Performance Psychology for Dancers E-Book

Erin Sanchez

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Professional dance careers are both highly rewarding and exceptionally challenging, so success as a dancer requires robust preparation. Performance Psychology for Dancers is an accessible and practical guide to talent development, offering dancers and those around them support to navigate the challenges of training and the psychological strategies that underlie success. As coaches, parents and experienced practitioners themselves, the authors share their passion and expertise in talent development from experience working with in-training and professional dancers, athletes, and the military. Additionally, a variety of current industry experts provide key insights and reflections on talent development, mental health and psychological skills for performance.

Leseprobe

PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY FOR DANCERS

Doubt isn’t necessarily a sign of failure, but perhaps more often an indication of the strength of intention and meaning brought to the challenge.

PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY FOR DANCERS

ERIN SANCHEZ, DAVE COLLINS AND ÁINE MACNAMARA

First published in 2021 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2021

© Erin Sanchez, Dave Collins and Áine MacNamara 2021

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 799 6

Photography © Dani Bower Photography 2020. Company: Motionhouse

Dancers: Alasdair Stewart, Bryn Aled, Beth Pattison, Chris Knight, Elly Welford, Junior Cunningham and Sophie Page

Cover: Dancers take physical and psychological risks, but when navigated and supported with appropriate psychological skills, success can be achieved even in very challenging environments.

Cover design by Maggie Mellett

CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I: Ideas

1Parameterizing the Challenge: Which Way is The Way?

Part II: Tools

2Introduction to Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence

3Meeting the Psychomotor Demands of Dance

4Talent Development Environments for Dance

5Parenting and Supporting the Performer – Mental Challenges Along the Pathway

Part III: Realities

6Pitfalls and Challenges

Part IV: Action

7Where Next: Future Steps and Sources of Information

Bibliography

About the Authors

Photo Index

Index

DEDICATION

Áine MacNamara

To Damian, Síofra and Iarlaith for their support.

Dave Collins

For Helen, Joe, Judy, Rosie, Ruby and Lily... my own personal ‘lead me a merry dance’ company.

Erin Sanchez

To my family, Sanchez, Mills, Baca, Cordova, Garcia, Cooley, Taggart, Harley, Ansell, Wyon, Matt, Laura, Lara, Sarah, Mark, Will, Josh, Renee, ABKB, and Penni, for teaching me to be kind and love people and to steer into fear. With you, life is rich.

PREFACE

The book you hold in your hands is a product of (at this point) decades of focused academic research and clinical and applied work by Prof. Dave Collins and Prof. Áine MacNamara in talent development and psychological skills, as well roughly nine years of my own interest and work in supporting dancers’ health.

The book began when Dave was approached to write about dance talent development and psychological skills. I was lucky enough to be the person he asked to collaborate with him, alongside Prof. Áine MacNamara. After nearly three years (and many panics on my part), we have created this book.

For me, this book has been an enormous challenge and source of fear and anxiety. How could one book be the answer to the many challenges dancers will face during their training? How could we ensure that the book provided the most evidence-based and best guidance, for everyone? How could we make sure that every person that engaged in dance had a positive experience?

I learnt an enormous lesson during this process – no book can do things like that. No one piece of advice or single source of knowledge – whether it be a book, a person, a method or style of training – will give dancers everything they need to become successful. Every pathway to success will require a different combination of support and challenge. The advice in this book may not apply to you, or it may be useful guidance for you at some times and not at others, or it just may be a very helpful tool and once it is used, you need to move on to another tool to keep growing and developing. I hope it will be clear that our aim is to provide questions to consider, principles to use, and confidence to apply them to your particular goals and challenges.

I’m a perfectionist. In my life, that has sometimes driven me to work hard and look for ways to improve. At other times, it has made me question myself and my abilities, and to forget my accomplishments and only see my failures. At times in my life, wanting to be perfect has made me want to give up. I’m still learning to embrace both sides: first, to see that doubt isn’t necessarily a sign of failure but perhaps, more often, an indication of the strength of intention and meaning brought to the challenge; and, second, to recognize that striving for high standards can be a superpower, providing energy and strength to achieve challenging things. And every (scary, self-doubt inducing) challenge is a chance to grow.

