217. Beyond the Studio: 5 Life Skills You Learn from Dance

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome back to Passion for Dance. I'm your host, Dr. Chelsea, and my mission is to create happier, more successful dancers through positive mental skills. And today we're talking about one of my favorite topics for all of us who spend countless hours training even competing performing, dance is about so much more than the trophies and the technique. It's about the skills we learn along the way. Of course, we want to be successful on stage. We want to grow in our technical skills and push our limits. But years from now when the competitions are over and the trophies are gathering dust, don't know about you. I have a big plastic bin of them in my basement that needs to go, but when all the competitions are done and the trophies are gathering dust, the real wins are the skills you carry into your adult life. Skills that will show up in your work, your relationships and in your confidence in your daily life.

So today I'm gonna share five life skills that you learn in dance and how to transfer them to the rest of your life. And these aren't [00:01:00] hypothetical. I've seen them come up in research, I've seen them in my own athletes. I've definitely experienced them myself, and it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

You may have noticed I've started posting some things that start the phrase because of dance. I really started to sit down and think about. What have I learned or what am I good at now as an adult? What skill do I have that was probably because of dance? So before I dive in, I'd love you to think about how you would finish the sentence because of dance.

? What have you gained because of this wonderful thing we call dance? Okay, let's dive in.

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 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 [00:02:00] 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.

Okay, before I get to the five, I also wanna say these are all life skills you can learn through dance, but it's not automatic. There's a lot of research in sport, including dance, about how participating in youth sport builds character. Lots of people believe that if I'm in a sport that will build character.

And it's true if the circumstances are correct, but participating alone doesn't automatically make this happen. So the same is true for dance. These life skills are things you absolutely can learn from dance. Dance is just the vehicle that helps you learn it. You're still doing the work, so it's not automatic. But if you're participating and you're invested in your own growth, these are five life skills that dance will help you learn.

The first life [00:03:00] skill that dance can teach you is the ability to regulate your emotions better than the average person. Especially in today's world, research shows being able to calm our body down during a time of stress and not give up when things are hard is something more and more people struggle with. But we know that participating in sports and dance gives young people the chance to develop emotional control, self-reliance and independence.

Think about it. You've been in a high pressure moment, maybe a championship performance or that audition callback for your favorite program and something goes wrong. You have two choices you can spiral into frustration or take a deep breath, refocus, and finish strong. Especially in dance. We can learn to do this day to day, but we also learn it moment to moment.

We don't get to step on the sideline, regroup, and come back in once the music starts, we have to keep going. Dance teaches us to control our emotions in a matter of seconds so that we can refocus and finish strong. Plus we still get the [00:04:00] day-to-day regulation or learning how to bounce back after that first routine didn't go well, but you're expected back on stage after a quick change. Dance teaches us to not stuff the emotion down, but to intentionally respond in a way that allows us to refocus and do our best.

Learning to regulate your emotions as a dancer prepares you for so many moments outside the studio. Staying calm in a job interview, navigating a difficult conversation with a friend, or managing stress before a big exam.

Coaches, you can help your athletes by modeling this as well. When we stay calm under pressure, they see it's possible. When we teach quick reset tools like focusing on your breath, visualizing success or using cue words, they learn how to self-manage.

So dancers, this is a challenge for you this week. Take one strategy that you like to use in a competitive setting or any high pressure dance moment, whether it's a calm breathing pattern to bring your heart rate down, or a positive mantra that you like to [00:05:00] repeat to yourself or maybe a focus point in the room to reduce how much sensory input you experience, pick one that has helped you in a high stress dance moment and use it in a non dance situation . see how it works in the rest of your life.

The second transferable skill that we learn from dance is related to leadership and self-control. Research tells us that structured sports like school and studio programs help develop leadership, self-discipline, and decision making.

And leadership doesn't just mean wearing a captain's title or having a formal leadership role. It's about influence. Sometimes the best leaders are the ones who quietly model great habits, who lift others up, and who keep a positive tone during challenging situations. In school settings, especially dance teams are often part of a spirit program and it's their job to be a positive leader in the community.

Even in studio settings, dancers are often learning how to be leaders for younger dancers in the company or at conventions or out at community events. [00:06:00] Learning leadership comes with self-control. When you are training as a dancer, you learn not to react instantly to a teammate's mistake or a coach's decision you disagree with or a judge's score that's disappointing. You learn to pause, choose your words, and decide what's best for that moment or that team.

That skill of not having an immediate high emotion reaction, but being able to calmly process is a skill that is truly gold in the real world. Whether it's holding back an angry email at work, or managing conflict in a group project at school, learning to take in bad news or something that upsets you and not overreacting in the moment is an incredible life skill. Because of dance, we can show the self-control and leadership to calmly respond. Use those emotional regulation skills we were talking about, and handle the conflict or disappointment with class and tact. For coaches listening, I challenge you to give your athletes leadership moments. Let them lead warmup, organize team huddles, learn to give [00:07:00] feedback constructively, even small chances to lead build that confidence and self-control . And it's not just for your senior dancers, it's for every level.

The third big transferrable life skill is that dance instills grit. You learn to show up when you're tired, when progress feels slow, and when you just don't feel like being there.

