DanceLife Blog

Dance is the art of giving and receiving expression, of offering ideas, inspiration, creativity and wisdom through the silent movement of the human body. There is something so powerful about this creative art. Its language can speak beyond the physical realm, taking both dancer and audience to another place and touching us at our core. It has the power to invoke, to connect and to transform.

We each have our own personal reason for wanting to dance. For most of us, however, the attraction is about how we experience dance based on what we feel when we are dancing. When a dancer is truly dancing from their heart, with a balanced mind, their body responds accordingly delivering precision, flow and mastery. This is truly the magic of dance.  This magic is what opens up a dancer's audience to their heart, where they will automatically respond to the radiance that they see and feel the dancer exuding. It is at this point that a dancer awakens something profound within themselves. This is something that cannot be taught by a teacher. It is something that dancers experience... and what they are experiencing is the awakening of their Master Dancer.  

There are two core elements to dance, one being the technical skill presented by the physical body. The other is the feeling content of the artist and their ability to project this to their audience; to fill the entire theatre with their energy and presence. A meld of both elements, and the connection between the mind, body and spirit, is the foundation of the master dancer.

A master dancer is a dancer who KNOWS themselves and who is comfortable enough within themselves that they feel free to BE themselves and to EXPRESS themselves. Consequently, such a person will give their self over completely to their performance, without fear of `standing out', failure or reprimand. Someone who is uncomfortable within themselves - who lacks confidence - will tend to hold back in their work and from their own true self-expression. A master dancer remains in touch with the truth of who they are and with their reasons for wanting to dance. They are life students of rhythm and movement, teachers of expression and creativity, forever growing and evolving within themselves and their dance.

Isadora Duncan, philosopher and world famous dancer, was quoted in The Philosopher's Stone as saying "your body is simply a luminous manifestation of the soul". Her insight and talent remind us that we are all uniquely gifted. That there is no other dancer in the world like us!

The journey of a dancer is a great metaphor for any journey in life. It has ups and downs, hard times and easy times, but ultimately it is up to the dancer to realise that they are the creator of their own life in dance and dance in life.     

Yes this industry wants you and the more you love and appreciate yourself and your talent, the more the industry will recognise that gift which is innate in YOU the dancer.

I look forward to introducing you to your power as a dancer through DANCE LIFE. Stay tunned for regular exercises, set to awaken you to your master dancer within.

Yours in life and dance,

KATE HISTON
www.byrondancedynamics.com.au

Extract from The Master Dancer ^TM

© Copyright Kate Histon 2006-2008. Any distribution, reproducing or copying of any part of this article is forbidden. Quoting the author is acceptable however she must be notified in writing first.

Ever wonder why it is hard to go to dance class or sometimes even get out of bed? Even after years of training and committing to mastering the art of dance. Even after reading those positive self- help books... you feel like you are in a way not getting anywhere?

For many of us creative beings, it is easy to overlook our talent, especially when we are trained so diligently by our teachers to critique our work, which is a skill that every dancer needs. Yet sometimes we can get stuck in critiquing too much that we loose sight of our purpose and authenticity as dancers. When we do this we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves, compare ourselves to others (or a fantasy in our head of what we think we should be). Sadly...we can end up misplacing our power, spirit and self-worth.

It is easy to become dependant on outside opinions like our parents, teachers and peers to build us up. Seeking validation and drawing on outside motivation to fuel our self worth when we feel lost is very normal. However if we don't intrinsically regain our own sense of purpose, direction and certainty as dancers, we can end up creating emotional imbalances that can also manifest into physical imbalances like illness or injury. This is simply our intuition telling us that we have either;

- lost sight of our unique gifts and assets
- got stuck in comparing ourselves to others or fantasies
- have not created realistic timeframes for our dancing goals
- are not listening to our heart and value system
- are dancing primarily to please others and not for ourselves

This is when we need outside motivation the most and when we react to what we are feeling we can spiral into more limiting states of mind believing we "are not good enough". Another name for this is self sabotage.

