lead/following.

Recommendations

It is pretty clear that you need to work on your musicality and lead/follow ability.

If you do want to work on your musicality, then I can recommend Don Baarns. He came to dance later in life, but is a musician so he has some excellent advice.

Leading and following seem to simply require practice there is no secret that will make leading and following instantly easy - you just have to work at it. However, you might find this website dedicated to leading and following helpful.

Once you have improved musicality and your lead/follow ability you will need to take stock of where you want to go with your dance and what you will need to do to get there - this will be unique to you. Ideally, you will talk regularly with your teacher about this so that you can keep track of what works best for you. To do this you need to be confident enough to dance and practice no matter your level and really think about what it is that you need to know/understand so that you can improve your dance ability in the direction you want and communciate this with your techer.

Dustin Saiidi has a social dance hypnosis CD to help you stay motivated for practice and dance confidently no matter the level your at or the situation your in.

If you want improve your ability to understand your learning style and how to better understand what you need to do to master dance, then take a look at Part 2.2 of Dance Better Now - you can get this specific chapter at this webpage.

You can still have other issues so it's always good to keep reading on the topic. If you haven't, then read as much as you can, be it books, e-books, email newsletters, blogs etc. You can get a free e-book here if you do not already have it.

Limitations on this research

I have never asked teachers to do a survey. Normally I don't ask for any specific group. Usually it is possible to get 1000s or responses, but because it was only teachers, the response was around 70. This just means that we do not have as large a sample as we might like and some key issues might be missed.

Another limitation is that there was no strict screening. It is possible that people other than teachers filled the survey out, and corrupted the results.

It's just good to keep these things in mind when reading the results of such surveys before you take action based on those results.

Acknowledgments

I really do need to thank the teachers who took the time to fill out this survey. There's is a very unique perspective that we often ignore. It's especially good to get the combined wisdom of a large group of them. It was really fascinating to read the results and get this insight that I had never really come across before. So thanks again - we really should look at organising some kind of world dance teacher day I reckon.

On 2nd May in 2013 I conducted a survey of dance teachers about what they think students struggle with most when learning social dance and what students should do to improve their dance skills fastest.

Teachers were asked what they thought male students had the biggest challenge with, what female students had the biggest challenge with and what they thought would best help students improve. Each of these questions were multiple choice - they were allowed to choose three options for the first two questions and two for the third question. The responses to these questions are summarised graphically below.

Responses

What do these results tell us?

The most obvious result is that the two major issue teachers see with their students is leading & following and musicality.

This was true of both men and women; however, there was a difference between men and woman when considering musicality. For men, the focus was very much on timing. For women, there was a more equal split between timing and expression. This could mean that most teachers think men just need to work on timing before thinking about expression while women have timing and thus ready to move on to expression. It could also mean that teachers think that the expression of the music is more in the domain of women and that this is not fully understood by many women. In either case, it is likely that as a student musicality is something you need to work on.

If musicality and leading/following are the two biggest challenges for students, then it would be expected that this would be at the forefront of their minds when considering what students could do to improve. The top responses are all related to practice outside of lessons. There was an even split between practicing alone, practicing with another and dancing socially. While there was a difference between the teachers who filled out the survey regarding the specific type of practice, there was definitely agreement that practice was the one thing that students need to do more of. Practice is always a good thing, but we can probably extract from this is that leading/following and musicality are things that can really only be learnt from practice.

Teachers were given other options that they could highlight when thinking about the challenges faced by students new to social dance. These covered things ranging from learning to memory to physicality. While there seemed to be a slightly higher response to the option of physicality for women, there seemed to be relative equality in the response rates to these options. This would suggest that while musicality and leading/following are challenges faced by most students, one these challenges are overcome each student will have their own unique combination of challenges that they need to deal with. A variety of issues would probably mean that there would be a variety of solutions as well. And this is what was seen in response to the third question. After a strong emphasis on practice (regardless of its nature) there was an even spread between things such as using different methods of learning, trying harder, improving fitness and paying attention. Therefore, once you have improved your leading and following, you will need to determine your own strengths and weaknesses to work out what you needs to be improve.

The first three questions were multiple choice. This means that key issues could be missed. To account for this, teachers were asked if they had any other comments on what they think students can do to improve their dance ability.

Comments in response to this question reiterated the issues highlighted in the earlier questions. It is thought that after being limited in the multiple choice questions, they wanted to highlight the importance of the other options. Therefore, the conclusion that there are a variety of issues you might face remains true. However, there were other themes that presented themselves.

