226. Why Your Dance Team Has Cliques and 5 Ways to Handle It

[00:00:00] Hi, it's Dr. Chelsea. Welcome to Passion for Dance, where I share my mission to create happier, more successful dancers through positive mental skills. And before I dive in today, I have a quick favor to ask. If you enjoy the show or have found any useful information, felt inspired at any time, will you please leave a review?

You can go to passion for dance podcast.com/rate, and then click on Apple or Spotify, wherever you listen, and leave a quick review. These comments really help me reach more dancers and keep creating the show for you. So if an episode of Passion for Dance has ever helped you, please go to passion for dance podcast.com/rate and help me by leaving a five star review. And thank you so much for being a part of this community.

Okay, onto today's topic. Let's be real and talk about cliques. If you've coached a dance team for even one season, you've probably dealt with Cliques. Maybe it's the seniors who always sit together, or a small group that always warms up on the side of the studio and doesn't talk [00:01:00] to anyone else.

Sometimes it looks harmless. They're just making friends until it starts to affect the energy of the team and the way you dance on stage. You might notice certain dancers stop speaking up in practice, or someone looks left out when the team is getting ready for a game.

Even if no one says it out loud, you can feel the divide in the room. Cliques are tricky because they're often rooted in friendship, which is a good thing, but when left unchecked, they can quietly erode trust, motivation, and unity. So today I wanna talk about how you can prevent Cliques before they start and how to intentionally build an inclusive team culture because inclusion doesn't happen by accident. It's something you create on purpose.

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 [00:02:00] 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.

It starts with building a team first mindset. Research and coaching experience tells us that athletes are less likely to form cliques when their coach consistently emphasizes shared goals and a team first mentality. When the team feels like one unit working towards something bigger than themselves, smaller subgroups tend to lose their power.

So as a coach, you set the tone from the beginning. When you reinforce team unity in every meeting, every practice, every pre-performance talk, it reminds dancers that we are stronger than me. This can be subtle in just listening to your language when you talk to your team. Consciously [00:03:00] shifting toward more we language, we can get stronger in that section. Let's make sure we're all using full energy through the ending. The we also includes you. So if you're giving that energy, if you're focused during practice, when you ask them to be, you can communicate. We are all in it together.

You can also highlight collective wins, like we nailed that transition as a group today, or we all remember the choreography. I'm so proud of our work today or we all stayed connected through that routine That felt so good.

Notice the collective wins when everyone is doing it together. Of course, noticing individual growth and progress matters, but if the team has a clear shared goal or a shared motto that you focus on and you can highlight when they are living by that motto, it helps that team first Mindset live.

So maybe your team has some value words or a motto or a phrase that they like to say. There should [00:04:00] be behaviors behind that. There should be an understanding of what it means to show that. And so whenever you see it, highlight it, that's a collective win. Another tangible way to do this and one of my favorite things to start a Monday practice is a quick reflection.

What's one way we supported each other as a team last week? That short moment of reflection reinforces the idea that supporting each other is part of success and we is greater than me.

The second prevention tool is to mix it up, help dancers break out of their comfort zones. You can deliberately mix up your practice groups, your room assignments, your partner work, because research has found over and over again that coaches who rotate groupings and pairings throughout the season saw fewer Cliques form and stronger team cohesion overall. And it makes sense if dancers always practice with the same few friends, they never get a chance to connect with others.

And in dance we tend to interact the most with [00:05:00] whoever we are standing next to in formation. So of course the coach in me understands there's certain people you don't want next to each other in formation because they talk too much. But you can be intentional about finding ways to create different groups and pairings and interactions so that dancers find opportunities to rotate who they group with and connect with everyone. Have new partners for across the floors. Change small cleaning groups every few weeks. Mix up travel roommates if you're going on a longer trip. I like to intentionally pick roommates early in the season for things like camp or early regionals ways that are based on personality, but across age groups, so they find common ground early on. If your team usually has assigned groups, something like Team Sisters or you have dancers who always volunteer to go first when you do groups, make it part of your season to intentionally shuffle things around.

Have them divide into groups based on whether their birthday's [00:06:00] in the first half of the year or the second. Then you could do groups based on whether they like tacos or spaghetti. It really doesn't matter, and it can be silly, but if you keep mixing it up, it helps them build those bonds and connect with others. They also know you expect them to mix it up and connect with others.

Sometimes groups are more intentional, like the dancers who need the most help with learning to use their back and pom motions, are paired with the dancers who do that really well. But no matter how you mix it up, you're not just rearranging for fun.

You're giving dancers opportunities to learn about each other as people and communicate with everyone on the team. And when they know more about each other and they know how each other works and receives feedback. Empathy and respect will naturally grow.

You can even add a simple get to know you question at the beginning of a cleaning pair. If you're gonna have dancers, pair up and then perform part of the routine and give feedback to each other. Have them ask a quick question first. Then go perform in groups and give feedback. [00:07:00] You're cleaning, you're working together, but their breathing break is also a way to connect. Some questions might be.

What song always puts you in a good mood or what's one goal you're working on this week? It's simple. You can give them one minute before they rotate groups, but taking that time helps dancers see beyond that small circle that they usually talk to.

The third way to prevent cliques is to foster cross skill or cross role interactions, because another pattern we see on teams, especially in dance, is that cliques often form along skill lines or along role lines. Maybe it's competition dancers versus alternates or veterans versus rookies.

These lines can be created along skill or role on the team, and that's natural. But as a coach, you have to interrupt that pattern by creating opportunities for cross skill collaboration. Find small ways to rotate leadership roles [00:08:00] and pairing dancers differently for different experience levels. Helps you break down the barriers and prevent Cliques.

