The dance industry asks a great deal of young people.
It asks for discipline, resilience, adaptability, and the ability to receive constant feedback. These qualities can help dancers grow into exceptional artists. At the same time, there is another challenge that receives far less attention: holding onto your sense of self.
Season 5 of The Dance Real Podcast theme is Authenticity, therefore, I thought it would be apt to also do a blog post with my tips as a prelude to episode 1 which comes out next Monday.
Authenticity is often misunderstood. It is not about rejecting feedback, expressing every emotion, or refusing to adapt. Professional dancers must remain coachable and collaborative.
Authenticity is something deeper.
It is the ability to stay connected to your values, your emotional experience, and your identity, even while striving for excellence.
For those who have been following my blogs, you’ll know that my own dance upbringing took place during a time when highly authoritative, and at times coercive, teaching practices were often considered normal.
I have written previously about the harm these environments can cause. What I speak about less often is how they can also disconnect a young dancer from their authentic self.
As a child and teenager, I became very good at reading expectations and adapting to them. I learned what was praised, what was rewarded, and what parts of myself felt safer to keep hidden. In many ways, I became the dancer others wanted me to be before I truly understood who I was as a person.
Interestingly, I feel I really began to reconnect with my authenticity when I opened my own dance school. Creating an environment that valued both excellence and humanity invited me to ask an important question: who am I as an artist, educator, and person when I am no longer simply trying to fit into someone else’s mould?
For the first time, I had the freedom to create the kind of environment that I wish had existed when I was growing up in dance.
Perhaps this is why I believe it is so important that teachers today reflect on how they themselves were trained. We all inherit aspects of the environments that shaped us. The opportunity we now have is to teach in ways that nurture intrinsic motivation, individuality, and authentic self-expression, rather than unintentionally teaching young dancers to disconnect from themselves in the pursuit of success.
The ideas in this article are informed by research in self-determination theory, growth mindset, emotional intelligence, and psychological safety.
Over many years of teaching, adjudicating, mentoring, and now interviewing experts through The Dance Real Podcast, I have noticed that the dancers who sustain long and fulfilling careers often possess a strong internal compass. They know who they are beyond the studio.
Here are five ways to cultivate that authenticity throughout your dance journey.
1. Build an identity that extends beyond dance
Dance may be your passion, but it should never become your entire identity.
When self-worth becomes dependent on results, casting decisions, competition outcomes, or external praise, every setback begins to feel deeply personal.
A healthier approach is to develop multiple parts of yourself. Invest in friendships, education, hobbies, family relationships, and interests outside dance. These experiences create a stronger foundation that supports you through both success and disappointment.
Ironically, dancers with a broader sense of identity often perform with greater confidence because they are no longer trying to protect their entire self-worth every time they step onto the stage.
2. Learn to recognise your own voice
From an early age, dancers receive constant instruction.
Teachers, choreographers, adjudicators, directors, parents, social media, and peers all contribute opinions about what you should do, how you should look, and who you should become.
Feedback is an essential part of learning. However, there is an important psychological distinction between listening to feedback and losing your own voice.
Ask yourself questions such as:
- What do I genuinely believe?
- What kind of artist do I want to become?
- Which values matter most to me?
Developing self-awareness allows you to receive guidance while remaining connected to your own perspective.
3. Develop emotional awareness, not emotional performance
One of the greatest misconceptions in dance is that artistry simply means looking emotional.
True artistry comes from understanding emotion before expressing it.
Research in psychology consistently demonstrates that emotional awareness supports emotional regulation, empathy, and authentic expression. Dancers who can identify and understand their internal experiences often communicate far more convincingly on stage because they are expressing something meaningful rather than copying what emotion is supposed to look like.
Artistry is not something you are born with.
It is a skill that develops through self-awareness, curiosity, and lived experience.
4. Surround yourself with healthy leadership
The culture you train within matters.
Healthy teachers challenge you while preserving your dignity. They encourage high standards alongside psychological safety. They understand that excellence and compassion can coexist.
If you constantly feel that you must suppress your personality, ignore your instincts, or sacrifice your wellbeing simply to belong, it is worth reflecting on whether the environment is supporting your development as both a dancer and a human being.
Authenticity grows best in environments where people feel respected.
5. Let your values guide difficult decisions
There will inevitably be moments when following the crowd feels easier than following your principles.
You may feel pressure to remain silent, compromise your boundaries, or pursue opportunities that do not align with your values.
Returning to your personal values provides clarity when external opinions become overwhelming.
Authenticity is rarely found in one grand decision.
It is built through hundreds of small choices that gradually shape the person and artist you become.
A Final Thought
The dance industry will always ask you to grow, adapt, and improve.
Those are important parts of becoming an exceptional dancer.
The challenge is ensuring that, throughout that process, you do not lose sight of the person who began dancing in the first place.
Your technique will evolve.
Your artistry will deepen.
Your career may take unexpected turns.
The strongest foundation you can build is the ability to remain connected to who you are while allowing yourself to continue growing.
Many dancers spend years learning how to perform for an audience. The deeper work is learning how to remain connected to yourself while you do it.
Because the goal is not simply to become an exceptional dancer.
It is to become an exceptional dancer without losing yourself in the process.
Further Reading
This article draws upon concepts from the following researchers and fields of study:
- Carol Dweck, whose work on growth mindset explores how beliefs about ability influence learning and resilience.
- Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, whose research highlights the importance of autonomy, competence, and connection for wellbeing and motivation.
- Brené Brown, whose work explores authenticity, vulnerability, and belonging.
- Daniel Siegel, whose research examines self-awareness, emotional integration, and human development.
- Amy Edmondson, whose work on psychological safety demonstrates the importance of creating environments where people can learn, contribute, and grow without fear of humiliation or exclusion.
These ideas have important implications for dancers, teachers, parents, and leaders who are striving to create high-performing environments that also support healthy identity development and authentic self-expression.