This is where a lot of people may say "just think positive". I was introduced to "Positive Thinking" when I was 16 in my fulltime ballet & dance training years; I said many affirmations and positive statements and still had negative thoughts and challenging experiences. There is much more to achieving your goals than simply thinking positive and here is why;

1) Everyone needs a big enough reason to do anything! It is one thing to know you love dancing and to want a career in the industry, but if you don't have a big enough reason and clear direction that comes from you, then you wont achieve your dreams. No amount of ‘positive thinking' will create your goals for you, but believing in yourself and following your heart will.

- Give yourself a big enough reason why and ensure that your life goals are yours and come straight from your heart.

- Don't rely on others to create your dreams for you, or they will and your will only end up resenting yourself and the people you give your power away to.

-Allow yourself to dream big and believe in your dreams even when others don't. You are the only one that can create your life and your dance life!

Once you have seen your vision from your purpose, create realistic timeframes for achieving each of your goals. If you create goals that are too advanced, you will burn-out and beat yourself up. If you create goals that are not challenging enough, you will get bored, complacent and not grow. Allow flexibility in your goals setting and give yourself permission to refine them from time to time.

Follow your heart! At the end of the day, if you truly want to be a dancer and love dancing, you will. If you don't, be brave enough to let life take you on a journey of discovering your heart and value system. Once a dancer always a dancer... there are NO missed opportunities in this life. When I stopped dancing, I ended up dancing in another form through my words, teaching, and family. To me dance is the art of giving and receiving expression, of offering ideas, inspiration, creativity and wisdom through the silent movement of the human body. I never stopped dancing; I only changed the form I expressed my dance of life in.

Stay tunned for next months amazing insights on understanding the balancing acts of the mind and further tips on how to create your goals!

Yours in dance and life
Kate xxx

katehiston.com
Kate Histon is an international personal & professional development specialist and author dedicated to holistically coaching dancers and teachers in reaching their most profound creative and authentic potential.

©Copyright 2007-2008 Kate Histon. Any distributing, reproducing or copying any part of this article is forbidden. Quoting the author is acceptable however she must be notified in writing first.

Getting Back on the Horse
Overcoming Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety can be a debilitating experience and one that can rob dancers of their joy and love of performance if not properly dealt with.

10 years ago I was in my 2nd year of full time training and after 12 years of performing on multiple stages annually, I experienced for the first time INTENSE performance anxiety like never before! I had a panic attack side stage that seemed to come from no where and in my case it was an absolute first!
In that performance I also created some more first time experiences... I ended up falling off my point shoe after a pirouette in arabesque (yes that's right after not during) onto my knees and then another first... I FAKED a knee injury just to get off that stage because I was so embarrassed!

So how do you get back on the horse after a big fall?

The good news is that there is a way! I have some proven yet simple tools to help you minimise performance anxiety to enable you to reclaim your power as the brilliant performer that you really are!

Firstly, the aim for a powerful performance is to be as centered and focused as possible in your performance. In order to get to this place of enthused focus and balance we first have to understand the mind and the role it plays in relation to our performance.

Because your body reacts to the commands of the mind, when the mind is in an imbalanced state it will release adrenaline into the body relative to the amount of imbalance in the mind. Meaning the more stressed you are, the more adrenaline is pumped through your body. We need a small amount of adrenaline for powerful performances, but extreme levels rob us of our energy, focus, mind and control over our bodies!

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS!
Want to know how to re balance your mind and bring power and energy to your body immediately? Of course you do! Knowing this is a performer's gold to consistent, powerful and purposeful performances! For the first time I recommend doing these exercises with pen and paper. Think of it as yoga for the mind.

Step 1
Isolate your Specific F.E.A.R
False Evidence Appearing Real - is created in the mind through one perceiving they will experience more pain, challenge or negative experience as opposed to joy, pleasure and fun in their performance. Defining what your personal fear or hidden monster is, is very important. To do this you may have to dig around in your head and ask yourself as if you were asking a small child. Listen for the answer and then write it down because it will most likely be a repeated pattern that we can now transform into power! So what is your fear?

