dance goals

"Behind the Scenes" by Nazareth College. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. — “Behind the Scenes” by Nazareth College. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

by Karen Musey

September is here! The back to school vibe is high in the air and your dance year is about to begin! It is an exciting time and now is the perfect time to figure out your goals for this dancing season.

I define a goal as something that is specific and measurable, for ex. having clean triple pirouettes on both sides in all of my disciplines; not something vague like I want to be a better turner.

Stating your goal allows you to feel empowered with your progress as a dancer. It is good to stick to one goal at a time, so you can really zero in and complete it. Having too many goals splits focus and often less is accomplished. When youʼve fully integrated a goal into your technique, then you can choose a new one to work towards.

So – where do you want to see yourself a year from now?

Look back

Before you race forward, it is helpful to remember your accomplishments and challenges from the previous year. When you take stock of what happened and how you felt about it, you can make informed choices and set realistic goals for the year.

If you had an easy season where your hard work allowed you to easily achieve your intentions, it is important to take a moment and acknowledge your success! Your future goals will build off of the confidence of your last achievements, and you will get a sense of which challenges you are ready to tackle next.

What if you had a challenging year? Maybe you were working through an injury or other obstacles came up. It is important to take a moment to honor your persistence and dedication through that difficult time. You can build great confidence from a challenging year because adversity builds character and hopefully, stronger self care habits. Many (if not most) well known professional dancers had to work through obstacles to be where they are today. Through patience and their determination to succeed, they eventually met their goals.

Your journey may follow a slightly different path than those around you, but if you can trust yourself and your coaches, you will often surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.

"Ballerinas in mid air" by Gabriel Saldana. Licensed under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic. — “Ballerinas in mid air” by Gabriel Saldana. Licensed under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

Branch out

How do you want to grow as a dancer this year? Is it mastering a new style of dancing, taking on your first solo, or joining a class as a teacherʼs assistant?

Maybe this is the year that YOU

… choose to be self reliant and remember every step without shadowing another.

… learn the french translation of the steps in your ballet class so you develop a new understanding of the material.

… memorize and accurately pick up the combination the first time it is shown to you.

… be THE cheerleader for yourself and your team – own your success, pump up a friend who feels down, and acknowledge anotherʼs triumph.

…. stand in the front during classes and workshops and really absorb the information given.

…. plan and pack healthier snacks for yourself, to have the energy to carry you through.

…. slow down each technical element to articulate each one 100% correctly, even if you think youʼve already mastered them.

AND

… see yourself as a powerful artist who has something important to offer, every time you look in the mirror.

If your goal feels a little challenging and a bit uncomfortable or scary, and you are still excited to take it on – Congratulations! Youʼve found an awesome way to grow for the year.

Move forward with clarity and confidence

Having a support system is key in accomplishing your goals! Sharing your goals with your fellow dancers and coaches will help you be accountable and stay on track.
Journaling is a popular way to keep tabs on goal progress. Many professional performers keep regular audition and class journals by marking the date and their thoughts of their experience of each performance. This way, they can review their notes and make good decisions moving forward.

For you, setting aside a quick 5 or 10 minutes to write in a short daily or weekly journal is great; just enough time has passed for you to still remember the details of the weekʼs events. Reading your notes can give you clues in how you are moving forward, or if you could approach the goal from a different angle. At the end of the semester when you reread your notes, you will feel fantastic about all of your progress.

All of these small steps will lead you forward to the new challenges you will be rocking later this year. Have an awesome September!

Contributor Karen Musey is a dynamic Canadian born, New York based performer, teacher and dance adjudicator. Her training includes study at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional Division, The Banff Centre, EDGE PAC (LA), Upright Citizen’s Brigade, The Barrow Group, Kimball Studio, Canada’s National Voice Intensive, Comic Strip Live and more.

Karen Musey judges national and regional dance competitions and festivals across the United States and Canada. She was a Director/Choreographer Observership Candidate during the 2011/12 season with Stage Directors and Choreographers Union and has served as a rehearsal director and dance captain for KOBA Family Entertainment. Karen Musey is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is a U.S. Member of the International Dance Council CID, recognized by UNESCO.

Performing highlights – PHISH at Madison Square Garden; World Premiere of the Canadian Opera Company’s Das Rheingold (Wagner Ring Cycle); National Artist Program Gala for the 2003 Canada Winter Games; for HRH Queen Elizabeth II during the Golden Jubliee Tour; Chicago (Rainbow Stage); comedy short Foreign Exchange (72 Hour Asian American Film Shootout); music videos for The Guards and Malynda Hale; international tours and performances with The Young Americans, J.A.R. Productions and KOBA Family Entertainment; stand up and sketch comedy around New York; Bravo! documentaries, films and more. She is currently co-writing a play. www.karenmusey.com

Every year I set a few professional goals for myself. I’ve reached almost all of them. I think the key is to spend a little time thinking about what you really want to do before creating any resolutions. That way you are clear on what it is that you want.

I spent a lot of time thinking about how I want this blog to evolve in the coming year. Up until this point I have just let it grow slowly, without spending a lot of time on the “plan” for where it is going next. But, with 4dancers turning 2, I thought it might be time to define a few long-term goals for 2012. One of them was to develop an editorial calendar, which I am still in the process of finishing, and the other was to begin the process of focusing the content so that it is a solid resource for dancers and dance professionals. That goal will evolve over time.

Setting a couple dance goals for yourself can be very helpful. Just the act of writing out what it is that you want to do helps solidify it in your mind. You don’t have to do anything fancy…just jot them down.

Of course, after you set the goal you’ll want to create a plan for achieving it. Try to be as specific as you can in terms of the steps you need to take to get there. Map out ways to measure your progress along the way so you don’t get discouraged. And be ready to adjust the plan on the fly if need by. After all, life has a way of shifting things…

Do you have any dance goals for 2012? I’d love to hear them!