'Whoops, I did it again...how embarrassing!' This could very well be what runs through your students' minds every time they seemingly mess up. Often they feel terrible when something goes 'wrong'. The worst part for them is that this happened in front of the entire class. Peer pressure can be a huge barrier to overcome. The energy and expectation of having to be the coolest and the best might not exist at your studio, but you can be sure this is the name of the game where your students go to school Monday through Friday. It's all too easy for kids to bring negative events from school into the studio. You might not be aware any of your students are doing this as it can be going on in their minds, deep within them. So what to do? Always seek to turn what might appear to be a negative into a positive. That's part of what being a teacher is. And what's a mistake anyway? Should a student of yours even feel bad when they've made a mistake? No! In a society where duality seems to rule the roost, we've learned to identify things as good or bad, positive or negative, black or white. I don't know about you but I'm interested in what's in the middle of those two extremes. What would you call that? Even though we might not have a name for the space or energy between two opposites, that space can often be where the truth lies. There's no judgment or pressure there...it just 'is'.
So how about this? When a student of yours feels they've made a mistake, get them to see it as just a mis-take or a slight mis-step...nothing more, but certainly nothing less. Why does it have to be such a bad thing? Change their feeling of negativity into one of positivity. That changes the entire thing around and produces a major shift of energy in the right direction. If you can show them how this is done, this becomes a tool that they can use in their lives as well.
On the road of life, when there are supposed bumps along the way, maybe they are just that...bumps. Does that mean the car comes to a halt? Does that mean that the whole ride is over? No. The car keeps on going as you keep the wheels on the road going forward and your foot firmly on the accelerator. It's only when you stop the car after you've freaked out because you've hit a bump and your mind-body affirms the fact that this is 'a bad thing'. I say as long as you keep your eye on the horizon, the prize, what lies at the end of the road, you'll keep the wheel going straight until you reach what you've set out to attain. Any bumps along the way are nothing more than a bit of movement to let you know you're on the right track.
Students need to understand that mistakes are a part of the learning experience. Is there any learning situation where mistakes don't happen? The key is to get the student to understand that what just happened isn't a negative thing. It's a part of the process. None of the greatest things in our world were created without what seemed to be failures along the way.
Mistakes that are made can also be seen as gifts. How so? In performing the perfect routine, in carrying out the choreography in the best way possible, a mistake is a gift to help the student focus and do better. It helps them to be incredible. Mistakes are what makes great dancers, great dancers!
So the next time you see a student of yours commit the unthinkable, get them to understand that it's just a bump along the way! Don't even categorize it. Acknowledge that it occurred and don't let them get attached to it. Let it be, it happened, it's cool and move them forward. Bumps are a necessary part of life, it's part of the journey so to speak. Just make sure you don't apply a negative spin to what is only a happening along the way. It's all part of the learning process, in and out of your studio!