We sincerely hope that this book is something that can be useful to you. As you, and we, gain new knowledge, there will likely be more editions of this book to add to the conversation.

Erin Sanchez

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We want to acknowledge the people who have contributed to the creation of this book.

Photographs: to Dani Bower who captured the beauty, strength, and fearlessness of dancers Alasdair Stewart, Berta Contijoch, Beth Pattison, Bryn Aled, Chris Knight, Elly Welford, Junior Cunningham and Sophie Page of Motionhouse for the gorgeous images used in this book. We are grateful to them for sharing their craft.

Thank you also to incredible photographer Danilo Moroni, who assisted with the first discussions about the book and, although in the end we couldn’t find the right time to have a shot for this book, his beautiful work will certainly be included in the next edition.

Experts: we are immensely grateful to the experts who provided guidance and feedback, as well as expert commentaries, for selected chapters. They include Elsa Urmston, Fuschia Peters, Jodie Clark, Kathleen McGuire Gaines, Khyle Eccles, Stephanie De’Ath and Tala Lee Turton. Thank you for all the conversations over coffee or by email, and thank you most of all for the inspiration and support you give every day – you are changing the lives of young dancers.

Dave Collins

So pleased to have the privilege of contributing to performers who have enormously more skill than I could ever muster.

Erin Sanchez

Many thanks also go to Anastasia Paschali and Emma Turner, who contributed to the creation of this book by gathering information, distilling ideas and generally connecting the dots where needed.

The international field of dance medicine and science includes an exceptionally welcoming, familial and passionate group of professionals. Thank you to the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science for hosting their annual conference to allow us to meet and exchange, in what can sometimes feel a very isolated professional environment.

There is also a community of experts whose indirect impact through publications, presentations, collaborative activities and works of art made this book possible. Each of them in their own lives has contributed a great deal to the conversation about dance talent development, professional success, dance psychology, mental health, and lived experience of mental illness in dance. We commend them for their selfless and powerful work:

Joey Chua; Sara Ascenso; Lynda Mainwaring; Prof Paula Thomson; Bonnie Robson; Janet Karin; Dr Liliana Araújo; Vicki Balaam; Stuart Waters; Steve Peck; Sarah Maguire; Colin Bland; Hannah Friebel; Natalia Atkins; Caldonia Walton; Jaimie Tapper; Prof Jon Arcelus; Rae Bonney; Kym King; Rachel Bar; Dr Monique Faleafa; Brendon Hansford; James Williams; Omari Carter; Tomorr Kokona; Wendy Reinert; Kevin Turner; Helen Linsell; Mark Archer; Phaedra Petsilas; Megan Preston; Gemma Fuller; Debbie Malina; Dancers Career Development; Dance Professionals Fund; Nicoletta P Lekka; Allan Johnston; Alan Currie; Dr Phil Hopley; Dr Tim Rogers; Dr Huw Goodwin; Dr Irina Roncaglia; Prof Gene Moyle.

I personally have been lucky to share a common aim, language and set of very ambitious goals with five inspiring, creative, passionate people in my work over the past ten years. To Helen Laws, Claire Farmer, Stephanie De’Ath, Sarah Needham-Beck and Niamh Morrin – whose work ethic, passion and commitment cannot be overstated.

I am also indebted to Sanna Nordin Bates, Imogen Aujla, Prof. Emma Redding, Lucie Clements, Jennifer Cumming, Dr Klara Edlund, Siobhan Mitchell, and Charlotte Downing for giving me the courage, and the encouragement, to write.

Finally, to my family, some of whom are blood (Sanchez, Baca, Cordova, Garcia, Cooley Taggart, Harley, Mills and Wyon) and some of whom may as well be (Laura, Lara, Will, Josh, Renee and the Ansells), and to whom I owe, literally, everything.

INTRODUCTION

The International Association for Dance Medicine and Science was formed in 1990 when a groundswell of researchers, educators and clinicians came together with the aim to enhance the well-being and performance of dancers through medicine, research and education. Over the past thirty years, thousands of papers have been published in this domain (Solomon & Solomon, 2014), educational programmes at bachelors, masters and PhD level have graduated hundreds of students, and several national organizations are devoted to specific work in this area. Despite this growth, very little of the research coming from this field is being implemented into training or performing practice (cf. Collins, MacNamara & Cruickshank, 2018). One key area in need of further evidence-informed practice is training and talent development, which is essential in a competitive and demanding career pathway.