Attitude

A number of teachers made reference to things such as confidence, ego and reaction to things going wrong. In summary, teachers want you to realise that dance will not come to you instantly, but you can get it with practice. This will be especially so if you have not done much dancing before or if the physical demands of dance are new to your body. You will likely make mistakes, you will need to work to get better and there's nothing wrong with that. As one teacher pointed out "this is not Dancing with the Stars - you are not practicing 6-10 hours per day. Be brave. We were all beginners once."

Perspective

"Understand the difference between social dancing and competitive." this was a comment from a teacher that seemed to summarise what a number of other teachers said. As a student it might worth thinking about what kind of dance you're actually interested in. And it need not be only one type. Once you know what sort of dance you're after, you can then make sure that you are taking the right perspective for what you want to do.

Reflective learning

"NO SUCH THING AS BAD STUDENTS, ONLY BAD TEACHERS!!" This was from a teacher who also said that everyone learns differently. I have said in the past that there is really only such thing as a bad student teacher relationship. However, this quote does summarise what a number of other teachers talked about. Your teacher will likely do their best to help you become the best dancer that you can. However, they can't read your mind, and do not always know what you need to progress further. For this reason teachers want to know "what works" for you and to "Ask better questions". Basically, they want you to think about your learning and work with them so that you can progress faster.

Recommendations

It is pretty clear that you need to work on your musicality and lead/follow ability. If you do want to work on your musicality, then I can recommend Don Baarns. He came to dance later in life, but is a musician so he has some excellent advice. Leading and following seem to simply require practice there is no secret that will make leading and following instantly easy - you just have to work at it. However, you might find this website dedicated to leading and following helpful.

Once you have improved musicality and your lead/follow ability you will need to take stock of where you want to go with your dance and what you will need to do to get there. Ideally, you will talk regularly with your teacher about this so that you can keep track of what works best for you. To do this you need to be confident enough to dance and practice no matter your level and really think hard about what it is that you need to know so that you can improve your dance ability.

Dustin Saiidi has a social dance hypnosis CD to help you stay motivated for practice and dance confidently no matter the level your at or the situation your in.

If you want improve your ability to workout your learning style and how to better understand what you need to do master, then take a look at Part 2.2 of Dance Better Now - you can download this part alone at this webpage.

You can still have other issues so it's always good to keep reading on the topic. If you haven't, then read as much as you can, be it books, e-books, email newsletters, blogs etc. You can get a free e-book here if you do not already have it.

Limitations on this research

I have never asked teachers to do a survey. Normally I don't ask for any specific group. Usually it is possible to get 1000s or responses, but because it was only teachers, the response was around 70. This just means that we do not have as large a sample as we might like and some key issues might be missed.

Another limitation is that there was no strict screening. It is possible that people other than teachers filled the survey out, and corrupted the results.

It's just good to keep these things in mind when reading the results of such surveys before you take action based on those results.

 

 

Imagining your way to better dance

A few posts back I talked about how you can use hypnosis to improve your dance ability. If you didn’t read it, then take a look here. The reason why I put this post up was that I had used hypnosis myself and found that it worked really well. From this experience, I have come across another easy way to quickly and increase your dance ability.

But first, back to the hypnosis.

I think that one of the major reasons for my positive experience was that the hypnotist that, Dustin, I used was also a social dancer. After the session, Dustin told me about a really good book that was related to how we see ourselves and how this affects our success in all aspects of life. The book was called The New Psycho-Cybernetics.

 

I planned on reading the book at some stage, but I wasn’t sure when. However, Chrtismas was coming up and my sister was asking what I wanted. I remembered the book and she got me that. Good timing too – I was able to start reading it over the Christmas break.

There were a few key things in the book that really struck me. Things like how it was written by a plastic surgeon who was trying to understand why some people had near miraculous life changes after facial surgery and some people actually felt they looked no different despite the clear fact that a part of their face had been changed.

However, there was one key part that really resonated with me as a dancer.

In chapter 3 the authors report on research into improving basketball skills with imagination. The researchers took 3 groups. Each was asked to take some shots at the hoop and their average score was taken. One group was then send away to do nothing for 20 days. Another group practiced taking shots daily for 20 days. The final group spent 20 minutes each day imagining that they were taking shots. After 20 days, each group was tested again for their shot taking ability. The first group sore no improvement (as one would expect), the second group improved by 24% and the third group improved by 23%!

That alone is interesting, but what does it mean for you as a dancer?

I mention a few times in both part one and part 2 of the e-book Dance Better Now that visualisation and imaging techniques can help with dance. I imagine that you probably also imagine going through dance routines in your head before you go to sleep at night too. What this research means is that not only is imagining yourself dancing something that everyone does, but that it is probably far more useful than you realise.

