You may have found the class attire that makes you feel your best. Perhaps you wear leg warmers on your calves to sort of balance out your butt and thighs (I used to do that). Maybe you wear a skirt to accentuate a small waist and hide your hips (guilty again).

Do you remember the last time you felt fully confident in just pink or flesh-tone tights and a leotard?

The way you see yourself in the mirror is connected to your ability to reach your best body, choose food you love that also serves you, and perhaps most importantly, dance well.

One of my favorite success stories from The Dancer’s Best Body Program came when a dancer told me she started taking class without a skirt on-something she hadn’t felt comfortable doing in years!

Going skirt-less, especially after hiding behind a skirt for so long, is huge! Auditions are a big occasion when this confidence will come in handy. You’re expected to show up in just a leotard and tights. If you haven’t done that in months, it can be such a challenge!

The Dancer’s Best Body Program takes you through The Whole Dancer 7 Step Best Body Process. It guides you towards your personal best dancer’s body. Along the way, confidence shifts, AHA moments occur and you start to see yourself in a positive light. You can be an expert on your body.

This process has been refined over the last 5+ years while working with 100’s of dancers. The vast majority of the dancers who commit to The Whole Dancer Best Body Process see a massive shift both mentally and physically. 

The physical shifts are rarely aesthetic.

Sometimes dancers come into this program with weight or aesthetic body goals. One of the first things you’ll do is switch those goals to focus on how you feel physically. Do you want to dance with more energy? More strength? Maybe more speed?

All of that is possible. When you make your physical goals about how you move and dance, the focus shifts. It shifts from “what’s wrong” to “what’s possible?”

Possibility will give you the push to keep going-even before all of your personal body goals are met.

If you’ve tried to stick to a plan in the past, and it just didn’t work or you started to feel defeated early on, this program is for you.

+ Support

You get full access to me over the course of your 3-month program via email and group calls. This might look like getting your questions answered whenever they come up or receiving specific recommendations and action steps based on your personal struggles and goals.

+ Information

This quiets all that internet noise. The course materials cut through all the distraction and provides you with nutritional insights relevant to dancers. 

+ Connections

Connect with dancers from around the world whom you have so much in common with! It’s amazing how much is shared in the dancer experience. 

+ Mindset Shifts

You’ll see the power of personal growth and positive psychology practices in action. Each week of the program builds on itself to create a transformed mind and approach to dance.

+ Action Steps

At every coaching call, specific actions you’ll be able to take right away are identified. You’re already taking massive action when you show up for this program and complete each module’s journaling exercises. However, by taking it a step further, your opportunities for growth are magnified.

+A Clear, Specific, Proven 7-Step Process

If someone tells you they can help you create a calm approach to food, your body, and your dancing, but there’s no process behind their work, something is likely missing. 

Information without a clear process rarely delivers. 

Think about it, there’s information all over the internet. It’s out there for you to find, so why should you invest in yourself through an online course and group program? Well, this program gives you a path. It takes you on a journey to long-term, sustainable, physical and mental shifts.

The process is also holistic. It’s not just about food and your body. It’s about creating a life that supports your goals and well-being. There’s a big, cross-training component with Tanya Tromly of Bulletproof Ballerina.

It sets you up for balance in dance and balance in life. If you’re in need of support, the next round of the program opens in April 2021. Whatever your plans are in the next few months, it’s never a bad time to invest in and commit to yourself.

Alleviating the mental stress you feel around your body is an essential first step in achieving your body goals-just committing to yourself and signing up for The Dancers’ Best Body Program can alleviate some of that stress!

Need the program details? Check here first, if you’re still unsure if you’re the right fit, feel free to email me at info@thewholedancer.com! As always, I’m here for you!

Scholarship applications are open for the April 2021 round of The Dancers’ Best Body Course + Group Coaching Program thru April 1, 2021. Click here to apply.

This post was originally published in April of 2017. It was updated for relevance and clarity in March 2021.

The post Confidence in Just a Leotard and Tights appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

The time leading up to a performance is a critical opportunity to condition yourself for success. It’s surprising that more ballet companies and schools don’t focus more on the mental components of a good performance. However, they’ve already got technique, artistry, and musicality to worry about!

Dancer’s should use the same mental preparation for performance as athlete’s do for competition or training.

According to the Ohio Center for Sports Psychology – the following are required for you to reach your best possible performance.

1. Choose and maintain positive attitudes.

In dance companies and schools, there are usually some who default to more negative attitudes. This is natural for some people but it’s important to stay away from it. Staying positive even in the times when you’re not cast how you’d like or when you’re not getting the attention you desire (more on that in #2) is essential for performance.

Your mind is powerful. If you stay stuck in all that you’re unhappy with, it will drag you down and lead to poor performance. Keep your head up and surround yourself with positive people in order to move forward consistently.

2. High level of self – motivation.

Dancer’s easily fall into a head space where we need validation from teachers. This happens naturally as students – you’re young and you’re looking for approval. However, once you’re dancing professionally you easily see that it’s up to you to maintain your technique and push yourself to work.

It varies from company to company but at the professional level, artistic staff is much more hands off than when you’re a student. They expect you to bring your A – game and push through without their constant singing of praises. This is where self – motivation is essential.