Dance also teaches you how to set big goals and then work towards them step by step. That's something you can apply to just about anything. Landing a dream job, completing a degree, learning a new skill outside of dance, maybe even learning to be a choreographer or a coach yourself. Dance is hard. It's supposed to be hard, and even when you love dance, there will be days you don't feel like going to class. That weekend where you just wanna sleep in and don't feel like you can get up early again.

That fun social event you're sad to miss for another technique class, but dance teaches you to show up. You set a goal, you made a commitment to you and your teammates, and you have to dig down and [00:08:00] find the discipline to keep going.

There's a reason dancers grow up to be hardworking and process oriented people. We can set big goals, break it down, and fight through the low motivation days because we learn discipline and the reward of sticking to it.

So here's a challenge for you. Pick one non dance school, something in school, your career, even a hobby, and approach it like a dance season. Break it into chunks, practice consistently track your progress, adjust along the way.

You've learned the incredible skill of grit and work ethic and that goal-focused behavior because of dance. That's exactly how athletes reach big dreams, not all at once, but one small victory at a time. And as a dancer, you know how to do that. So try it with something outside of dance.

The fourth transferable skill we learn in dance is the ability to communicate well, cooperate and respect different personalities. Being part of a team, whether [00:09:00] that's at a studio or in a school setting or in a company, it means you learn to listen as much as you speak. You learn to adapt your communication for different people, and you learn to show respect to your teammates, your coaches, even your competitors.

These skills are essential later in life. Whether you're working on a big project in your job or navigating relationships, communication and respect are what make collaboration possible. Now, this and all the other skills, again, have to be intentionally taught, but good teachers are able to help dancers learn how to talk through a conflict, learn how to see the good in all personalities, and cooperate towards a common goal.

One of my favorite team activities in the summer is a personality exercise where dancers find their own strengths and then pair up with an opposite personality to see how they approach problems. Seeing how different approaches offer value in a new way, and the team is stronger for the personality diversity is a powerful team bonding activity.

And coaches you can build this by intentionally [00:10:00] creating moments for gratitude as well, like ending practice with each dancer, acknowledging something they appreciate about a teammate. It's small, but it reinforces respect and connection. You could do it verbally or give each dancer some sticky notes and have them put notes on a fellow dancer's bag or water bottle throughout the week to express their gratitude for what that dancer brings to the team.

Finally, the fifth skill is responsibility and time management. I think most dancers are so good at time management because of the level of responsibility we take on and research shows that dance teaches us responsibility, organization, and those time management skills.

People always ask me how I get it all done. How are you always so busy, but you also take care of yourself? The truth of it is dance taught me how when you're balancing training, schoolwork, family time and rest, you're learning how to prioritize. You learn to show up on time, be prepared, and be ready to contribute. And this doesn't happen overnight, but as our training increases and [00:11:00] school responsibilities increase. Or life responsibilities as adults start to change, we have to learn to prioritize and take care of ourselves in small ways every day, or injury and burnout takeover. Dance taught me incredible time management skills and preparation tactics so that I can show up confident to any event. I've used those skills countless times at work planning a best friend's birthday party, and in this phase of life, it's the basics of keeping my house functioning every day.

Dance taught me responsibility and time management at a truly elite level. And let's be honest, those skills are what make you a reliable adult. Employers value it, friends value it, and your future self well, thank you for it.

One strategy I love that you can try too is to hold a weekly planning session with yourself. Look at the week ahead, set your priorities, block your time, make sure there's space for recovery. That habit can be a game changer for me. I actually look two weeks ahead to try to see what I can shuffle and do I have [00:12:00] enough white space or what do I need to delegate or do I have the room to say yes to this new thing?

. I always do it on Sundays, and I look ahead two weeks. You can learn all about my specific time management strategy in episode 1 71 with my guest expert, Kelly Nolan. Her bright method truly changed my approach to time management as an adult, but dance laid this incredible foundation.

I learned how to balance better, how to be prepared so I wasn't scrambling how to make sure I could always show up and be responsible. Even so, I still needed to uplevel as an adult and Kelly Nolan's approach, the Bright Method helped me a lot, so you could check that out if you want.

Okay, let's recap. Participating in dance can help you learn so many life skills, but these are the five that stood out to me. Emotional regulation and independence, leadership and self-control, work ethic, and that goal focus, communication and respect for others, and responsibility and time [00:13:00] management.

These skills go far beyond helping you as a dancer, though they help in that context too, of course. These skills help you in school, in your career, in your relationships. And in your own personal growth. So I'd love for you to reflect what's one skill you've learned in dance that you use in everyday life.

I would love to crowdsource this. See what all of you think you have learned from dance. Send me a message on Instagram. Leave a voicemail for the podcast so I can share it in a future episode. You can find that at passion for dance podcast.com/voicemail. Share how you would finish the sentence because of dance, I.

What do you have? What do you skill? Do you know? Head on over, hit record. You can share your name if you want. You don't have to just say, because of dance, I fill in the blank. I'd love to hear what you think dance has taught you.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. And remember, the trophies will collect dust, but the life skills will last forever. I'll be [00:14:00] back next week 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.