Practice is always good, but if you don’t have time to practice physically, then at least take time to really imagine yourself dancing well. You might do this before sleep. You might want to actually meditate when you do this to make the imaging clearer. Or, you might want to use hypnosis recording like Dustin’s.

Regardless of what you do, do it and don’t forget how much it can help.

Hypnosis for better dance

A few weeks prior to writing this post I tried hypnosis for my dance.I am now going to share with you what happened so that you see if it will help you.

I had two issues that I wanted to deal with. One was my motivation to practice outside of class: I was very good at finding other things to do, which might be simply nothing. The other was my lack of focus when dancing under pressure (such as competition); I would often think about things other than dancing, things like the judges, people watching or about why the chose the particular music for the competition. These were all about my attitude toward dance so I figured that the were ideal for hypnosis.

If you have read parts 1 and 2 of my e-book Dance Better Now, then you have read about other techniques to help with your attitude. Hypnosis is like these, but because someone else is planting the the desired ideas in your mind, you do not need to put effort into focusing on maintaining these ideas. This can make it both easier and more effective.

This is certainly what I found.

The next day after my hypnosis session I found that not only was I more motivated to practice dance, but I was also happier to practice. I could feel the link between my practice and my goals with dance (whatever they were at that time - maybe improved foot placement or musicality or balance with a certain step or just feeling comfortable with a routine). This made practice much more enjoyable, easier to put effort into, and much more effective.

What I also noticed when I was dancing in general was a greater focus on my dancing, and less on what was around me. After talking to the hypnotist before the session, he noted that the issue was simply that I didn't focus on my dance. Thus, the idea he suggested was that I focus on my dance. This is more positive and more useful than focusing on not being distracted in competitions or gradings. And I did notice this especially when dancing in a comp'. I felt more relaxed and focused, I enjoyed it more and I won despite the extra competition that I had this time (I still prefer to win by default though).

So I would have to say that hypnosis was really helpful for my dance. And it was quick and easy to do too. I would therefore recommend it to you too. However, you can't expect miracles - if you just don't have the flexibility or fitness for dance, then you probably just need to exercise, and maybe hypnosis can help with the motivation to this.

If you do want to try hypnosis, then how do you go about finding the a good hypnotist for your dance? I asked my hypnotist just that, and this is what he told me:

1. Referrals -The best way to find a hypnotist to work with is by a referral.  If you have family member or friend who has used hypnotherapy before and were happy with their hypnotherapist, then ask them to refer you.
2. Credentials - Some institutions give hypnotherapy certifications after a three-day seminar, while some give only after a 750-hour one-year training course.  Typically, the more extensive their training the better a hypnotherapist the person will be.
3. Talk to the hypnotherapist prior to the session - A good hypnotherapist will be more than happy to speak with you before you even book a session.  Call one up and speak to him or her.  Get a feel for the person.  Do you connect with this person?  Does this person sound like he or she cares about you and what it is you want to improve?  How do you feel intuitively?  Does the person sound like he/she can help you? Does he/she see you as someone they can help or just a dollar sign?
4. Been where you are - If you want to see a hypnotherapist to improve your dancing, it might be a good idea to see a hypnotherapist who has also been in the same ‘shoes’ (pun intended) as yourself, hence a fellow dancer.

He also suggested that you avoid the hypnotist who:

1. Guarantees certain results or the number of sessions it will take.  The results and number of sessions vary depending on the issue and the person.
2. Doesn’t provide you a recording of the session.  Most good hypnotherapists will record the sessions for you and email it to you so you can listen later on and reinforce the suggestions.
3. Talks about specific details or names of other clients.  This is a huge no-no and a violation of client confidentiality.

I can vouch for the need to find someone who understand dance and who gives a recording. I use my recording each time I need a "recharge". I also found that talking to someone who understand dance really helps communicate your needs effectively, which makes for a better experience.

My hypnotherapist, Dustin, has recently made a hypnotherapy product to help with better dance (he is a dancer too). I have tried that along with my specific personal recording from the session with him. I certainly found my specific one was much more useful, but general products are really good too, and I can recommend them. If you would like to try out hypnotherapy to improve your dance, then click here to view more details for a really good example. 

Just for disclosure - if you buy something from this link, then I will probably get a commission. In either case, if you feel that you have some beliefs (maybe about how good you think you can be) or an attitude (maybe you just don't really see the value in practicing) that limit your dance ability, then I can really recommend hypnosis no matter where you go.