In Pursuit of Excellence

Module one discussion group has had me up all night thinking. Thinking about how accepting we have become in the performing arts industry of how dancers are taught by teachers. This all stemmed from a reoccurring theme in the discussion about self-worth and the expectations of a performer in general. And we questioned why it was we all had these feelings of low self-worth and the pressure to conform to a set standard. We discussed how as a dancer training to become a professional teachers will start by stripping you down of everything you are and then mould you from the ground up to the 'perfect' standard with the 'perfect' technique. This led us to discuss introverts and extroverts and that maybe when the teachers are stripping down your body and mind that it’s easy to believe that you have no voice or that your voice is not important. And as a result, extroverted people can become introverted having been made to believe that their voice or their opinion is invalid and the only opinion that matters is the observer. 

It seems that the rest of the world has evolved with the introduction of mental health awareness in work and educational practices however, the performing arts industry is yet to move onto these standards. João Ducci (2019) demonstrates how the dance world is behind on the matter of mental health awareness and feels that the subject of mental health is 'taboo' in the professional and academic field. Ducci (2019) labels dance teachers and choreographers as 'authoritarian' as they often have a 'get over it' attitude when it comes to mental health and this is what intensifies the issue. Ducci (2019) compares how advanced we have become in protecting a dancers physical health to how deficient awareness of how to protect a dancers psychological health is, stating that teachers should be careful when dealing with a dancers mental health. Ducci (2019) also introduces the idea that authoritarian dancer teachers are not alone to blame. Additionally, the competitive nature of the dance industry has a huge role to play. Ducci (2019) closes by asking the reader to ‘look out for one another’ and hold teachers and choreographers to account for their 'pedagogical practices'. And just by starting the conversation about the issue we can overcome the malpractice. So, I invite you to do the same.

References

Ducci, J., 2019. Mental Health in Dance – It's Time to Break the Silence. Dance Major Journal, Volume 7.