Mental Toughness, Success, and Confidence with Kelsey Nelson
This week I have the pleasure of sharing an interview with Kelsey Nelson. You know how sometimes you meet someone and it just clicks? Kelsey and I clicked quickly and I think we have similar philosophies and approaches to teaching dance. Let me tell you a little about Kelsey:
Kelsey has over 25 years of dance experience ranging from major motion pictures to teaching students all across North America, judging for several prestigious dance competitions within the United States, and creating her own conditioning program for dancers. She received her Bachelor of Science in Dance Management from Oklahoma City University.
Some of Kelsey's professional performing credits include working with choreographers like Fatima Robinson on Anchorman II: The Legend Continues (major motion picture), Mia Michaels on Rock of Ages (major motion picture), Disney's Million Dollar Arm (major motion picture), HSN, Royal Caribbean International, Feld Entertainment/Feld Motor Sports, Cirque Productions, Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens, Hardrive Inc., and many more.
Along with performing, Kelsey has a passion for providing quality instruction and choreography. She has had the opportunity to continually develop both her teaching and choreography portfolio by working with many universities, the St. John's University, Wake Forest University, McKendree University, University of South Florida, Victoria's School of Dance, USA Ambassador Pageant, Cirque USA, BookAFlashMob.com, Universal Dance Association and many studios located within the United States and Canada. Kelsey has been honored to be a Master Instructor for National Dance Alliance, Universal Dance Association and Dance Team Union in the past few years. Recently Kelsey has joined the faculty of Thrive Dance Experience and The Bridge Training Program and is excited to be traveling and teaching with two wonderful conventions.
In this episode, we cover topics like how to get more mentally tough dancers, how Kelsey defines success, and concrete tips for improving confidence in our dancers.
Here are some highlights:
- [5m 47s] Dealing with challenges as a dancer
- [8m 15s] Creating mentally tough dancers through physical challenges
- [14m15s] Journaling for studio dancers
- [16m 50s] Receiving negative feedback as dancers and dance educators
- [22m 22s] Advice we would share with dancers
- [26m 15s] What keeps me going as a dance teacher
- [28m 04s] What makes a successful dancer
- [32m 41s] How to boost our dancers' confidence
Mentioned in the Show:
Kelsey Nelson:
Instagram: @kjndance
Spotify: kjndance https://open.spotify.com/user/kjndance
Facebook: Kelsey Nelson Training technique
Journal Starter Prompts for Dancers:
Matthew McConaughey Inspiring Graduation Speech
This episode brought to you by:
The Tiers System is an app FOR dance coaches made BY dance coaches that gives you the tools to empower your dancers to take control of their technique and development. The app provides you with over 150 skills broken down by category (turns, leaps, jumps, acro/tumbling) and by level (beginner through elite), and the skills lists are customizable so you can make sure it fits your unique team.
The app tracks dancers progress through the skill progressions so you (and your dancers) can transparently see where they are in their skill development and what they need to do to move to the next level (or Tier). You can access a dancers full skills list, see which dancers are strongest in which categories, and select any skill to see the list of dancers on your team with that skill with the click of a button.
The Tiers System provides you with data insights into your team’s progress, goals, and future. Some other bonuses include tutorials to accompany skills so that dancers can learn independently, practice plan templates, cleaning checklists, discussion prompts for team leaders, and more!
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Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you’re listening this week.