It could mean you assign a senior to mentor a younger dancer on her strengths goals, or have a newer team member lead part of warmup because he brings a different background and new fresh ideas. When you rotate leadership, and not just captains, but small opportunities to be a leader, you give more people the experience and responsibility and visibility on the team. This could be small ways like who's calling out the counts while you're drilling things? Who is in charge of conditioning that week? Who gets to lead a cleaning section of just four eight counts. It's not about building leadership skills, although that's great for that too. It's wonderful to spread the wealth and include other leadership voices, but this is also about sending the message that every voice matters. So foster those interactions that help dancers cross skill lines and cross roll lines.

And this may seem slightly counterintuitive when I talk so [00:09:00] much about having clear roles. That is true. Clear roles matter, but then when people have those roles, they tend to only interact with the people who also have the same role. So what you're doing here is creating clear roles and expectations, but then having intentional interaction across those lines.

Another prevention tool is to create structured conversations. Sometimes Cliques form, not because of malice, but because of misunderstanding or simply not communicating. That's why one of the most impactful things you can do is create some structured time for reflection and communication.

Research studies with female athletes especially notice how guided team discussions can reduce relational aggression. Relational aggression is the psychology term for essentially non-physical bullying. Things like gossip and rumors, things that destroy your social relationships. And relational aggression [00:10:00] will absolutely destroy a team culture and create Cliques.

So intentionally creating time for structured conversations once a month can prevent this kind of relationship breakdown. Doesn't have to be long. Maybe once a month, 15 minutes at the end of a practice where everyone answers one or two simple reflection prompts.

Something like, when do I feel most included on this team? What's one way I can help someone else feel seen this week? You can do it anonymously in their journals. You can open discussion. It just depends on your team's comfort level and the current level of communication and bond on the team. But taking the time to do some reflection and have conversations will create a level of awareness that can make a world of difference for any dancer who feels left out or the dancer who knows someone needs help, but isn't sure how to stand up to poor behavior that's happening on the team. Create the time for these simple structured conversations.

And the last prevention [00:11:00] tool here is to set clear norms and reward inclusion. Of course, even with all this effort that I've been talking about, Cliques still happen. It's why it's essential to set clear norms at the start of the season, so when they do happen, you have a plan for how to handle it. I've talked a lot on this show about setting team values, having conversations about expectations and roles on the team. When coaches set expectations, it's usually things like being on time, acceptable language to use, being prepared for performance. That's all great, but keep the conversation going to include how you treat each other, set expectations about exclusion or gossip or favoritism that won't be tolerated, and follow through on consequences and also reward inclusion. We wanna make sure everyone is treated well.

It starts with setting what not to do. Things like not gossiping, not talking behind each other's backs, not [00:12:00] sending mean text messages or starting rumors, but it's also about recognizing and reinforcing the positive behaviors. When you see your dancer, invite someone new into a conversation, point it out and thank them. And the truth is a lot of this stuff happens outside of the coach's view, so you could create some sort of recognition system maybe.

A teammate of the week who's voted on and chosen for showing kindness or inclusion that week, and maybe it happened in a text message, maybe it happened in school, maybe it happened on a ride home that you didn't see. The key is that inclusion becomes something visible and celebrated, not just something you talk about once at the start of the year when you're setting your expectations, but a constant conversation.

So if I've learned anything in my time working with teams, it's that most dancers have these great conversations about values and expectations, but we have to keep going and talk about the behaviors that we wanna see. We can talk all day about being nice to each other and inclusion, and [00:13:00] they get the buzz words. They can say what you want to hear, but do they know what you want to see? Talk about those behaviors and then celebrate them.

And don't forget your dancers watch everything you do. The way you model inclusion is one of the strongest tools you have. Sit with different groups at team meals or check in with quieter dancers. Be mindful of who gets your attention and you model how you treat other teachers and coaches at competitions, or how you talk about judges and rivals. Those subtle behaviors can teach far more than any speech you can give about inclusion.

So to recap, preventing cliques and building inclusion isn't about forcing everyone to be friends. It's about creating a culture where every dancer feels respected, valued, and a part of something bigger than themselves. So here's your key takeaways. Build a Team first mindset. Use shared language, team mottos, values, purposeful [00:14:00] reflection, and conversation to reinforce a we over me. Rotate groups and partners, and break out of their comfort zone of who they normally want to interact with. Foster collaboration that crosses skills or roles and shared opportunities for leadership. Find time for structured and honest communication around this topic, and set clear behavioral norms that allow you to reward inclusion consistently.

When you put these pieces together, you'll see a shift. Your team becomes more connected, practices run smoother. Dancers are more motivated to show up for each other and Cliques lose their grip when inclusion becomes a norm. So if any of this feels like it's time consuming. It is a little bit, but if you've ever had a clique that sucks the energy out of your team, you know how time consuming that can be. Spend your time to create the inclusive environment instead of taking the time to [00:15:00] deal with the negative clique.

And if this episode has inspired you or given you some new ideas, and maybe you want some more guided help. I encourage you to check out my Dance Team Coaches Mental Skills bundle. It's like a plug and play system to teach mental skills to your dancers in many different ways. It includes things like the 12 Culture Killers to look out for, it includes a worksheet you can create your own team accountability statement, journal prompts. There's 10 different resources for coaches in there, and you can learn more at passion for dance podcast.com/mental skills. That's passion for dance podcast.com/mental skills.

Thank you so much for being here and listening in today. I know coaching is hard work, but keep building the kind of team culture that makes every dancer feel at home and included, because that's what makes this all worth it. Thank you 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 [00:16:00] 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.