Step 2
What is The Benefit of Your F.E.A.R Coming True?
Ok now this may seem like a CRAZY question...but there is a method behind my madness, so stay with me guys!
Once you have ratted out your personal monster named fear I want you to write down at least 30 benefits for that specific fear coming true! It may appear like we are feeding a fear but the truth is you can only feed fear with more fear and negativity itself. By writing out as many benefits as possible you begin to dissolve the negative charge and nightmare in your mind which will affect your neurology and physiology straight away. Write out as many benefits until the nightmare becomes neutralised.

Step 3
Re-ignite Your Unique Gifts
No one performs the same as you! You are a very unique performer and the more you know your gifts, the more your power and self confidence increases- which means the more your ability increases! Write down at least 30 qualities you LOVE about your dance ability.

Step 4
Pre-Paving Through Visualisation
Leading up to your performance visualise yourself performing your routine to your optimal and more importantly notice how you FEEL when your are doing this. Primarily we dance for the feeling and it is the feeling that holds the power. I encourage my students to lye down close their eyes, play their performance music and visually see in their mind their powerful performance as well as feeling the emotive power of their routine.
This is a pre-paving technique from my teachings that helps performers consciously create their performance outcomes.

Step 5
Practise Makes Perfect
Now the dance teacher in me is reminding you that the more rehearsed you are, the more confident you will feel!
Rehearsing includes refining your routine both physically in the studio and mentally through the above exercises.

Finalling- Don't be afraid to ask a professional for help. I coach performers all the time in field of human behaviour and self-actualisation. like myself, there are many other professional coaches, facilitators or sports psychologists that are experts in helping performers overcome fears and limiting beliefs in order to achieve their dreams!

Yours in life and dance,
Kate Histon

For further information on Kate's services visit katehiston.com or email info@katehiston.com

© Copyright Kate Histon 2008- Excerpt from the Master Dancer^TM Training series. All rights reserved. Any unauthorised distributing or copying of this article is forbidden.

The mediocre teacher tells,
The good teacher explains,
The superior teacher demonstrates,
The great teacher inspires.
- William Arthur Ward

Dance teachers are much more than ex-dancers passing on their craft. We are educators in so many ways and our multi-talented skills can often be undervalued by the public, parents and students themselves. The hours we put into our art goes well beyond the hours we spend in front of our students and when it comes down to the actual teaching component, it is easy for us to fall short of our talents of inspiring the passion of dance within our students due to creative burnout.
Within our dance industry we have a variety of teacher training programmes all generally aimed at learning a methodology and refining our skills on critiquing our students' technique. However not only do teachers of dance need to become an expert in dance technique, they also need to become skilful at working with different personalities and knowing how to get the best out of every student. What motivates one student might dis-empower another. This is where teaching every student as an individual by learning how to communicate in terms of the dancer's values is incredibly important.

The above quote by William Arthur Ward demonstrates 4 levels of awareness in teaching and for us dance teachers all levels of teaching are required - from telling to explaining, demonstrating and inspiring. But what makes a teacher amazing, memorable and most motivating to their students, is one who knows how to transform the body and the mind of the dancer! This is a skill that all teachers have within them, but few realise or know how to do.

First, let's define the 4 levels of teaching described in this quote:

The mediocre teacher is one who projects their values onto their students and expects their students to ‘fit in' and absorb all the knowledge imparted by their teacher without question or thought. As much as telling is a big part within teaching to stay in this level and use it as your primary teaching basis is ineffective to the whole development of your student.
At this level students risk subordinating themselves to their teachers values and ideals where they associate being the ‘best' with gaining their teachers approval. This can create disempowered students if teachers fail to grow beyond this level as students will continually place their self worth in the hands of their teacher.

The Good Teacher Explains is one who has evolved from the base level of telling and begins to explain the ‘why' of what they are teaching. This is the first step to opening up communication with the student. For example when a teacher explains why having correct posture and "lengthening both sides of the body equally" will develop safe dance practice (providing benefits of correct technique and longevity of career) students are becoming involved in their learning process. The teacher has linked the benefits of their particular teaching which opens up the students to a better understanding of ‘dance' and to think laterally.