3. Set high, realistic goals.

Goal setting is something you’ve heard about at The Whole Dancer since it’s start. It is SO important and it shocks me that it’s not a bigger part of dancer training! You’ve got set the next big goal to reach the next level. Goal setting is a big part of both The Whole Dancer Program and The Dancer’s Best Body Program because that’s the only way to facilitate change!

4. Deal effectively with people.

Whether you’re dancing in the corps de ballet or as a soloist or principal dancer, you’ve got to be able to deal with those around you. It’s more obvious as a corps dancer – you’ve got to be able to communicate with your fellow dancers to create a cohesive and uniform look as a group. That’s no easy feat!

When you’re dancing solo, you might think there’s no necessity to deal with people. To the contrary, you’ve got to have a clear communication style so that you’re able to work with whomever comes in to coach you. Openness and vulnerability is required as a soloist.

5. Use positive self – talk.

This is another focus of the programs from The Whole Dancer. When that little voice in your head is constantly dragging you down, how do you think your body is going to react?

When you’re able to focus on the positive, see what is working and lift yourself up through the struggle you’re going to find much greater success than if you feed into your inner critic.

6. Employ positive mental imagery.

Visualize. Visualize. Visualize. Imagine the positive outcome you’d like. See the perfect double pirouette’s you’re capable of before you even start dancing.

There was a particular section of the ballet Beauty and the Beast where I danced as an angel with a series of 3 pirouette’s that I just always saw myself falling out of. You know what happened? I fell out of it each and every time. I truly wish I could go back and visualize the positive outcome! Let me know how this works for you!

7. Manage nerves and anxiety effectively.

Whether you do some breathing exercises, journal out the jitters, or give yourself a pep talk – you’ve got to find a way to move through the anxiety.

8. Manage emotions effectively.

When you get to the studio, turn everything else off. This will be good practice for managing emotions when you need to perform onstage. Let your time dancing be the time to release any stress you’re feeling. If you can’t shut them off, channel then into your performance and let it elevate what you bring to the stage (or the studio)!

9. Maintain concentration.

Find your focus. Audiences are great, but you’ve got to be able to mostly tune them out and focus in on the dancing. If you’re dancing in the corps de ballet, use your fellow dancers to stay engaged in your character. Dancer’s have the added benefit of music to help facilitate concentration so use it! Allow the music and musicality of the choreography keep you honed in on what you plan to accomplish.

Want more on this topic? Check out The Whole Dancer Podcast episode on the needed mental preparation for performance.

The post Mental Preparation for Performance appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Making a weekly video – that’s my challenge!

For you, there might be a food challenge, a physical challenge, or a mental challenge!

Summer time is usually a mix of having a super busy schedule and having some down time that you might now know what to do with! Use these weekly challenges to learn about yourself and stretch outside of your comfort zone.

Here’s the video with your first challenge:

After you watch, report back! Share with me how you feel about this challenge and when you plan to tackle it below!

The post Summer time challenge series! appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

As the weeks and months went on, she shared with me some of the positive feedback she was getting from the artistic staff about her increased confidence and presence in the studio. I asked Ashley if she would elaborate so I could share it with you!

Here’s what Ashley wrote:

“Today we live in a world of instant gratification. We can instantly find information on the internet with a click of a button, we can instantly connect with people from all over the world with a simple phone call or text, the list goes on.

This breeds the idea that everything in life should be instantaneous. However, the ballet technique is not like that. In our quest for perfection and continual improvement we have to learn to love the process and understand that good things take time to come to fruition.

The Whole Dancer Program helped me to see that. This program addresses the areas in which today’s dancer needs support. Jess helps you to set realistic goals for your future while also helping you to cultivate the positive headspace to indulge effectively in the hard work it takes to achieve your dreams.

The Whole Dancer Program provides dancers with the opportunity to reflect on not only their technical progress but also how they are fueling their bodies (side note – check out the free mini course on dancing fuel at thewholedancer.com/minicourse).

With the rise of “fitspo” on social media, it seems as if we are being bombarded with different diets, cleanses, and “bad” foods from every angle.

This makes food seem more like a jigsaw puzzle that can either tarnish or create your career rather than an essential part of your life.

Jess provided me with the opportunity to reassess my eating habits as well as how I approach food. I truly believe that when we take proper care of our instrument and nourish it well, the sky is the limit for one’s success!

Since participating in The Whole Dancer Program I have started keeping a corrections journal, taken a new approach to how I eat, and most importantly tried to appreciative and cultivate who I am as a person (not just the body in the studio).

Prior to joining this program I felt like I was very negative and hard on myself in all aspects of my life.

I’m not saying those feelings go away instantaneously, but Jess has helped me to identify tools I can use to learn how to become the most positive and best dancer I can be.

I truly believe that the more we love and appreciative ourselves, the more poised we are to be fearless in our dancing and better connect with the audience.

I would definitely recommend this program to friends because I think holistic health is essential for dancer’s to reach their peak and this program can help them achieve that!!”

Join The Whole Dancer Program today!

The post Ashley Forché on The Whole Dancer Program appeared first on The Whole Dancer.