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share our 30 years of EXPERTISE, ADVICE
and RESOURCES with dancers &
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PROTIP # 21

A Dancer’s Mental Health

As dancers, we often spend so much time focused on keeping our bodies strong and healthy, that we forget about our minds. Growing up, I never took care of my mind and not only did that harm my mental health, but it completely hindered my dance training. Our brains are a powerful muscle and oftentimes, the hardest to control. If we want to grow as dancers, or as people in general, we have to focus on taking care of our mind and learn to reframe our thoughts. This takes time, practice and patience but is such a vital piece of our growth. There is no quick fix or easy answer when it comes to our mental health, but I am going to highlight a few tips and some things I have learned in my journey.

1) Stop comparing yourself!

This is a TOUGH one, probably the toughest one. And it is much easier said than done. It’s a challenge for all people of every age in all types of situations, but it's especially tough as dancers when we are taught to watch and learn from our peers during class. I always tell my students, I learned as much from observing as I did from participating. So how do we learn by observing without getting stuck in an unhealthy cycle of comparison? There are two parts to breaking this cycle. First, begin to acknowledge your differences as a positive thing. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and no one can be good at everything. For me, I always struggled as a performer. Performing on stage was not my strong suit. I was so frustrated that my peers performed so well, and consistently got cast in more pieces than I did. What were they doing differently? Why couldn’t I be like them? Those thoughts could drive a person crazy. But eventually, I found my niche. When I started to dabble in choreography I learned that I did have a strong point as a dancer. I had a gift for choreography. I probably wasn’t going to get cast in as many shows as my fellow dancers, but I did get opportunities to present choreography that others didn’t receive. What an amazing gift that we all offer something different to the dance community. Remind yourself that the fact you don’t dance, look, or think exactly like your classmate, is a positive thing.

The second part is learning how to monitor your thoughts. While watching other dancers, think to yourself, does this observation improve my dance training, or just make me feel bad about myself? Is it a productive thought, or does it only cause distress? One place I always struggled as a dancer was my body. I was constantly comparing my body to other dancers around me. All that ever did was reinforce my eating disorder behaviors, and destroy my confidence. It would’ve been helpful for me to reframe the thoughts that were taking over my mind. For example, maybe I wasn’t as “tiny” as the dancer next to me, but I was strong. When it came to partner work, fellow dancers trusted me to take their weight which made for smooth and interesting duo work. Maybe my legs didn’t look like the dancers in front of me at the barre, but I had a natural turnout and flexibility in my hips that still created beautiful lines.

On the other hand, noticing the things I lacked without judging it, would have helped me tremendously. If I could look at the dancer next to me, and acknowledge that I loved watching their adagio because they were lifting through their hamstrings and not their quads instead of just telling myself that my leg will never go as high as theirs, I could’ve applied that correction to myself and used it as a learning opportunity.

REMEMBER: Reframing is key!

2) Find your support system

When it comes to finding a support system, the most important thing to think about is, how does this person make me feel when I am with them? Do you spend your time with people who make you feel loved, and supported? If not, what would you have to do to find that? Once you’ve found those people, lean on them! I always struggled with feeling like a burden, and although reaching out was a challenge, it was necessary. Make it a priority to check in with some of your support system during the week. Let them know ahead of time that you plan on doing it, so they can hold you accountable for that.

It’s also a good idea to have a diverse support system. Having other dancers as support is amazing because they can empathize and truly understand some of your struggles. Having friends that don’t dance as a support is also amazing because they see things with different eyes than you might.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Being with peers your own age is important but maybe having a mentor who is older and can offer more insight could be beneficial.

3) Know your worth outside of dance (or any other accomplishments)

Being a dancer has had so much to do with my identity and who I am as a person. When people ask me to introduce myself or talk about my life, dance is usually the first thing I present to them. It only became a problem when being a dancer also became my worth. When I didn’t get cast in a piece I was really excited about, when I didn’t get the praise I was hoping for from a teacher, when I didn’t perform the way I wanted to on stage, it meant I as a person wasn’t good enough. If I wasn’t succeeding at dance, what do I have to offer? As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned that although dance is an incredibly important part of my life, it has nothing to do with my worth. Whether or not I hit my triple pirouette in ballet class, I am still worthy and deserving of love, patience, kindness, etc.

