Passion for Dance

I used to start every season with a mix of emotions. Excitement, nerves, doubts, plans, goals… there are a lot of moving parts! I talk a lot about self-talk with dancers. It's a really important and challenging mental skill that doesn't come easy to most of us. Today however, I want to focus on some of the negative self-talk that coaches and teachers may be experiencing at the beginning of the season. No matter how many years you've been at it, self-doubt trickles in. And I want to dispel the myth that there are dance educators out there who always have it all together and never doubt themselves. Because in my experience, those people don't exist. We all have some negative self-talk and doubts, that deosn't make you a bad coach. So in today's episode, I share 10 common self-doubts I see in coaches and teachers and what you can do about those doubts.

Mentioned in the Show

Other resources to help you start off on the right foot this season...

Practice Planner: the roadmap to organizing your schedule this year so you can achieve your goals without feeling rushed right before competition

How to Write a Coaching Philosophy – the best way to have a drama-free, focused, and motivated season is to make every decision from a foundational coaching philosophy.

Captain Leadership Training – don't just name the captains and let it be. Help them be the leaders you want!

Add some fun Team Building Games to your practices

Start a Journaling Practice with your team – bring everyone closer and set the tone of motivation and intention for the season

Project Management Tools:

Asana

Trello

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Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/20

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. 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.

Mentioned in the show:

Kelsey Nelson

Instagram: @kjndance

Spotify Playlist for dance teachers: kjndance

Facebook: Kelsey Nelson Training technique

Journal Starter Prompts for Dancers:

https://chelseapierotti.com/starterjournal

Matthew McConaughey Inspiring Graduation Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmCTQ_mkzHU

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This episode is brought to you by The Tiers System.

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 dancer's 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. You can download the app and learn more at https://thetierssystem.com

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Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/19

This week's episode is all about growth mindset. You may have heard of it, but do you know how to implement it with your dancers? Change how they learn and everything else improves along with their mindset. I start by sharing a quick definition of the concept of a growth mindset, but the heart of the episode is talking about how you can implement growth mindset strategies into your classes and practices.

Along with this episode, you can download the freebie 23 Questions and Statements to Encourage a Growth Mindset in Your Dancers to help you implement what we cover.

Mentioned in the show:

Relevé: Community for Dance Coaches on the rise

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Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/18

This episode is all about mentorship and community, and why I believe it's the secret to success in our dance industry. I share the mistakes I made early on and the lessons I learned along the way. I'm grateful to be a mentor and have mentors in many aspects of my dance career. I truly believe the best path for personal growth is to continue to grow your village of support by giving to others while also being open to receiving support.

Mentioned in the show:

Relevé: the membership for dance coaches and dance teachers on the rise

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Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/17

Recently I asked this wonderful village of dance coaches and teachers to submit questions that I could answer on the show. So in this episode, I have 3 questions about sport psychology and dance straight from the community. One of my favorite things about my job is getting to know and connect with fellow dance professionals and passionate coaches. So know that my inbox is always open, or send me a DM on Instagram and tell me what's on your mind.

In this episode we address:

1. How do I keep motivated towards the end of the season
2. How do I make my dancers believe in themselves the way I do
3. How to break the mindset barrier between being the dancer and now the coach, i.e. teaching your dancers things you could never do with confidence

Mentioned in the show:

https://dancer-fitness.com/ and check out my conversation with Katie in Episode 10!

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Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on Instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/16

Whenever a dancer is competitively successful, we see lots of social media posts, public praise, and gratitude. And rightfully so. When a dancer comes out on top of the rankings the coach and dance teachers are usually a big reason why. We should celebrate and congratulate those dance educators on a successful event.

But what about when dancers don't have a great competition and they fall short of their competitive goals? Is the coach any less successful?

I think it's important to stop and consider what makes a successful dance educator, and more importantly, how you as a coach and educator should measure your own success each year. Your personal success is very different from the competitive success of your dancers. Let me reiterate that… how your dancers perform is not tied to your self-worth as a person or value as a coach.

