209. When it Feels Like You're Not Getting Better and You Don't Know Why

209 Performance Slump

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Passion for Dance. I'm your host, Dr. Chelsea, and my mission is to create happier, more successful dancers through positive mental skills. I was talking with a dancer lately who was feeling frustrated because she was struggling to perform skills she used to be able to do. She was going to classes doing the work, but it felt like she was in a slump skills. She once had consistently felt all over the place. Her stamina felt worse. She just seemed to be moving backwards despite her continued training.

Have you ever felt like you're in a performance slump? In other sports athletes have stats to show if they're in a rut, like if their batting average is lower or if their speed in the pool is slower. But for dancers, it's more of a feeling you're not as connected to the movement. You fall out of tricks more often, everything feels off. Maybe it's that choreography is harder to pick up, or it could also be a true competitive slump where you aren't scoring as high as you used to.

[00:01:00] Today's episode, I'm going to talk about performance slumps. What causes that drop in performance for a dancer, the psychological toll they take, and the most effective evidence-based strategies to bounce back and return to your personal best.

Welcome to Passion for Dance. I'm Dr. Chelsea, a former professional dancer, turn sport psychologist, and this podcast is for everyone in the dance industry who want to learn actionable strategies and new mindsets to build happier, more successful dancers. I. I know what it feels like to push through the pain, take on all the criticism, and do whatever it takes to make sure the show will go on.

But I also know that we understand more about mental health and resilience than ever before, and it's time to change the industry for the better. This podcast is for all of us to connect, learn, and share our passion for dance with the world.

Let's start by clearly defining what I mean by a performance slump. This is an academic term. Researchers define it as a prolonged unexpected drop in performance from an athlete's usual standard. [00:02:00] This drop in performance goes beyond normal fluctuations. So while normal up and downs will happen, we all have off days, we make mistakes. This is more of an ongoing issue. It isn't just one bad performance, but a sustained dip in your ability to execute your skills.

It's also not the same thing as choking. When we talk about choking as a dancer, that's usually referring to one big mistake on stage, like a fall or completely spacing out choreography and just standing there. But after choking on stage, many dancers are able to use mental skills, reset off stage, get back up there for the next routine and keep going.

A performance slump is more of an unexpected decline where you are actually doing worse than you used to. You can't execute the same turn sequence you could six months ago. You don't have the same skills and strength and conditioning classes, so it's not even just a plateau, but an actual drop in skills. It's the feeling of I can't do anything right, and I have no idea why. That's a really frustrating place to [00:03:00] be, and it will certainly make it hard to show up to classes and put in high effort during rehearsals if you feel like nothing matters.

So what causes a performance slump? Well, there are three main reasons why a dancer would experience a decrease in their performance. The first cause is a physical one. When dancers are overly tired over training or injured. If you are experiencing a performance slump, it's important to take an honest look at your training and recovery schedule.

Are you actually taking care of your body and recovering from a long convention weekend? Are you properly warming up and cooling down Over training can cause a lot of problems, but one of them is certainly a drop in performance. More training isn't always better.

A second cause to be aware of is your environment. Pressure from parents or coaches. Drama among teammates or other life stress that may not even be related to dance like school or something happening at home can all cause a performance slump.

And finally, there could be a [00:04:00] psychological cause. This could be unrealistic expectations. A drop in confidence or a fear of failure. When a dancer is focused on perfection, whether that pressure comes from within or from a parent or coach, that unrealistic expectation of perfect can cause a drop in performance.

When a dancer is striving for perfection, there's often an accompanying fear of failure, and then your focus is on all the things that could go wrong, pulling your attention away from the technique you're trying to execute, and causing more mistakes and disconnection from your artistry.

Similarly, your mindset about the slump matters too. Dancers who are more optimistic and believe the performance slump is just a temporary issue that can and will resolve are more likely to actually come out of that slump sooner.

Where dancers who believe the cause of the slump is something more permanent, create a pessimistic viewpoint, and are likely to be in that slump for a lot longer. [00:05:00] If you're feeling physically exhausted, not recovering well, have negativity in your environment and on top of all of that, believe I'll never get to that level again where you believe this injury is all my fault. You'll find it much harder to get out of that dark hole when you're in a performance slump mindset matters.

You can also see how these causes start to interact with each other. A coach who puts on excessive pressure and schedules too much training time could elicit a desire for perfection or over training, all causing a dancer to actually perform worse than she was before.

As you ramp up to the big end of your performances, it's even more important to take good care of your physical self. Have clear grounded expectations in your abilities, create a positive environment around you, and believe that change is possible.

Performance slumps are rarely from one singular cause. There are more likely many factors working together, creating that perfect storm. So while the causes are complex, [00:06:00] the impact can be very serious. So let's look at the emotional toll of being in a performance slump. If you've been there, you get it. Struggling to perform skills you used to be able to do is very frustrating. Many dancers will feel helpless. They will doubt their abilities and experience even more anxiety when it's time to take the stage. This can happen to even the best of dancers, and I'm sure you can imagine how that feels to have spent years training consistently and then suddenly you are still giving full effort and working hard, but you can't do what you used to be able to do.

