Episode 181: Dancer Intention
Dr. Chelsea: Intention has become somewhat of a buzzword. There are lots of influencers and psychologists alike who talk about setting your intention and all the benefits it can have in your life. But what about setting an intention for your dance team practice or your ballet class? Does it help? Lots of dancers have goals. Goals are great, but they're about the future. I'm talking about intentions and taking control of how you want to feel right now in the present moment.
Hi, I'm Dr. Chelsea. This is the Passion for Dance podcast where we talk about mindset, motivation, and resilience in dance. I'm on a mission to create happier, more successful dancers through positive mental skills and being able to be clearly focused and drilled in with an intention could have a big, positive impact on the way you practice.
When it comes to a focused mindset, I'll admit I'm one of those psychologists who talks about the benefit of intention. I personally always set a word for the year that serves as my overarching intention, and I often set daily intentions when I sit down to work, but I want to bring this into the dance studio. So in this episode, I'll cover why intention directs your focus and how you can use it to be more present and attentive while you take class.
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Hi, I'm Dr. Chelsea, a former professional dancer and mental performance coach. I know what it feels like to be a passionate dance teacher who cares about your dancers, but you want to challenge them and help them be their best, and I also recognize that some traditions and teaching practices in the dance world are harmful. So I'm on a mission to change our dance industry by creating happier, more successful dancers using positive mental skills.
When you understand how to help your dancers with their confidence, how to find their own motivation, work together as a team and more, your dancers will unlock new levels of competitive success and happiness. And it's not just about them; you deserve the same. So we'll talk about how dance teachers can use positive mental skills to be more confident, resilient, and motivated as well.
Be sure to hit “subscribe” wherever you listen to podcasts. There are new episodes every Thursday, and each week you'll hear from me and my guests with advice and actionable tips for building mental toughness, covering topics about mindset, motivation, resilience, and building a community. Passion for Dance is a show designed to help dance educators like you have a positive impact on every dancer you teach.
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What Is An Intention? – 2:27
First, what is an intention, exactly? Well, there are a few kinds. I like to use the type of intention that is a north star, something that's guiding your thoughts. I always set an intention for the year, a big overarching north star. But again, you can set intentions on a more micro level, like your intention for the day or even for one class. That type of intention gives you your north star, or your focus, during that one class.
And dancers, you can set your own personal intention when you walk into the studio as well. It doesn't have to be something that your dance teacher does for you. Your teachers might set an intention for class. That's great, but you can always do this on a personal level. You don't have to wait to receive a group intention from your teacher. Own it. Decide on your own personal intention for class.
Now, I've talked a lot about goals on this show before, and they are great, but setting your intention is not really about setting a goal for the day. It's about the value or the personal focus that you intend. Your intention as a dancer might be different from the intentions of your classmates or your teachers. Even if you're all there to work on the same thing, intention is about finding focus for that class, and that focus will ultimately make you more productive with tangible things like how you clean your routine or working on your turn technique, so let me be concrete about the difference between a goal and an intention.
Goals vs. Intentions – 3:54
Goals might be hard to set for a dancer because your teacher will set the practice plan, decide what exercises you're doing. So goals are usually something the whole team or a class is working on. For example, a goal for practice is something that you can measure and see the outcome of. It might be “run our jazz routine three times full out.” That's specific. We know when we've done it three times. It's measurable. We'll all know when you've achieved it. It's a great goal for practice.
Other great practice goals might be cleaning a specific section of a routine, trying a new conditioning workout, learning a new combination, working transitions, cleaning up a new lift. They're all specific things everyone can get on board with. Everyone will know when you've hit that goal for class. They're all helpful for the whole team, but as a dancer, you don't usually have a lot of control over the actual practice plan or what your teacher's focused on for the day. So instead, take control over your practice experience by setting an intention that's just for you.
Intentions are more like a guiding value that will direct your focus for the day. I think of goals as externally focused, the emphasis is on the outcome, while intentions are more about how you want to feel. Intentions are internally focused. You can also think of it that goals are about the future, what you will have at the end of practice, and intention is how you want to feel in the present moment.
For me, goals and intentions really work together. You set a clear external focus on what do you want to accomplish, like making a certain college team or auditioning for your favorite ballet company, whatever your big dance dreams might be, but those big goals might take a long time. So how can you stay focused on those goals in each and every class? Well, you set a personal intention for how you want to feel while you're working towards those goals. What kind of person do you want to be today? What attitude do you want to have towards people or towards your dancing? What do you need to feel today to help you move towards your goals?
Practice Intentions That Work – 5:54
Here are some examples of practice intentions that I've seen work well for dancers: “I intend to lead by example.” “I intend to encourage my teammates.” “I intend to spread positivity.” That’s a great example for dancers who might say something to me like, “I want to feel more positive today. I want to feel those positive vibes while we're here in class,” and so the intention becomes, “I intend to spread positivity.” A lot of these intentions are like, if you want the mood to be a certain way, if you want to feel something in class today, you have to set the intention to make it happen.
Maybe, as a dancer, you know, you're cleaning a lot today, so it's going to be maybe mentally challenging. So as a dancer, you know, “Okay, this is going to be hard, so I want to be in the present moment. I want to get my feedback, so I intend to stop taking corrections personally,” and see how that sets a tone and a focus for that practice. You know you're going to be getting a lot of feedback because it's a cleaning day, and maybe you know that you tend to take those a little hard. So setting the intention, “I intend to stop taking corrections personally,” can shift your mood and how you approach that day, meaning you'll probably take corrections better and improve more than you would without it.
