Perfectionism And Self-Esteem Levels In University Dancers

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

During my research, I found various interviews with dancers of all different backgrounds based on how they felt about the dance world and the struggles that come with it. I picked out a couple of questions and answers that helped me develop a better understanding of my chosen area for this dissertation. Having read a number of interviews, I found the majority of answers were very similar which may suggest most dancers, even if from different genres, experience a similar pressure and fears when it comes to this industry.

Whether rooted deeply through generations of a family or formed through an experience, passions and fascinations are what drives us, humans, to be who we truly are. At this point in my life, I do not want to reach comfort or perfection, but rather feel composed and confident in what I chose to merge my ballet skills with. When I dance, I escape reality and feel a pure exhilaration.This sensation shapes my curiosity and interest in the human anatomy. From the elements that make it up to ways in which people individually move their bodies, the human body is absolutely fascinating. Specifically, I am passionate about teaching ballet to younger students. By introducing ballet to kids early on, they will experience the same joy almost all dancers feel for a longer period of time. When I’m dancing I’m challenging your mind, releasing endorphins, and working hard. I am also eager to own my own business linked with teaching that will provide people with affordable dance equipment, and even more crucial, advice on what suits each person's personal needs. I know as I grow old my body will not be as capable as it once was, but I’m dedicated to spreading my appreciation of ballet to others. Overall, my passion for ballet and how I can utilize it to positively impact society as an entrepreneur has developed through the inspiration of my grandparents, the creativity of my former dance teachers, and my interest in the human bodies relation to ballet.

Dancers go through a lot of pain. On average dancers get hurt about once every two weeks. That means that dancers, on average, get hurt about 26 times a year. Whether it is a tiny fall or breaking a bone, dancing is a foolproof way to hurt at least something in your body. Especially if you are on pointe. In a pointe shoe, you

Along with other sports, dance involves physical exertion and requires skill. It can be inferred that when athletes undergo physical activity, they push themselves to their limit, which results in them becoming sore, and possibly even injured in some cases. This also pertains to dancers. Dancers can pull a muscle by overstretching or by not stretching enough. They can also break any bone by doing turns, flips, jumps, and tricks. In Ronald Smith’s article, he proceeds to explain

Ballroom dance is a sport that involves productive thinking, strength, balance and control. This term has been centred around Figueroa 's Framework and the effect on access, equity and cooperation in ballroom dance. The aim for this report is to recognize which level of Figueroa 's Framework and Maslow 's hierarchy of human needs has had the most critical impact on my advantage and attempts in ballroom dancing this term. This report will focus on the interpersonal level of Figueroa 's framework and the associations that have affected my participation in ballroom. These consolidate the associates, friends, educators (Mrs Humphrys, Miss Grehan and Mrs Brennan), family member and mentors such as

Dance demands the same physical skills that are required in other sports. Flexibility, strength, and endurance are key characteristics that most dancers need to posses. As with other “athletes,” most dancers are not born with these abilities but must establish them through practice and repetitive training. Similar to traditional sports practices, dance rehearsals are extensive and require diligence, dedication, and patience from the dancers as they will have to repeat exercises and stretches to perfect their technique and stay on

a) Many ask, “How can dance be a sport? You can't judge on time and the scoring is subjective!” Just like figure skaters, competitive dancers are judged on many criteria: technique, posture, timing, line, hold, poise, togetherness, expression, presentation, power, and foot or leg action. Dancers have a lot on their minds while performing. They are constantly asking themselves, am I extending correctly? Is my technique right? Is my head facing the right direction?

Three laps around the gym, minute long planks, crunches, sit-ups, and pushups in a matter of thirty minutes. As a dancer, experiencing and realizing the strength that needs to be present in order for an athlete to grow is vital. We go through long hours of choreography sessions, pain and strain on our bodies, and vigorous training. Many people will disagree on the status of if dance is a sport or not. Both Mary- Elizabeth Esquibel, in her article “Why Dance Will Always Be a Sport” and the infographic entitled “Is Dance a Sport?” attack this controversial dilemma. Even though these arguments use different formats, they use rhetoric similarly.

This paper explores my main question, “how does movement through dance affect the mental and emotional dimensions of wellness?” I will explore the many unknown benefits that come from dance as well as share expressions of my personal thoughts on the subject. I will also share my personal experiences as well as others’ experiences with dance. In the research portion of my paper, I will cite studies supporting both the mental and emotional benefits of dance. This paper will also explore the perspective of a professor of dance, as well as the lived experiences of actual dance students. My interview will support my paper as it reinforces the findings in literature. I will discuss my future plans on the subject of mental and emotional dance; stressing the need for individuals to dance as the benefits can be

Ever wondered what it would be like to leap through life, twirl right through, as if the world has completely stopped around you? To be able to pause everything in a silence that allows you to hear your own heartbeat? The silence on stage as you perform is a sense of peace within your inner body that is being channeled through a movement of effortless motion. In European history, dance was considered to be a way of celebration for many cultures. Although it was said that dance did require physical agility, dancers were never considered athletes because the movement was not taken seriously. Dance did not become popular in a more skillful way until later on. The debate of dance as a sport is very

For High Performance athletes, there can be a lot riding on their results and performance in competition. If athletes develop an over-reliance on sporting success as a source of self-worth and identity, it can lead to serious emotional issues if things do not go as desired. Athletes often identify their self-worth with their ability to perform, and performance failure has been significantly associated with depression (Taylor, 2015 pg.11; Troijan, 2016, pg. 137) Athletes face many struggles and when something goes wrong it can leave them not knowing where to turn for help. They can be left with they feelings that they are nothing, undeserving, and alone. This may also exacerbate their feelings of seclusion, depression, or grief. Most athletes

Martinant and Ferrant (2007) aim to comprise clusters of athletes based on their anxiety and to compare them on their levels of perfectionism and self confidence. The authors used the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory - 2 and Sport-multidimensional perfectionism scale to gather results. The results determined five different clusters of athletes based on anxiety criteria. The subgroups not only separated by anxiety intensity and frequency, but also by direction of anxiety. For example, the anxious debilitators contained athletes with high somatic and cognitive anxiety levels with low anxiety direction, which resulted in a debilitating effect. Interestingly, the anxious facilitator group endured the same level of intensity and frequency, but directed their

The purpose of this research then is to find out of levels of self esteem differ in athletes and non athletes. The hypothesis drawn was that athletes would prove to have a higher overall average of self esteem when compared to non athletes. The null hypothesis is that their will be no difference between the two groups. Goals of this research are to satisfy some curiosity in the area and maybe dispel of some long reaching stereo types.

Perfectionism was measured with a multidimensional perfectionism scale (MPS) developed by Frost et al. (1990) 6 subscales is used to measure sub components of perfectionism