At The Event
12.Communication is Key
It’s important that you make a pact with your teacher, before you start dancing, that you will err on the side of communication.
Any professional in your life that you’ve enlisted to help you improve needs open channels of communication to help you reach your goals and demonstrate their ability to help. Whether it’s a stubbed toe or a moment of frustration – your teachers are equipped to handle those concerns and keep you focused on the right things.
13.Strength in Numbers
One of the biggest surprise benefits from attending a dance event is the community. From the team you participate with, to the larger Arthur Murray family you meet when you get there, the support and encouragement is unmatched. In order to feel the full benefit of that support, it’s important to stay in close proximity with your team.
14.The Double Benefit
How do you take large groups of people and transition them from nervous to excited? Screaming!
When you cheer for others on the dance floor, you’re not only supporting the other dancers, you’re also releasing nervous energy in the process. It’s a double benefit. Not to mention, in most cases, the people you cheered for will reciprocate the gesture when you’re the one dancing.
15.The Goals, The Results, and a Steak Dinner.
If you decided to pay for a steak dinner and the chef brought you a complimentary piece of Tiramisu, how would you feel? You’d undoubtedly enjoy the gesture.
Now, in the same scenario, would you ever pay for a steak dinner with the expectation of getting a free dessert? Probably not.
Considering this, think of your development as a dancer through the process of this competition as your steak dinner. You invested time, effort, and resources to achieve what you’ve achieved. The free dessert are the results. How you place, the marks you get, are outside of your control. If you approach them as an unexpected bonus, instead of an expectation; Your dance event skills will improve both physically and emotionally.
16.Don’t Forget Your Bookends
If you’ve taken the steps to assign keywords to your dances and layered goals then consider them both bookends between your dances.
“What’s our keyword for this dance?” can be asked and answered as you’re walking onto the dance floor. That’s your first bookend.
“How did we do with our goals on that one?” will take inventory of the big picture vision for the event and for that dance. That’s your second bookend.
17.Hand Over the Keys
If you understand what your normal system defaults are for handling a little pressure, you can share those “keys” and operating instructions with your teacher, for how to help if things get too overwhelming.
“I tend to get really quiet when I’m stressed but I know that isn’t going to help me. So, you have my permission to bombard me with questions, get me up and dancing, anything to keep me from getting too in my head.”
18.Improvement Isn’t Just a Feeling
Think of feelings and facts like painting. Your feelings want to work in broad strokes. The facts will work with precision brushes. Facts can find the fine detail of a process.
Whether it’s you, or your teacher, taking some time to zoom in on the facts of your progress will prevent you from zooming out of the ballroom with just your feelings.
19.Without an Asterisk
Your feelings can stand in the way of a great thing. A compliment is a face to face standing ovation. Receive it without apology or refusal. Smile, thank them, and remember that you are the image of good dancing to someone else, and a reflection of your teacher and studio.
After the Competition
20.Laugh a Little
Every dance event is designed for rapid growth. The dancer you were when you arrived will have evolved by the time you are finished.
This should make it easy to find some moments that you can share and laugh about. After all, the sooner you can laugh about an obstacle, the sooner you can learn from it. Take a few minutes on your last night at dinner to share some learning moments.
21.Chase the Burn
There may be some physical or mental fatigue after a dance event. That is to be expected, but the last thing you want is to let the skills you developed for the event to atrophy.
Plan some debrief lessons to follow up on what you learned at the event. Use this time to refine areas of your routines that may or may not have held up as originally expected. Everything will have more clarity the sooner you follow up after returning.
22.Load the Next Plan
Your dance progress is a journey. A marvellous, challenging, life-changing journey. Line up your next dance event, set up your next set of goals, and feel free to go back and re-read this article as needed.
Final Thought
Hopefully, this article can equip you with an improved strategy both in mind and body. To add some facts where there would otherwise be feelings, and dial back the distractions so you can hone in on the magic.
Good luck to everyone participating in Toronto StarBall this weekend!
Source Article by arthurmurraylive.com
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