The content of the book covers how aspiring dancers may develop their goals and, ultimately, define what success means to them. A toolbox of strategies is drawn from selected literature, including our own, to apply to talent development pathways; exemplar experiences of excellent performers; and a planning section to plot actions based on evidence and trustworthy advice.

Why Psychological Skills Matter: The Challenges

Research indicates that pre-professional or competitive dance training and professional careers are physically, psychologically and economically challenging and require robust preparation. Incidence of injury, as measured retrospectively and through clinical records, is historically and consistently high, at 74–80 per cent (e.g. Laws, 2005; Hincapie et al., 2008, 2012; Allen et al., 2014). Pain and injury affect dancers’ employment, ability to earn, performance and career longevity (Tarr & Thomas, 2011), and injury treatment is rare given the incidence, possibly due to lack of available support, fear of injury severity or desire to continue dancing (Kerr et al., 1992; Mainwaring et al., 1993; Laws, 2005). Relative energy deficiency (formerly called the female athlete triad) is also a key concern for dancers. A combination of aesthetic, physiological and mechanical factors mean that a low weight confers an advantage in dance training and careers (Keay, 2018). Most dancers will not have the benefit of support from a dietician or strength and conditioning coach, and thus, efforts to control or change weight, or simply energy imbalance resulting from training load, can result in relative energy deficiency.

Although physical concerns are very serious, retrospective interviews in the UK have reported that, between 1993 and 2002, there was a reduced incidence of smoking and eating problems, reduced injuries due to environmental factors and ignoring early warning signs, and an increase in positive training factors, such as cooling down (Laws, 2005). This may be due to the gradual expansion of medical, physiological and nutritional support, especially within large ballet and contemporary companies and schools in the UK during this time. However, where these areas have grown, psychological support, education and interventions for mental health and psychological performance enhancement are still rare, with challenges such as drug and alcohol abuse and external stress increasing over time points. Notably, psychological problems were more common than injury, with 92 per cent of dancers reporting at least one concern in the past twelve months, and 85 per cent reporting more than one, including 41 per cent stating that they had experienced general anxiety (Laws, 2005). Dancers also report practical concerns that may predispose them to increased stress levels: that employment and income are uncertain, work schedules are erratic, careers in dance are often economically limited and unstable, competition for employment is high, and dancers regularly face a job market with too few vacancies for the available workers (Hamilton et al., 1989; Riley, 2016; Aujla, 2019).

Dance performance also lacks objective criteria for achievement. Quantitative and qualitative measures for dance performance exist in ballet and contemporary dance, including marks for technique, expressiveness, x-factor or overall performance/impressiveness above and beyond motor skill, coordination or accuracy (Angioi et al., 2009; Krasnow & Chatfield, 2009), but such measures are not used in formal talent identification or development processes. Aesthetic expectations in ballet are also evolving with time, requiring increased flexibility and strength (Daprati et al., 2009), but with no objective standard and little guidance on evidence-based and safe training practices, dancers often adopt an approach where more is always better. Subjective opinions of gatekeepers will determine success in securing training opportunities, employment, promotion and recognition. In many cases, poor communication or lack of transparency between the dancer and gatekeepers regarding all the above points can lead to experiences of self-doubt, low confidence, contingent self-worth and burnout (Turton, 2018).

Dance Education and Psychological Skills

Taken together, these many challenges demand a varied and well-developed physical and psychological skillset for a successful training and career in dance, and there are calls for dance education (talent development pathways) to respond (Jackson, 1996; Bennett, 2009; Risner, 2010).

Talent development in many full-time dance training environments represents the final developmental step before entrance into the profession. Evidence-based talent identification and development strategies are developing in dance, but have been a challenge to implement, partially due to a lack of structured understanding of constantly changing career demands, but also due to the lack of funding and time to implement evidence into practice. Educational practices, especially in vocational training, can be dictated by tradition. As indicated by the level of injury among dancers and the incidence of dropout in vocational training environments, discussed above, some traditional methods can result in situations where dancers survive rather than thrive, and where the emergence of dancing excellence is a rare occurrence rather than a planned and supported outcome. Creating optimal dance talent development environments is complex. Aujla and colleagues (2014) state, ‘Specifically, literature reviews in both sport and dance indicate that optimal talent development depends upon a range of variables including student commitment, teacher behaviour, structured learning and practice, as well as physical facility, all of which educators can influence in the studio’ (p.4).