Think about where your worth lies. This might take some time to figure out, and we all find it in different places. Just know that even if you do everything “wrong” in your ballet class, you are not “wrong.”

REMINDER: You are worth so much more than a triple pirouette.

4) Give yourself a break

Newsflash, you aren’t perfect. Your dance instructor that you look up to so highly, is not perfect. The soloist in a prestigious dance company on the largest stage in the country, is not perfect. So give yourself a break! You have to learn to be gentle with yourself. Everyday will not be your best day in class. Every performance will not feel like a success. Striving for perfection all the time will feel like an endless uphill battle. Remember that you are human. Once you learn to accept this, it becomes much easier to pick yourself up after a fall. When you spend time berating yourself for the fall, you are only taking up time that you could be picking yourself up. When you start to feel down on yourself, physically take a step away and take a huge breath.

BREATHE: Remind yourself that it’s okay to mess up, then leave it there. Step back to where you were and start over.

5) Ask for help

Sometimes you can feel like you are doing all the right things, even follow all these tips I just gave you and things just aren’t getting better. You are constantly feeling low, anxious, uncomfortable and just overall miserable. That isn’t a failure on your part. If you feel like struggling is a failure, I want you to go back and read #4 again. Give yourself a break. We all need extra help sometimes. I also know that most of us are really good at hiding the fact that we need extra help. This is where it becomes your responsibility to be proactive. I know, easier said than done. Find someone that you trust and tell them what is going on. Make a plan together on how you are going to change things. Sometimes this means professional help. There is no shame in seeking this type of help. In fact, seeking out help when you don’t want to is something to be proud of. Don’t wait until things are so hard that getting help is no longer your choice. In the past when I didn’t ask for the help I needed, I missed out on so much more than I had to. I missed performances, classes and choreographic opportunities. When it comes to my struggle, what once was an eating disorder that required me to take a week or so away from dance had escalated into an emergency where I spent two months in a hospital completely separated from my family, friends, and anything to do with dance. Now, I flag for help as soon as I notice something is off. Please, take the opportunity to do that for yourself.

NEED HELP? If you aren’t sure where to look for help, I’ve listed some resources below:

Crisis Text Line 
Text ‘Help’ to 741-741 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 

1(800)273-8255 

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) 

Call or Text 1(800)931-2237 

Common Ground Resource & Crisis Helpline 

Call or Text 1(800)231-1127

Take these tips and use them as we begin this new dance season. I understand that these tips are easier said than done. Trust me, I know how hard it is to believe that you deserve to even implement these things into your life. But I want this to be your reminder and encouragement that you deserve to be taking care of your mind, as well as your body. Challenge yourself to pick out at least one per day, and focus on it. So remember…

Stop Comparing Yourself 
Find Your Support System 
Know Your Worth Outside of Dance
Give Yourself a Break 
Ask For Help

Missed out on the last few ProTips? No worries! Look back on past ProTips at anytime here!

Lisa Johns began her dance training at age 3 in Canton, MI. After graduating from high school, Lisa continued her dance training at Oakland University. While studying at OU, Lisa had the privilege of working with many respected choreographers including Meg Paul, Laurie Eisenhower, Stephanie Pizzo, Ali Woerner and Thayer Jonutz. Lisa was the first student to produce her own independent dance concert, and received her BFA in 2014 after receiving the MaTilDa award in outstanding choreography. After graduation Lisa spent time touring with NUVO Dance convention and has since continued to teach dance throughout all of Metro Detroit, being sought out for her specific teaching skills in acrobatics. Along with teaching dance, Lisa has a passion for mental health and suicide prevention. She’s spent the past 5 years working for both Crisis Text Line and The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. She’s had the honor of working closely with survivors of sexual assault and believes that dance can be used as a healing tool.