This is when I've seen dancers consider quitting and giving up on their dreams. The level of self doubt can be overwhelming. And the last thing I want is to see a dancer get so stuck in a performance slump that they walk away for good. So don't walk away because you can overcome a drop in performance like this.

[00:07:00] I wanna pause for just a second and say hello to any new listeners and thank you for being a part of the community. If you're new to the show today or found us recently, I have a special resource for you. It's simply the new listener resource, and it has my best recommendations for other podcasts or books to inspire you, as well as all my current free resources that you can download, which includes things like the competition confidence checklist, or journal prompts that might help you today.

It's actually a simple Google Doc because I'm constantly updating it and sharing new things for dancers and dance educators, and I wanted a way to give you all the links in one place so you can grab your copy today and it will always update as new things are happening this year. You can get it at passion for dance podcast.com.

You'll see it right on the homepage. That's passion for dance podcast.com. Welcome to the community. I'm so happy to have you. Okay, let's get back to the [00:08:00] show.

 There are two key ways you can get yourself out of a slump. The first is addressing the problems you have control over. Cope with the things you can actually change. Things like setting a clear strategic goal, seek clear feedback on what's going wrong with the skill you're struggling with, rather than just trying over and over and over.

Consider making changes to your training. Is over training an issue? What does your recovery actually look like? Essentially, don't be afraid to go back to basics. If you're having a hard time with an advanced skill, even though you used to be able to do it, repeating that skill over and over and falling over and over won't get you out of the slump. It'll just make you more frustrated. Go back to basics. Do the easiest version of that skill. Feel comfortable there. Slowly ramp it up, get feedback on how you're doing, and work your way back up. I think dancers get the most frustrated when they keep doing the same thing over and over because it [00:09:00] used to work, but they're afraid to examine what isn't working anymore and make a strategic change to how they train and how they recover.

Along the same lines, a dancer can overcome a slump by focusing on creating a training routine and being consistent. When we're stuck in a slump, we're more prone to bursts of energy, of intense effort. I'm gonna get this followed by frustration and being lazy or fully walking away for days or weeks at a time.

Instead after looking at your physical and environmental causes, try to create a more sustainable, consistent level of training and recovery. You'll be able to work your way through the technique and get out of the slump when you're at a sustainable, consistent level of training.

The second way to overcome a performance slump is to, of course, address your psychological resilience. Consider your own motivation. Focus on how you cope with [00:10:00] stress. Do you focus on where you struggle or do you look for one small win in a consistent effort? Are you intentionally dealing with the stress in your life or just pushing the issue down the road until some imaginary future date when you'll have time to deal with it?

Getting out of a performance slump will take intentional action. Just like learning a new skill, you won't magically get a skill back or have your best performance on stage out of nowhere. And I don't say that to be overly blunt or discouraging. It's just the opposite actually. What I hope you hear is that you can take action to get out of your performance slump. You're not doomed to be stuck there.

Look at the causes of your drop in performance, what's happening in your environment, what's happening inside your head and with your body, choose to take intentional action to change the things in your control. Use coping skills to handle the negative emotions and build yourself back up. Because you can bounce back. Athletes do it all the time, but it won't happen without your intentional resilience. [00:11:00] Avoiding the problem won't help. Every successful dancer has had a setback, but those who overcome it take proactive steps to work their way out of it, even when they don't feel like it. Lean on social support around you. Take care of your body and shift your mindset to focus on what's possible and how you can get there.

I want to conclude today by summarizing how you can handle a performance slump because you can handle it. You're not stuck there forever. First, focus on realistic goal setting and celebrate the process of growth, not just outcomes.

Celebrate that you did your recovery routine every day this week. Don't wait to celebrate when you have that perfect run through. Focus on progress over outcome.

Number two is to work on that optimistic view of your current challenge. You can be real with yourself. You aren't performing where you once were. It's the optimistic view that you have the skills to get back on track. [00:12:00] Athletes who believe that bouncing back is possible are the ones who will do the work and see that revival on stage.

Number three is to lean on your social support. Connect with other dancers. Talk to teachers or mentors who can listen and be supportive. Ask for help at home. It's okay to ask for help and communicate what you need from those who love you.

Number four, use other mental skills like imagery and reflection. Visualize yourself performing the way you want to, again, reflect and journal about your progress, your goals, and your wins to build back your confidence.

And finally, number five. Control the controllables. Not every cause of your performance slump or every strategy to get you out is entirely in your control. But a lot of it is. Whatever your situation, focus on what is in your control and start there. Performance slumps are part of the journey for many athletes. With resilience, support, and targeted strategies, dancers can not only recover, but grow stronger from the experience.[00:13:00] 

Yes, a performance slump is really tough and discouraging, but a lot of things in a dancer's journey will be frustrating. You can use the same strategies and mental skills to overcome this current roadblock. Your growth isn't linear. There will be setbacks, remember that you can control your own journey and achieve your dreams as a dancer.

Thanks for listening and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.

Thank you for listening to Passion for Dance. You can find all episode resources at passion for dance podcast.com and be sure to follow me on Instagram for more high performance tips at Doctor Chelsea dot Otti. That's P-I-E-R-O-T-T-I. This podcast is for passionate dancers and dance educators who are ready to change our industry by creating happier, more successful dancers.

I'm Dr. Chelsea and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.