Creating successful professional dancers has also historically been a challenge for talent pathways; in 2015, three critically acclaimed and financially successful contemporary dance choreographers in the UK jointly stated that the top three British contemporary dance conservatoires were not producing dancers of an employable standard. A similar concern has been voiced about the lack of British ballet dancers in the upper ranks of leading ballet companies in the UK (Eden, 2013). These concerns have touched off industry-wide debate about dance training in the UK. In the case of the contemporary dance sector, this centred on defining the demands of a professional’s career in contemporary dance – namely, that career pathways were diverse and successful training of graduates cannot only be measured on performance quality alone. Judith Mackrell, dance critic for The Guardian wrote:

If we’re going to debate whether our training institutions are fit for purpose, we have to consider exactly what that purpose is… not simply in terms of training the ‘best’ performers in the world, or honing the most beautiful bodies – Rather, it’s to offer the widest, most creative kind of dance education possible.

The philosophy of the UK’s top institutions is that the dance industry is about far more than performance.

(Mackrell, 2015)

This debate seems to give a clear indication that a range of skills is necessary to compete in the current job market. Other skills, including business, marketing, communications, fundraising, donor-relationship building, technical theatre and collaborative working are also key components for successful careers (Building a Dancer, 2018) Studies of dance talent development support this anecdotal evidence, finding that talent characteristics are multidimensional, applying motivation, commitment and coping skills to physical, technical and artistic skill development (Walker et al., 2010). The multidimensional nature of dance talent development requires an interdisciplinary approach (Redding et al., 2011). Psychological skills, such as resilience, self-regulation, creativity and grit, may be valuable assets to a dance professional within a constantly fluctuating job market. Thus far, such skills have not been an explicit part of dance talent development.

Your Role

This book is intended for parents, teachers and aspiring dancers. It is not intended to be an academic text, nor will it provide a comprehensive overview of literature or academic sources. It is written in a practical and approachable way, and one we as authors hope will make this book instructive without being prescriptive or impenetrable. It incorporates our views, which are informed by academic research, as well as practical experience working with athletes and dancers. The content of the book covers how aspiring dancers may develop their goals and, ultimately, define what success means to them. A toolbox of strategies is drawn from selected literature, including our own, to apply to talent development pathways, exemplar experiences of excellent performers and a planning section to plot actions based on evidence and trustworthy advice.

The Book’s Structure

The book is divided into four parts: Ideas, Tools, Realities and Action.

Ideas

Part I focuses on how aspiring dancers, and those that support them, generate and refine their thinking about what they want to achieve. In this section, our focus is on the ability to define, reflect on and question goals using creative and flexible thinking, and to set those goals harmoniously within the larger frame of your life. The aim of this section is to answer this question: ‘What is the dream for me?’ In Chapter 1, we examine the common preparatory steps for lifelong achievement and satisfaction, whatever your goal, as well as recognizing that goals will regularly change. However, fundamental to this chapter is the recognition that there is no one way – the best approach is to use flexible and adaptable methods that are suited to your targets, and focus on being the best that you can be and enjoying it. The chapter also looks at the subjectivity of definitions of success in dance based on genre, differing goals and how defining aims in specific terms will help determine the ultimate path to success.

Tools

Part II equips dancers, and those that support them, to understand the current literature and knowledge in talent development. The aim is to build a toolbox and fill it with possible strategies to select from using critical thinking and self-reflection.

Chapter 2 introduces the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs). Psychological skills and characteristics are key determinants of development and performance. A common characteristic of dancers who make it to the top could arguably be the possession and deployment of a range of psychological skills that enable performers to cope with the varied challenges they encounter on their journey. Alongside this, expert dancers will also likely have the confidence to ‘have a go’ and stay with the journey when faced with the setbacks and challenges that are an inevitable part of the process. Embedding the teaching and testing of PCDEs into dance training using formal, informal and procedural structures is an effective talent development strategy.

