5 Ways To Practice Competitive Kindness
Dance can be a cut-throat world full of hard work and fierce competition. Some feel there is little room for kindness in the dance studio or at a dance competition. Unfortunately, we have been taught from a young age that to win you have to be tougher and better than the people around you. We have been taught to be aggressive and there is no room for friends in the dance space. We have been taught that there isn’t room for everyone to succeed. This is the past.
The 360 Is Changing The Narrative
Science has shown that kindness, even in the face of competition, has countless benefits. Kindness motivates others around you to work harder. Kindness boosts creativity and builds a safe space free from the judgment of your peers. Kindness boosts your general wellness by reducing stress and negative emotions. And kindness builds trust to create a stronger team that works together and can win together.
What Is Competitive Kindness?
Competitive kindness is a term we are using at The 360 to encourage all dancers to aim to be kinder than the person they are dancing next to. Dancers are competitive by nature, and there is nothing wrong with that! If we can focus this competitive energy on spreading kindness, we know we can make a big difference in the dance space we are creating.
5 Ways To Practice Competitive Kindness
Start At Your Studio
Competition can be intense within a team. Make sure that at your studio, you are practicing kindness towards everyone at the studio. Clap for your teammates and support each other no matter how they dance. Teams can work better together when their connection comes from a place of love rather than competition. Dance teachers and parents can help model this behavior by supporting everyone on the team, not just their children. When you strengthen your team bond, you will dance better together.
2. Make New Friends
At a competition, you are surrounded by people you don’t know. Take a moment and find one person in every class that you admire. It doesn’t have to be the best dancer in the room, but someone that stands out to you in a special way. Introduce yourself at the end of class, pay them a genuine compliment about their special spark, and then exchange information. Who knows? You might have just made a lifelong friend!
3. Minimize Judgement
Leave the judging to the judges, that’s why we pay them the big bucks! Try not to give corrections to the dancers around you. Remember that this is a learning experience and a safe place to make mistakes. Dance is a subjective art form where there are no right or wrong answers. On a different day, the competition would shake out completely differently. Also, work hard to minimize self-judgment. Don’t say something to yourself that you wouldn’t say to your best friend.
4. React With Compassion
Dance competitions are full of wins and losses. If you win, win with grace. Be happy for yourself but also genuinely congratulate others around you. They also worked really hard to get to where they are. If you lose, don’t take it out on the people around you. Acknowledge the amazing achievement you accomplished by getting out on stage and plan on how you will improve next time. Show respect to your competitors, judges, and yourself.
5. Be Kind To Yourself
Kindness should start from within. Be kind and forgive yourself for your imperfections. Acknowledge your acts of kindness towards others and be proud that you are putting positivity into the dance world. It needs it!
Through my personal experience as a professional dancer, I have worked with more people I have competed against than people I competed with. I am so grateful that my dance teachers and dance parents taught me to be competitively kind when I was growing up and making connections or it could have impacted my career as an adult.
When creating The 360 Dance Experience at the top of our list of values has always been to lead with kindness. We believe that by teaching and demonstrating competitive kindness we are also inspiring others to follow that core value. At The 360 we demonstrate kindness to our staff, employees, customers, and dancers to create a kinder dance space. And remember, kindness always wins at The 360.
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