Helping Dancers Find Balance | Jess Spinner

Helping Dancers Find Balance | Jess Spinner

Helping Dancers Find Balance 

Dance training can amp up quickly, and before you know it, a young dancer is spending all day at school and all night training. Then, if they’re competing or pursuing other dance opportunities, weekends fill up too. 

It’s very easy to lose any semblance of balance, which can leave a dancer burnt out, exhausted, and unsure why they even started dancing in the first place. A dancer who wanted to go pro is suddenly ready to quit and never look back. Overscheduling is also harmful to mental health. 

This is why discovering and prioritizing a balance for each individual dancer is essential. Without it, the path can become much harder than it has to be. 

Why should balance be prioritized? 

Balance is a broad term, but in the work I do, the aim is to help a dancer find a place with all the things — food, body, self-care, dance, life, spirituality, cross-training, mindset — that supports them to feel and perform their best. 

It’s about taking a wide-lens view of what the expectations are and asking if they’re truly serving the individual. Chaotic and overwhelming schedules aren’t going to support someone to feel and dance their best. Even if that person is getting top prizes at the competitions, it doesn't mean they’re enjoying the process. 

Find balance by identifying priorities. 

I know a lot of parents want to see their dancer excel at all things. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but most dance and school schedules don’t actually provide the time to do this. 

If you’re an adult who is overworking and overextending yourself, that’s a message your dancer is taking in. They’re already starting to think that to be “successful” is to be overworked and exhausted. Therefore, they might push themselves to be “the best” in dance and also get straight A’s. 

If a young dancer is experiencing high levels of stress as they attempt to do all the things with school and dance, their sleep, digestion, health, and overall well-being suffer. Sometimes, as the adult, you have to step in and help them shift their focus or schedule to make it more manageable.

Are there solutions within their existing expectations? 

There are some larger, systemic issues at play here that can make it hard to actually create a balanced approach to school and dance. Both places typically require a high level of work and dedication. 

It might be worth exploring home-school or self-paced school options. Maybe you ask for accommodations that allow your dancer to leave school early. Perhaps it’s a matter of intentionally allowing your dancer to lower their bar. If they spend a little less time on an assignment or studying and get an A- or a B, is that OK with you and them? 

Make decisions that align with their future goals. If they plan to audition for companies and hope to go straight into professional dance, perhaps the dance should get top billing. If they’ll be pursuing competitive higher education, maybe that’s the thing that takes the top spot. 

I realize some of this advice is controversial, but I see again and again dancers who are sleep-deprived and incredibly stressed by their own expectations or those of the adults in their lives. 

Something has to give. 

Start with a conversation. 

If you’re reading this and thinking, Well, this all sounds great in theory, but where do I start, start with a conversation. Ask the dancer how they’re doing. Find out how much sleep they’re getting most nights. Uncover what’s feeling good or overwhelming in their life. 

Dancers can initiate these conversations themselves as well, and I highly encourage that. It’s so important to keep the lines of communication open in order to prioritize a balanced life. Even the, “I like being busy” set needs downtime. 

Sometimes, seeking outside support is a key to finding a path forward that’s intentional and productive.


Jess Spinner is a former professional dancer turned multi-certified holistic healt
nutrition, and lifestyle coach for dancers. She founded The Whole Dancer in 2015 to
help dancers prioritize their well-being, find peace with their bodies, feel confident in
their food choices, and put their health first.

Jess holds certifications through The Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Precision
Nutrition and has done continuing education courses with Duke University and
Harvard University. She is committed to staying up to date on the most recent research
and finding innovative strategies to better support dancers. Visit thewholedancer.com
to learn how to work with Jess.

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