Welcoming Mistakes

Do you find yourself wincing, cringing and grimacing when you make a mistake in ballet class?  Do you berate yourself mentally when you forget or mess up a combination?  Here’s why you should STOP THAT!

Failure is good.  Failure is part of learning.  Failure makes us grow and get better.

If you only do the things you’re good at, you’ll only ever be good at those things.  You’ll never progress.

Look, ballet is hard.  You’re literally managing hundreds of things at once: toes, feet, legs, hips, core, ribs, back, shoulders, neck, head, face, eyes, arms, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers, breath, coordination, movement, balance, timing, beats, flow, musicality, lift, weight, where you are in the room, where others are, what’s coming next, what the teacher is yelling....  (I could go on, but I think you get the picture.)

So, yeah, you’re going to make mistakes.  Everyone does.  And that’s just fine!

Welcome your mistakes; they’re here to help you improve.  Over time you’ll stop making those mistakes, and you’ll make new mistakes, doing harder things.

Instead of berating yourself or feeling bad, flip the narrative! Smile and say to yourself:

“That was an awesome mistake.  I can learn from that.  I will do it better next time.  This will be easier next time.”

And if you’re messing up because the teacher is whizzing through things too quickly, and you just don’t understand, ask for clarification.  You’re paying for the class.  The teacher is there to teach you and a good ballet teacher will happily answer your questions.

Bottom line:  Give yourself credit for trying and give yourself a pat on the back for failing, because it means you’re pushing yourself and that is always a good thing.

Happy dancing, everyone!