The Superior Teacher Demonstrates Is the ability to demonstrate and give students examples of what you are teaching through using yourself as the example. This is not limited to physically demonstrating technique. Teachers demonstrate their self discipline, time management, self purpose, personal fulfillment by simply living it themselves. Students are learning much more than ‘dance'. They are learning how to operate successfully in the world by modeling the practices of their teachers, mentors and parents.

The Great Teacher Inspires is a teacher who teaches from a holistic approach. They have the ability to tune into their students, learn their student's values, understand their mindset and help their students work through fears that may arise in pursuit of their goals. These teachers are masters and have the tools to move their students from one level of ability to the next because they are working with all elements of the student not just their physical ability. These "great" teachers inspire through seeing the potential of their students ability unfolding even when the student cannot.

You are a great teacher and have within you the ability to take your students to the next level. The most simple and effective way to do this is remember the magic of you, your unique flare and most importantly why you fell in love with the art of dance and teaching. Ultimately we dance for the feeling we experience when we move to the rhythm of the beat, just like we teach for the feeling of seeing our students shine!

Dance teachers are amazing and greatly impact on their student's lives. The more teachers are feeling fulfilled within themselves, the greater impact they will have on their students. Dance teachers are much more than teachers of dance... they are teachers of life!

Yours in dance and life
Kate Histon
P.s. Stay tuned for next months tips on the power of communication!

© Copyright Kate Histon 2008.

Kate Histon is an international consultant and facilitator in the field of human behaviour for performers. She is the owner and director of Dance Dynamics Theatrical & Performance School in Byron Bay and a certified ballet teacher through the Royal Academy of Dance For more information on Kate's services visit www.katehiston.com

With the hustle and bustle of the exciting and chaotic Christmas events creeping up, this time of year is a very special time for dance schools across our country as we prepare for our annual productions. It is also this time of year that is easiest time to succumb to stress and this is where our communication skills can become somewhat unrefined and possibly reactive.

Communication is one of the most important skills any educator must have refined in order to effectively tutor students in dance. The more response-ability a teacher has, the more they are able to effectively coach students. The more reactive a teacher is in their communication, then there will be less than optimum dance outcomes.

Everyone has their own unique language and communication code. When it comes down to the principles of linguistics every person will have certain meanings with certain words based on their life experience, upbringing and values. For instance a particular word can trigger a nervous reaction in one person because they may associate that word with a negative experience in the past and that same word can be inspiring and uplifting to another person that may have a positive association with that word. The way we can monitor if our language and communication is effective when teaching our students, is to watch for cues in either their body language, verbal response or mood.

Below are 4 Key Communication Principals to help you bring awareness to other components of teaching in order to get the best out of yourself and your students;

1) Communication is more than simply talking. It involves listening and knowing how to communicate to the individual's level of awareness.

2) Successful communication is only as effective as the reaction of the receiver.

3) Our presence and states of mind are powerfully affected by our beliefs, ideas, memories and imaginations which filter the way we communicate to others and interpret what others are trying to communicate to us.

4) Everyone simply wants to be heard, understood and validated.

Good luck with your end of year concert's and remember to breathe and have FUN!

© Copyright Kate Histon 2008.

Kate Histon is an international consultant and facilitator in the field of human behaviour & potential for performers. She is the owner and director of Dance Dynamics Theatrical & Performance School in Byron Bay and a certified ballet teacher through the Royal Academy of Dance For more information on Kate's services visit www.katehiston.com  

Want to take a deeper look at psychological creation your injury? No, this article is not about nutrition or even your body as a dancer. Rather, it is an in-depth holistic look at the relationship between the mind, brain and the body (based on the biopsychosocial model) to resolve the underlying psychological creation of your injury!