Other intentions could be things like, “I intend to see the good around me.” “I intend to be kind even when we're under pressure.” Sometimes it's as simple as, “I intend to keep a smile on my face.” Setting an intention just means keeping yourself focused on one specific value for that class.
How to Bring Intentions Into Class – 7:33
The way I like to bring this into class, let's be tangible, it's a simple mental warmup that you can do before every class. Give yourself two minutes alone, maybe while you're putting your shoes on or just sit separately for a minute. Take a few deep breaths. Center yourself in the studio. Let go of whatever happened at school today or how your day has been so far. How do you want to feel during class today?
If you're feeling a little tired and you want more energy, maybe your intention is to bring positive energy into the room so others will reciprocate. You'll feel the boost too. Maybe you know that class is going to be especially challenging today because it's a sub you're not familiar with or you missed class last week, so you know you'll feel behind. A great intention could be, “I'm going to pay attention to my teacher, simply do my best with every barre combination. Each combo is its own exercise. When it's done, I'll let it go and focus on the next one.”
An intention is about guiding your emotions and thoughts to be something that will help you in that moment. So again, it's just two minutes, sit alone, breathe, consider how you want to feel during class and how you want to show up.
As a dancer. There may not be a lot in your control in class, but this mental warmup and setting your intention is absolutely in your control. And magic happens when you do this regularly. If you always have an intention at practice or a focus in class, you'll likely improve a lot faster as well because you're not distracted. The whole idea is it keeps you from just going through the motions. You're not just doing a bunch of tendus and dégagés without any focus behind them. You remind yourself what you want out of class today. You pick something that will be your north star and focus during class so that each tendu has a purpose and each dégagé is getting you stronger.
Be Narrow with Your Intention – 9:22
Dancers, I also encourage you to be narrow in your intention. If it's too broad, it can be overwhelming, and you’ll probably forget it or you'll let it go. So, instead, pick something small. Try to bring that into class.
Maybe you're an advanced student in your class, so your intention is to be a good leader, but that's a lot to think about. What does that mean? How can you do that effectively a whole class? It's not too specific. It's a lot to think about. So instead, it might be helpful to choose one specific area of that intention or focus for the class and put your energy there. Usually, everything else will come with it, so instead, maybe you choose to focus on being encouraging. There's lots of other elements of being a good leader but focusing on one can have a bigger impact. Choose one you think you need at that moment or what you think everyone else might benefit from. And again, if you could use a dose of that positivity in practice, there's a good chance everyone else could too, so that narrowed focus will help you maintain it all class and see a true difference.
As a dancer, setting an intention at practice helps you focus on one specific principle for the day, and you're much more likely to see a change with that type of intense focus on one area. It will kick you out of that groundhog day that can happen in class and allows you to get so much more out of it.
I've done this kind of mental warmup with dancers during consultations or workshops, and it is amazing how just two minutes of mental focus and setting an intention before warmup cuts back on the chatter when everyone is stretching, increases your focus and your motivation when we set clear dance-related goals for practice but ultimately makes everything more efficient. Who doesn't want that?
Challenge for Dancers – 11:05
So I have a simple challenge for you today. Dancers, choose your own intention before your next class. Sit alone just two minutes, take a few deep breaths, and decide how you want to feel today. Your intention is in your control. Even if you don't like the combination that day, if you don't feel like cleaning your hip-hop routine, set an intention that will help you in that moment and bring the energy you need to be successful.
I hope you will see how just a small mental-focus exercise can change your whole class. After a few days, I promise you'll be hooked. Your intention may even be the same for a few days in a row. That's okay. The idea is you set an intention that will help you today. And it might not be easy at first. You'll probably lose sight of it. You'll forget part way through class. But the more you do it, the better you will be at holding that focus and staying on track. Like anything else, mental focus takes time, but the payback is incredible.
Dancers, if you have any questions about setting intentions or just being more focused at practice in general, I would love to hear your thoughts. You can leave me a voice note at www.chelseapierotti.com/question. I love connecting with all of you, and I'd love to make this podcast more focused on the community and driven by your questions. So, if there's anything I can answer for you about positive mental skills, please go to www.chelseapierotti.com/question. Again, the link is in the show notes. Tell me what's on your mind. Tell me how I can help!
Remember, goals are about the future and what you will have at the end of practice or years down the line. An intention is how you want to feel in the present moment. My goal for this afternoon was to close down distractions and write something helpful and impactful for all of you. But my intention was to be open to my creative process and not edit as I go. My perfectionist tendencies can get in the way, but I set an intention to be open and just let it flow, and that intention helps me get closer to my big goal of creating something helpful. I know I achieved my intention of staying open in the process, and I hope I achieved my goal of creating something impactful for all of you as well. They work so well together. I encourage you to try.
Thank you for being here with me, as always, and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world!
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Thank you for listening to Passion for Dance! You can find all episode resources at www.chelseapierotti.com/podcast, and be sure to follow me on Instagram for more high-performance tips at @dr.chelsea.pierotti. This podcast is for passionate dance teachers and coaches who are ready to change the dance industry by creating happier, more successful dancers. I'm Dr. Chelsea and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.
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