A Blythe Coach

Tag: Failure

How to Find & Foster Safe(r) Spaces in a Diverse Dancing Life

As a dance educator and teaching artist, creating a safe space for learning has long been a topic of interest and top priority in coaching and classes Recently my interest has been reignited by working in a context similar to where I myself have experienced feeling unsafe, bullied, at risk: middle school. Being familiar with the concept of Safer Space codes of conduct in the context of queer nightlife, parties, dances, and demonstrations, the same tenets are applicable in a variety of social and educational contexts. Unfortunately its all too easy to see the parallels between middle school meanness and wannabe tyrannical rulers and thugs playing on the international stage. With intersectional diverse individuals feeling increasingly unsafe in current society and human rights under threat, Mental Health Day and Coming Out Day being celebrated in October, it is timely to consider how we can work together to generate loving, supportive spaces for all.

You Need a Smile File, Creative! – Remembering Acknowledgement & Praise to Stay Inspired & Motivated

How do you counteract the natural negativity bias and inevitable criticism that meets a life of creativity? Enter the “Smile File” of praise, thanks, and acknowledgment from others. One of a slew of tools to refresh, inspire, and motivate when we feel down or burnt out. Take a peek into my own collected notes of thanks and gather your own evidence of acknowledgement and love to stay inspired and motivated.

Dealing with Difficult Developments – 15 Ways to Cope with Challenges & Setbacks

Hard times come to us all, so how can we bounce back and recover? Here are the tools that work for me when I need to cope with difficult developments and which I share with clients and students to support their commitment to what’s important in their lives despite setbacks.

Leaning on them now and curious to hear what you find works best for you!

Humor and Wisdom from the Multi-Passionate Dancing Life of Matthew Donnell

A delightful conversation with fellow dance educator and UNCSA alumnus as well as super-talented and wonderful guy, Matthew Donnell! We talk about the highs and lows of being a multi-passionate jack-of-all-trades, his highlights as a professional ballet dancer, how to fall down and get back up again, the importance of révérence, character dance, and technique variety in ballet training, developing character in dancers and human beings, serving our communities, helping dancers find their voice, and assert that all people are valuable!

Learning from Mistakes & Failure

“Do not fear mistakes–there are none.” – Miles Davis

The research-based book on learning, Make it Stick, blew my mind a bit during my teacher credential program, especially finding out that the difficulty of recalling new information correctly correlates to the depth of the learning. That means the more I struggle to remember German words, as long as I try hard, keep practicing, and get corrections when I can, the more permanent and retrievable that information will be in the future.

Struggle and failure are inherent to learning, creativity, and dancing, so we would do well to learn to approach them with compassion.

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