Firstly let's take a look at the individual functions of the brain, mind and body.
The brain is the centre of the nervous system and serves as a physical structure assisting the mind and generates behaviours that promote the welfare of the body through the secretion of chemicals including hormones and/or activating muscles.
The mind is a stream of consciousness made up of your thoughts, perceptions of reality memories, imagination and emotions - both conscious and unconscious.
The body is an intelligent system constantly regenerating itself through the process of apoptosis - pre-programmed cell death and mitosis - pre-programmed cell duplication. It responds to the perceptions of the mind - both conscious and subconscious.

The mind bases its reality on its perception of reality. Perception is the process of collecting sensory information. How we perceive the world is formed in early childhood development and environment through our interpretations of sensory information.

The root of any emotional imbalance first begins at perception. When you perceive a situation by not looking at the whole picture (through seeing only positives or only negatives to a situation) you get emotional. At this time the brain then secretes hormones into the body and muscles contract as a response created by the imbalanced perception. When the emotions are expressed or discharged - muscles that were tense release and hormone secretion stops - you begin to balance. When conscious or unconscious underlying imbalanced perceptions are not dissolved then the body maintains the stress which then can create dis-ease or injury.

It is important to seek medical attention for disease and injury and at the same time it is also incredibly important to look at and resolve any underlying emotional & psychological cause. Your injury is a creation by you. In addition to any necessary medical support, you have the power within you to help the healing process through discovering then dissolving any underlying emotional and psychological cause. This is not a replacement for a medical practitioner, rather a complementary process that can help you get to the deeper cause. I have assisted a number of people to connect with the psychological creation of injury and it is a very effective and liberating experience for many. Below are a few exercises and questions that I ask my clients to help begin the healing process.

Part 1- Discovering the underlying cause
1) Place your hand on your injury, close your eyes and take 10 deep rhythmical breaths - breathing in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds
2) Remembering your body is an amazing intelligent system; ask your injury in your mind how it is feeling. Once you get a response then write it down.
3) Ask yourself: What are you gaining from it? What do you now get to do or not do that you didn't get to prior to the injury? How is it serving me? What am I learning?
You can get to the underlying issue on your own, however it is most effective when a professional facilitates you through as they have the skills to get you to dig deep to find the answer.

When working with dancers I have found some common subconscious creations are;
● To get out of doing something
● Burnout due to feelings of not being ‘good enough'
● Repressed anger towards a perceived authority e.g. parent, teacher, boss
● Not feeling supported
● Not seeing a way out of a situation

When the mind is centered the body heals. The body feels and reacts to what is taking place in the mind all the time!

For more information on Kate Histon and her services visit www.katehiston.com and www.byrondancedynamics.com.au
© Copyright Kate Histon 2009.

If a flower could grow from seed to full form overnight what would be the point of growth? If all your dreams came true in a day what would be the point to life?

Cultivating talent and an outcome takes time and patience and don't we know it in the dance industry! Our industry is like no other. The years of practice that it takes to transform the image in our head of what we want to look like as dancers, to that which we finally achieve does not happen overnight! It takes time!

Time and patience is not an enemy, rather a dancer's best friend. As dancers we need the paradox of effort and relaxation, determination and patience, action and non action to balance and stay central from burnout and boredom. The paradox is what enables us to grow. The extreme one sided elements such as all work and no play is what will drive us to stagnate!

The Key = Balance
While taking appropriate action steps toward your goals remember to breath, rest and have fun! Life is too short to wish your life away for the hope of your goals being achieved here and now. Once you have achieved a goal there will be a new one waiting for you around the corner. So remember to take time out for you and enjoy life, time and patience!

Yours in Dance and Life
Kate x

To find out more about Kate's services visit www.katehiston.com or check out her school www.byrondancedynamics.com.au
©Kate Histon 2009

Recently my school Dance Dynamics in Byron Bay presented our Mid Year Musical Theatre and Dance production called "Time of Your Life". This was our 25th show in 10years of operation and for anyone who works in the theatre, event management, or business; you will know that Murphy's Law of "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" applies every time!

After 6months of diligent preparation from our wonderful teachers, students and coordinators the show was coming together very smoothly. In fact, almost too smoothly I noticed at our major rehearsal.
Then the chaos began! Exactly one week before the show one of our main soloists dislocated her knee and with another two main performers managing injuries we were diligently creating a "plan B".

