As you enter a new season of dance, It’s a great opportunity to reflect on certain mindsets, habits or practices that might be worth letting go of. A gentle reminder that, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.”

Rather than mindlessly jumping straight back into the studio and training, it’s worth reflecting firstly on what’s going well and what you might need to let go of in order to flourish in both life on and off of the stage going forward. Please find some of the things that you might consider saying goodbye to this season..

1: Self doubt

Letting go of self doubt and limiting beliefs will allow a dancer to have trust in their abilities and push them out of their comfort zones, where the growth and opportunities happen.

*Tips: Reflect on past successes and remind yourself of your capabilities!

-Make a list of your previous accomplishments, revisit this when you feel doubt creeping in.

2: Negative self talk

Having a loud inner critic can create a not very supportive inner environment that is sure to steal the joy away from dancing. By becoming aware of those automatic thoughts, challenging them and replacing them with more positive ones, will foster a healthier, more supportive relationship with oneself.

*Tip: Ask yourself, would I say that to a friend and someone I care about? If not… Let it go!

For more on this topic, please find Dr. Mitch’s workshop on Self-talk in the academy on demand library.

3: Not warming up properly

Do you head straight into class and put your shoes on without warming up? Or go onto the stage not feeling warm enough for your first round, but much better for the second round? (we hear this a lot). Time to let it go and start prepping that mind-body for both practice and the stage. You'll find a new guide to warming up properly in our resources area very soon!

4: Lack of focus

If you want to truly maximize your performance and reach your potential, you have to let go of distraction and get focused. Here are a few tips:

-Set clear goals. (we have goal setting workshops available in the academy library)

-Practice mindfulness: this helps to bring attention to the present moment, reducing the tendency to get distracted by external factors or wandering thoughts.

-Prioritize rest and recovery! Mental and physical fatigue can greatly affect focus. Ensure adequate rest, sleep and recovery to help maintain clarity and focus during practice and performances.

5: Perfectionism

Why? Well, who wants to strive for something that doesn’t even exist? Being a perfectionist is a surefire way to lead to unnecessary stress, fear of failure and burnout. This season let’s enjoy the process, allow for, embrace and learn from mistakes, and strive for excellence, not perfection!

*Tip: Practice self compassion - Be kind to yourself, especially when you make mistakes. Please understand that your progress is far more valuable than perfection.

6: Comparison

Firstly, we are all unique, there’s only one of us in this world.. Pretty cool huh? So it seems a little silly to compare ourselves to others! This will diminish self-esteem and lead to feelings of being unworthy. Let’s focus on our own unique strengths and personal growth. Appreciate yourself!

“Don’t try to be like anyone else, be the first YOU!” - Chloey

7: Overtraining

Injury rates are high in dancers and can side line a dancer for weeks, even months. Things such as following a balanced training schedule, tapering leading up to competitions, listening to your own body, strength training, maintaining a healthy diet and sleep all play roles in limiting overtraining and preventing injuries.

8: Perceived limitations

Believing that certain skills and goals are beyond reach can limit a dancer’s potential. Allow yourself to explore your true capabilities.

Personally, I achieved more than I ever thought possible in my career, but it would have been a whole lot more enjoyable if I was able to support and coach myself just like my dad did for me. Let’s learn to identify the specific limiting thoughts and beliefs we hold about ourselves, challenge them and develop our own inner coach.

*Tip: Can you shift your perspective? Instead of viewing limitations as obstacles, see them as opportunities to learn and improve! This mindset is very helpful in opening up new possibilities.

9: Past results

It’s important to learn from the past, both successes and setbacks and then move on.. My biggest tip would be to, again, practice self-compassion - treat yourself with kindness and understanding, especially if results from last season were disappointing. Your results do not define your worth or potential going forward. Choose today to let the past go. This new season is a fresh, new exciting opportunity. Let’s go!

Please find a “What my results mean about me” workshop with Dr. Mitch in the academy library.

10: A focus only on the Outcome/end result

While having a big goal, dream and vision can be great to drive motivation, if a dancer solely keeps their focus here they might miss some valuable lessons learned through the process. It’s important to not only set outcome goals but the ones you can control in this moment - welcome performance and process goals. These are the ones that we are in control of, they promote continuous improvement and allow a dancer to track progress vs just waiting on an end result.

*You’ll find goal setting workshops along with PDFs in the academy library.

“Trust that your hard work will get you the results that you desire.”

Do any of these resonate with you? Anything else that you can think of? Share with us! We’d love to hear from you.

Please check out just some of the ways in which the Head to Toe academy team can help you this season..

-Our warm up guide and follow along warm ups can be found in the academy on demand library.

-Goal setting workshops with Dr. Mitch & Chloey. Includes PDFs and worksheets.

-Confidence and Performance workshop with Dr. Mitch.

-Stage presence workshop with Chloey.

-Oireachtas strength and conditioning prep with Coach Fran starting in September. More info coming soon.

-Technique with Maggie. From Toe height to core strength and alignment classes.

-Nutrition classes on hydration, energy and recovery with Dr. Meghan Brown.

-A library of skills to enhance your dancing, from turnout to front clicks and meditations.

Any questions at all, please contact us: info@fromheadtotoeacademy.com

Happy new dance season!

Chloey :)