Chapter 3 addresses the psychomotor or physical demands of dance training. This chapter stresses that early training will encompass a broad range of skills, wider than the demands of dance, and will develop confidence to perform those skills effectively. This critically well-considered early training can counter many of the issues associated with early specialization, make for a healthier dancer and result in a better adult performer.

Chapter 4 provides a brief introduction to talent identification and development pathways in dance and discusses factors that talented individuals, parents or teachers can consider to ensure this crucial process delivers what is needed to reach the goals in mind. Traditional methods for recognizing talent, what talent may look like and why, and what to look for in talent development environments are discussed.

Part II finishes with a focus on supporting dancers’ mental health, including mental health issues related to performance, as well as to life in general in Chapter 5. A combination of performer skills, perspective and knowledge, coupled with decreased stigma, can help to counter these issues and to promote positive growth. Preparation, challenge and positivity within talent development environments can develop flexibility and adaptability in developing performers. Teachers can support dancers’ mental health through the application of Seligman’s PERMA model (Seligman, 2018) and parents can provide support tailored to the values of their child and employ a nested approach to support, whereby their role is gradually adjusted from manager to consultant.

Realities

In Part III, we discuss common challenges that dancers, and those that support them, may experience. Through observation, self-awareness, courage and confidence, challenge and failure create opportunities for growth. Chapter 6 outlines factors that might hinder progression and impact on the young dancer, such as perfectionism, passion, fear of failure, identity foreclosure and the evaluative nature of dance education. Ultimately, the chapter emphasizes how challenge can be an important developmental tool on the young dancer’s journey.

Action

Part IV closes the book with guidance on how to make decisions based on evidence and trustworthy advice. Effective, iterative goal-setting based on evidence, best practice, an informed sense of self-worth and realistic knowledge of ability are explored through the lens of thinking like a scientist. Chapter 7 explores the care necessary to ensure that there is an evidence base for choices made in the talent development environment, the need to be a critical consumer of information and to employ Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit when weighing up information and taking action.

Broader Connections

This book forms one part of a larger research project. The project aims to provide an evidence base for the value of improving dancers’ psychological skill development within the talent development process to support mental health and enhance career success. By enhancing the practical evidence base, tools and information to implement evidence into practice will follow to help dancers make the most of their training and to reach their real potential, as well as empowering them to be autonomous decision-makers – or choosing the goals and leading the action to get to them.

The project will enhance practical understanding of dance talent development by investigating perceptions and observation of psychological skills development in dance talent development processes. The connection of psychological skills to career success, and mechanisms that allow skill development during dance training will follow.

The perceptions of dance students who are in training, professional dancers who have been through training and gatekeepers who select talent for training will shed light on whether psychological skills are believed to be developed during the talent development process, and the usefulness of psychological skills in determining professional success for dancers.

Perceptions of the mechanisms that may allow dancers to transform challenging experiences from talent development environments and life into successful professional experiences will also be investigated. Previous research in sport has suggested that there is a relationship between talent and trauma (Collins & MacNamara, 2012). There are indications from retrospective research that recovery from memorable challenge experiences in sportspeople depends on pre-existing adaptive psychological skills and characteristics (such as focus, motivation, self-awareness, reflection and evaluation, and self-belief), which are tested and enhanced by trauma experiences, as well as social support and an ability to apply learning from previous experiences to current challenges, e.g. post-traumatic growth (Savage et al., 2017). Further, evidence among professional performing artists indicates that, although they were more anxious and experienced more cumulative post-traumatic events in adulthood, engagement with creative experience was heightened among those with exposure to substantial childhood adversity (Thomson & Jaque, 2018). Similarly, a study examining largely early career professional dancers indicated that 34 per cent were moderately or often mentally healthy (e.g. flourishing) whilst, perhaps surprisingly, also experiencing symptoms of mental illness (Ascenso, 2018). These two states can occur at the same time within the same individual. Thus, challenge may, when combined with social support and adaptive psychological skills, lead to an ability to achieve professional success, but creative performers may also require support to navigate mental ill-health and trauma.

The current project is set in the understanding that dance talent development is a traditional, applied practice, and thus has limited connections to evidence or research. We also aim to enhance the relationship between practice and evidence in dance talent development by:

•Comparing amount, findings, quality, readership and impact of non-academic literature and academic literature on psychological skills in dance talent development and successful professional dance careers.