After plan B was sorted our new drama(s) on the morning of the matinee and evening show were very intense and threatened each show. The special lighting that we ordered was delivered two hours late. At the same time our music decided to not work! We had two hours to solve these ‘challenges' and at the same time rehearse the performers.

What we don't see in the midst of the chaos is the purpose of it. Chaos is designed to transform the stuck, move the stagnant and complacent, and find solution and relief to creative tension. The beauty of perceived uncontrollable instances like this is always there. In our case it made the directors of the show (including myself) LET GO and through the process of our letting go, our performers took the reins and stepped into a new power within themselves. Being the director of my school I play an important role and part of that role is about knowing that I am part of a bigger dynamic.

There were some key learnings for us all. The chaos that was in the air the morning of our performances was on reflection, a ‘positive', as it shook up everyone to the importance and love of what we do. It mattered to all of us and as soon as we changed the way we did things (let go) the lighting was ready, the music fixed. Sometimes magic happens when you change your approach! After the structure is created in anything you do make sure you allow the flexibility in. If you have structure without flexibility you have an unfinished product. The two go together. Our flexibility of "letting go" didn't mean we gave up, it meant that we stopped trying so hard to have everything perfect. That shift of intention is a powerful force! Our show was success with rave reviews as "our best yet".

© Kate Histon 2009
www.katehiston.com
www.byrondancedynamics.com.au

At least 3 times per week I ride my bicycle into Byron Bay. I live 6km out of the town centre and the ride gives me clarity and ideas for my three favorite things within my world of dance - directing my school, writing for DanceLife and my work as a performance enhancement coach. As I was riding this morning I noticed the higher the gear I was in the greater the resistance in my muscles, creating a greater challenge and harder ride. In that moment I could have chosen to let my tired legs win, slow up the bike and simply cruise, or I could step up to the challenge by letting my powerful mind drive the bike and override my tired legs. I chose the latter and when I did this I became capable of riding faster; and boy can I ride fast! I become more focused, alert and centered as my senses become alive and I am more capable of handling the traffic obstacles.

Life provides similar analogies and so does the dance studio. The more we are challenged, the more capable we become of mastering harder choreography and technique but only if we take on the challenge! The more we repeat those challenging steps and create a consistent rhythm the easier they become and we quickly find ourselves ready for a greater challenge. This is how we improve, this is how we grow and this is an important principle in life.

The same principle also applies to the mental and emotional aspects of dance. Today dancers not only need to be dance fit, they need to be emotionally and mentally fit. Your mental and emotional fitness is only strengthened through having a balanced perception of yourself and of the world around you. This enables you to endure set backs, audition rejections and critiquing from your teachers, directors, examiners and adjudicators. It also enables you to humble yourself after the high of the win and get you focused again on the next goal. Your mind and emotions play a major role in your dance life.

I do not necessarily promote "positive thinking" but rather, "balanced thinking". Balanced thinkers know that for every positive experience there will be a drawback and for every negative experience there will be a benefit. Your world is perfectly balanced with challenge and support, however when you chose to focus on only the negative without the positive or the positive without the negative you become out of balance either stressed or hyped.

So while you are refining your goals for 2010 consider creating goals that will help you grow emotionally and mentally. Some goals maybe;
• Stand at the front of the dance class more often
• Ask your teacher to give you more feedback on your ability and career prospects
• Enter more eisteddfods so you get used to staying focused at competitions
• Audition audition audition!
• Try public speaking

Try something new, anything that will help you to grow out of your current mental and emotional box. Decide to love yourself no matter what the outcome and give yourself permission to fail; it is only through failure that one can discover success!

I look forward to assisting you in growing as a dancer, performer or teacher in 2010 on DanceLife! ...Remember YOU are the one that can make anything happen!

Yours in dance
Kate xx
www.katehiston.com
www.byrondancedynamics.com.au  

© Copyright Kate Histon 2010 on behalf of DanceLife Australia. To copy or distribute any part of this article you must first seek permission by the author Kate Histon.