Perfectionism At Its Best

Dance is the ever pursuit of being perfect. Every move is constructed, analyzed, and repeated over and over until, one hopes, it is just right. This ideal is difficult to argue, for the art form has techniques that are highly specialized and MUST be rehearsed over and over in order to execute them properly. It is truly an activity for the ultimate perfectionist, and the mental toll can be harmful. You are trained to see the mistakes before you see the success. One former dancer writes: “Long after I stopped moving around in front of wall-to-wall studio mirrors, it is still how I look at myself in the bathroom mirror, noticing the flaws first, incapable of unseeing them, and struggling to see the whole as beautiful until they’re corrected (Angyal, 2021).

But what if this ever pursuit of excellence can be focused on more help than harm…

Dancers are highly motivated physical workers and understand how to train to the extreme. They are forever students and life long learners, who are eager to gain more knowledge in the ever quest for perfection. Sharing knowledge of health and wellness concepts and ideals to this subset will be highly accepted and soon after adopted, turning a possible mental health challenge of ‘never feeling good enough’ into positive control of one’s health and wellness.