Mentioned in the Episode:

How to write a coaching philosophy

Book: Life is Short, Don't Wait to Dance by Valorie Kondos Field

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Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/15

This week we are going to focus on leadership specifically for high school and college dance teams. But if you don't have captains on your team or you're in the studio world don't leave me just yet. You probably have informal leaders at your studio or ballet company, and whether you call them captains or they are the appointed leaders of the group here are an important concept to remember: A leader's influence can be either positive or negative, but it's never neutral. So whether you have formal or informal leaders, they are making a difference for every dancer around them. Dance team leaders can determine if the rest of the team learns cooperation, teamwork, passion, and motivation, or if the other dancers learn to be lazy, complacent, and unmotivated. A positive leader can encourage a team with less than ideal technical abilities to rally and reach unimaginable competitive heights. On the other hand, a team captain or leader may be apathetic and ineffective or actually harmful to a team's success. (I've seen both first hand, and the quality of my team leaders has a lot to do with which years were my favorite). Here's the bottom line, leaders, whether formal or not, are an ESSENTIAL element on your dance team's road to success. In this episode, I'm going to cover the 3 types of leaders and the characteristics to look for in a leader.

Mentioned in this episode: The Roadmap to Choosing the Right Dance Team Captains

Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/14

Did you know I have an online leadership training course for dance team captains!? It's called Journey to Elite Captain and it's self-paced and ready for your dancers whenever they're ready to dive in. Find out more at https://chelseapierotti.com/leadership

When I was dancing 20+ hours a week and basically living at the studio, I was always focused on improving my technique. All my energy went into getting stronger at the ballet barre, working flexibility, and trying to nail that hard across the floor combo in turns and leaps class. What I wasn't thinking about, was my mindset. I wish I could say I "got it" intuitively and knew how to harness the power o

f sport psychology at an early age. But in reality, I was (am) a perfectionist who worries about what other people think ALL THE TIME. There were some tools in the sport psychology toolbox that I used regularly like visualization, but for the most part I was a typical studio kid who was desperate to keep my place in front of the jazz routine, get noticed by my ballet teacher, and win at competition. I thought the only way to accomplish those goals was to work harder and push my body further.

I wish I knew then, what I know now. I wish I knew the power of sport psychology, and in this episode, I share just that… how sport psychology can change your life as a dancer and a dance educator.

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This episode is brought to you by the membership:

Relevé: A Community for Dance Coaches on the Rise. Learn more at https://chelseapierotti.com/membership

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Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/13

Did you know I have virtual and in-person workshops for dancers, teams, studios, and teachers!? I love working with dancers and dance educators by creating a workshop that is custom to your dancers. We can talk about motivation, goals, resilience, confidence... any mental skill! Find out more about my workshop offers by going to https://chelseapierotti.com/servcies

As a coach or a teacher, we've all been through the challenges that come with the end of the season. You've been training your competition routine for months, it's rounding to the end of the season and it's time to push through those last few big events, planning a recital, or getting ready for nationals, however, you end your year. For me, there were years where this transition into that last big push went smoothly. The dancers were ready for the increased practices, motivated each other to keep fighting, and we had a great end of our competitive season. There were even years when I felt ready to handle it. But there were a lot of years where just the thought of getting through that last show was exhausting. So if you are feeling tired this year, maybe a little more irritable with your dancers, or maybe you're even ready to give up… then this episode is for you. Let's talk about burnout.

Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/12

Did you know I have virtual and in-person workshops for dancers, teams, studios, and teachers!? I love working with dancers and dance educators by creating a workshop that is custom to your dancers. We can talk about motivation, goals, resilience, confidence... any mental skill! Find out more about my workshop offers by going to https://chelseapierotti.com/servcies

As dance educators, we often have to make difficult, emotional decisions. It might be tryouts for a school team, or a studio making decisions about company level, who is in which routine… there are many times where we have to make decisions that we know will have a big emotional impact on the dancers we love. That can be a really heavy feeling! I know we all have different levels of emotional attachment, and I know I'm on the more emotional end of the spectrum, but I also know that many dancers are passionate. We love dance, we love teaching, and we love our students. So if you ever struggle with those more emotional decisions or need a little pick-me-up, I want you to understand learning to deal with our own stress, emotions, and disappointments as a dance educator is even more important than helping our dancers manage it all. So today's episode is a bit of an open letter, to all the dance educators out there who feel stressed, overwhelmed, or emotional when you have to make tough decisions.

Did you enjoy today's episode? Please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts!

Be sure to snap a screenshot and tag me on Instagram @dr.chelsea.pierotti as you're listening to the episode.

Check out the full Show Notes, including episode highlights, key takeaways, exclusive resources, and more: https://chelseapierotti.com/11

This episode is sponsored by the National Dance Coaches Association. Go to nationaldancecoaches.org for more information about the conference and all the great things the association has to offer.

Did you know I have virtual and in-person workshops for dancers, teams, studios, and teachers!? I love working with dancers and dance educators by creating a workshop that is custom to your dancers. We can talk about motivation, goals, resilience, confidence... any mental skill! Find out more about my workshop offers by going to https://chelseapierotti.com/servcies