4 tips for staying motivated as a dancer
As dancers, it can be difficult to stay in the grind of taking class, stretching, regular exercises, and practicing routines. It’s easy to slip into lack of motivation, feeling lazy, burnt out, all of the above! That’s why the team at DanceVibes has developed some methods to help with that!
When us dancers step off that cycle of practice and training, it’s because of one of two things; lack of motivation and drive to dance, or lack of discipline to stay structured with a routine. Below are some tips to help:
Part 1- How to stay motivated as a dancer:
First, it’s important to note that motivation is not the end all be all for dance; motivation isn’t a reliable source of consistency to stay on track for dance growth because it comes and goes. One might feel extremely inspired to dance during comp season then lose that during the off-season. Ultimately, it all comes down to discipline and passion. If you’re struggling to find the latter, this section is a must-read.
Use encouraging self talk
So often, as dancers, we let ourselves slip into spirals of negative self-talk and comparing ourselves to others. This, in turn decreases our motivation to continue going to dance class, practicing, and ultimately, working hard! Thus, it’s critical to use encouraging self-talk to beat those feelings of dispassion that impact our dance skills and strengths. Some methods to so-
Create a list of affirmations to refer to when you must pick yourself up or find yourself going into a negative thought spiral
Pay close attention to your thoughts and dismiss any negative ones about yourself
Rather than beating yourself up over mistakes made in dance class, find ways to think constructively about them and grow from there
2. Grow your love for dance
Part of staying motivated to dance is loving it! All of us start dancing with a desire to perform, move, and express ourselves. When did we lose that? Find ways to stay in love with dance and grow that passion to prevent feelings of burnout or dislike towards dance. Most often, it’s not that we don’t like dance, but that we lose the enthusiasm to do it. Some ways to maintain that enthusiasm-
Find dancers on social media to watch for inspiration for choreography, to improve the way you dance, etc.
Find dance teachers and mentors to find inspiration for dance from and to help you grow your love for dance
Part 2- How to stay disciplined as a dancer
Create a routine to stay consistent with
In order to see growth in competitive dance routines, movement, strength, flexibility, etc., it is CRITICAL to have a routine with habits and goals that you’re working towards. In other words, it is critical to have a plan to grow as a dancer and see that plan through. That’s why I highly recommend checking out the Goal Growth Guide and Habit Tracker on DanceVibes to create those routines for yourself to see growth as a dancer. Some other ways you can do so (or, alongside those DanceVibes templates)-
If you’re working towards specific strength or flexibility goals, ask your dance teachers for exercises to achieve that and they can hold you accountable to work towards that goal!
Plan out a daily routine that includes small habits to grow as a dancer (morning/nightly stretch/workout, journaling after class, etc.)
2. Keep working hard; it does make a difference
Another bad tendency that dancers have is to think that the hard work they’re putting into dance doesn’t match up to the other dancers around them that they’re comparing themselves to. But, when you think about it, we can only control our actions and work ethic. That’s why it’s crucial to continue working hard as a dancer in class, performances, exercises, etc. to see long-term growth in your craft. Yes, it can be difficult, and it may feel easy to slip into laziness and comparing yourself to others, but just know that it isn’t worth it and won’t be beneficial in your dance career. Some tips to help-
Find an accountability partner to keep yourself accountable for working hard as a dancer, especially by pushing yourself in dance class
Find inspirational dance quotes or motivational messages for you to look at regularly to keep motivation to work hard.