How to handle and apply criticism in your dancing

At some point in your dance career, you will have to handle criticism. 

It is what takes you from a good dancer to a great one. We rely on criticism as dancers to help piece together the elements of our dancing that need improvement. Without criticism, we will likely face plateaus and stall our improvements. 

In this blog, we’ll touch on the mindset tips you’ll need to endure criticism as well as the strategies you can use to successfully utilize and apply the critiques you receive. 

1. Don’t take offense 

Some feedback is easier to hear than others. When you receive feedback that you believe is less than ideal, it is important to fight the urge to get offended. When you bring emotions into your dancing in this way, you can hinder the potential for growth. You must take a neutral stance towards the comments you receive so that you can understand and apply them. 

2. Filter the criticism 

Before trying to apply the criticism you’ve received it is good to remember that not all critiques need to be treated equally. Afterall, dance is subjective, therefore sometimes feedback may contradict each other. To filter the feedback, you might want to ask yourself a few questions to determine the legitimacy of the comment. Ask yourself if the feedback is relevant to technique or something else, if you trust the source of the feedback, and if your instructor agrees with this feedback. Asking yourself questions like this will help you to determine how much time and attention you should give this feedback 

How to Apply 

1. Write it down 

The first step to successfully implementing good feedback is to write it all down. This will help you to remember important details, filter out the most relevant information, and identify any recurring themes. As you continue to grow as a dancer and gain experiences from performances, competitions, and coaching lessons, you’ll gain more and more feedback. If you make a habit of writing it down, you’ll be able to look back from year to year and see how your critiques have changed and/or remained the same. 

2. Identify 3 focus items 

After writing everything down, review what you wrote and identify the top 3 things you want to work on. This is not to say that you won’t eventually focus on all of these elements, but the key to adherence is clarity. You must be specific about what you want to improve on so that you can be specific about how you will improve it. Focusing on too many things at once can lead you to feeling overwhelmed and potentially frustrated. 

3. Create 3 action items

Once you’ve clearly identified the 3 focus elements, you’ll want to create specific goals around these items with aligned actions that support achievement. Here’s an example; let’s say your 3 focus areas are 

1. Maintaining good posture 
2. Improving arm styling 
3. Strengthening timing and musicality  

Your specific actions might look like: 
1. Complete 3 back strengthening and posture improving exercises per week. Track progress through video so you can measure and view improvements.

2. Practice specific arm movements for 15 minutes per day, write notes about your specific improvement points and what particular actions you want to focus on. 

3. Practice each routine with 3 different timings and rhythms, practicing to adjust to changes in speed, accents, and focus. 

Doing this will help you to keep accountability and track how well you are applying the criticism you’ve received. If you need help on creating specific goals, you can refer to this previous blog here. 

If you need additional help in the process, know that we are here to help you through it. You can call or text us anytime at (862) 200-8680.