Passion for Dance

Summary: When we think our dancers are being lazy or don't care, we tend to yell for full out and push for more energy because we assume the dancers aren't giving us their full effort. But what actually is effort? How do you know what someone else's 100% effort actually looks like? Today's episode was inspired by Coach Alaina who sent me a voice note that really got me thinking. In the episode, we...

Summary: Healthy communication with our dancers starts with us dance coaches and teachers. We're the role models for how we want to communicate in our programs and our studios and our teams. We establish the rules and expectations for how to talk to each other and what healthy communication looks like. Good communication can improve motivation, can help dancers be more resilient, and can put them...

Today's episode is an epic collaboration of six dance specialists and dance business owners. It's a re-release of an episode of my friend Jeanne's podcast, The Feis Fit Podcast. We all got together to record for her show, and she graciously gave me permission to release the episode here as well! In this episode, you'll hear from Jeanne and I plus two other personal trainers you may know, Kendall a...

Summary: Today's episode is part three of a three-part series on team building. In the first two episodes of the series, we talked about the two different types of cohesion that your dancers are striving for, and we covered the four different factors that influence your ability to bond and be aware of those important factors you may not be able to change but are still impacting your dancers' abili...

Summary: Establishing cohesion and unity among a group of dancers is an ongoing process, and anyone who's been a teacher or a coach for more than one year will probably tell you every group is different. One big reason why each group is different is because there are four factors that influence your ability to create a cohesive group, and those factors will change with every group of dancers.  Tod...

Team Bonding Series Part 1 Summary: Did you know there are two types of team bonding? I know many coaches believe that if dancers spend time together, both in and out of practice, they will bond. However, if you're not strategic about this, your team bonding activities will stay very surface level. Unless you encourage your dancers to learn to truly trust each other, they won't be able to get in t...

Summary: As a dancer, are you following someone else's dream or your own? Do you have dreams of becoming a famous professional ballet dancer? Who do you think you need to be in order to be successful in the dance industry? My guest today is Susanne Puerschel, a former professional ballet dancer and founder of Pointe to Rise, an empowerment society and online business platform for ballerinas and ot...

Summary: Whenever an event or a season is coming to a close, I like to think back and notice what went well, what didn't go so well, and what lessons have I learned. As I usually do around this time of year, I was recently reflecting on past seasons. I coached for about 15 years, and so, this time I actually decided to take my reflection all the way back and think about lessons I've learned throug...

Summary: As teachers, studio owners, and coaches, we often don't get credit when things are going well. If our dancers are doing well at competition, they are praised, and rightfully so. If we have a recital that goes off without a hitch, teachers might be praised but the studio owner is rarely recognized outside of the studio.  I was recently working with a group of studio owners, and I heard fro...

Building team culture takes hard work. The question is, what must we do in order to actually build a positive team or studio culture with our dancers or how do we turn a negative team culture around? In today's episode, I'll be interviewing Jennifer Koonce who has been coaching for over 25 years, is a sought-after judge and choreographer, and currently owns a very successful all-star studio in Vir...

Do your dancers get lazy sometimes? Do you not know how to motivate athletes as a coach? If your dancers are lacking motivation, there is something you can do about it!   Welcome to Part Three of my Framework Series. In today's episode, we'll be focusing on the motivation pillar. We'll talk about the three ways you can inspire fierce motivation in your female athletes: team culture, rewards and pu...

This episode is part two of the Positive Coaching Framework Series where we'll discuss how to be a dance coach who truly makes a lasting positive impact on your dancers. If you've been teaching for a while, you might agree with me that today's dancers are different. While there are some positives, being challenged and pushed outside of their comfort zone is more often met with shutting down and cl...

Summary: You may have heard there are four pillars to the Passion for Dance podcast: mindset, resilience, motivation, and community. All of the episodes revolve around those themes, and I chose that structure because it comes directly from my Positive Coaching Framework. To be a coach with impact, you have to teach your dancers how to have a tough mindset, fierce motivation, and steady resilience,...

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Passion for Dance podcast! In honor of the 100th episode, I wanted to do something special. My passion has become a passion for so many of you who are listening, so thank you for continuing to tune in, listen, and send me all the messages about the podcast and how much it's helped you. It's all about building relationships and I love this community so thank you...

How do we improve our confidence? As teachers and as dancers, building our confidence is a big topic, and there's a lot to it. I chose to tackle this big topic with a fellow mental performance expert by my side. My guest today is a fellow mental performance expert who is also a dance expert, Lauren Ritchie.  In this episode, we discuss how fake it 'til you make it is a life hack that neither one o...

Are you a perfectionist? Do you work with perfectionist dancers? I was a perfectionist dancer and a coach, but now I'm a recovering perfectionist. Perfectionism is still a regular battle for me, and it's really common in our dance industry. Dancers are trained to focus on the most minute details. A pinky finger out of place could change the results of a competition - sometimes literally, and somet...

Do your dancers like to close their eyes and visualize their routine before taking the stage? Does visualization help improve sport performance or is it just a popular thing dancers like to do? Did you know that visualization or imagery is not just about picturing yourself doing the dance? There is research that helps explain why it works and why it's worth your time, but it's also not as simple a...

Dancers, do you feel prepared for your next audition? Do you know what company or school you even want to audition for? Today's episode is for all the dancers out there who are getting ready to audition. Caitlin Sloan of The Brainy Ballerina comes back for this conversation because she is an expert in helping dancers decide which path is right for you and helping you feel prepared for auditions. I...

Summary:   The word "intention" is becoming a bit of a buzzword. There are so many influencers and psychologists alike who talk about all of the benefits setting your intention can have on your life, but what about setting an intention for a dance team practice or a ballet class? You can set an intention for the year like I do, or you can set intentions on a micro level for each day, each class, o...

Summary:   It can be difficult to help someone who is not motivated to work hard. Sometimes we feel pressure, as a teacher, to be the complete source of motivation. Motivation is a mental process that initiates or sometimes it sustains an athlete's behavior, but the important part I want to bring your attention to of that definition is that it's a mental process. In today's episode, I'll be answer...

 As a coach or a dancer, have you revisited the goals you set over the summer or at the beginning of your season? Have those big goals been on the forefront of your mind as you go to practice every week? There is no time like the present to get razor-focused on your goals! In January, most people are trying to set big new goals for the year. But for those of us in the dance world, we're usually mi...

Do you set New Year's resolutions or new goals this time of year, or are you like me and go through a reflection process to choose one word for the year that serves as a compass or a guide? While I do think goals can be very powerful when done correctly, I first have to know where my focus is. Because this focus will guide my mindset and help me course correct when I get off track, choosing my one...

Summary: Do you ever pause and reflect on your day or your week as a dance educator or a dancer? The truth is, sitting down with your favorite journal and truly reflecting on the current state of things is a bit of a luxury, but it's one that's more than worth your time because the return is both powerful and verified time and time again in psychological research. Reflection is essential for learn...

Summary: Have you heard the saying "get out of your head" when talking about athletes who are anxious for a competition or a performance? Oftentimes, dance teachers will say, "You're overthinking! Just get out of your head," to encourage dancers to be more present and just dance. I get it, but while that's generally good advice, it might not actually be helping your dancers the way you think it do...

Summary: Have you ever had to grieve the loss of your dream even if it was your choice to choose a different path in life? I know I've gone through that, and there were a lot of tears involved. My guest today, Natalie Orr, has been there too, but she turned her dance experience and passions into a coaching business that helps people understand those hard life transitions in a new way. Natalie is a...