Weinberg and Gould (2011, p. 76) define anxiety as “a negative emotional state characterised by nervousness, worry, and apprehension and associated with activation or arousal of the body”. The symptoms experienced are undesirable and usually develop from an impetus, however it is intuitive, which is displayed when the impetus has been recognised as ominous to the individual. Performance anxiety is very common in performing arts (Hamilton, 1997; 1998). The dancer’s anxiety arises from the participation in technique classes, which can also identify as the impetus. Cognitive and somatic components play a role in the psychological and physiological activation of anxiety. Thought processes, such as nervousness and fear represent the cognitive type, …show more content…
Trait anxiety is a behavioural disposition that influences an individual to believe that safe and unthreatening situations are dangerous, and state anxiety is the ever-changing, temporary feelings of worry and fear (Weinberg and Gould, 2011). During participation in a technique class, the dancer’s level of state anxiety is increased, however once the class has ended this disappears, which supports that state anxiety decreases once the aggravation has subsided. The sources of anxiety are situational, environmental and personal which represent why the anxiety may occur. With regards to the dancer’s performance situation, they can relate to the environmental source which is concerned with pressure, expectations and judges. In class, performance is negatively affected as the dancer feels great pressure to reach expectations which they feel are unachievable, however these are only unachievable due to the fear of knowing that the tutor is watching, which increases nerves and therefore produces a less competent performance. More psychological symptoms are experienced such as self-doubt and worry, rather than physiological symptoms thus effecting cognitive outcomes more. In dance, anxiety can affect what we do, how we feel and how we think, which creates problems such as poor co-ordination, impact on motivation and negative emotions. The dancer’s anxiety affects their behavioural, cognitive and affective responses to performing in
By universal definition, "sport" is listed as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." Football, basketball, baseball, soccer and other primary activities have always been concretely defined as sports in society. However, one of the most physically demanding activities is constantly forgotten when it comes to the realm of sports- dance. Dance requires a tremendous amount of training and creates an aura of competition in which people compete to be the best, win, and take home the trophy- just like in traditionally accepted sports. These sports, however, do not possess an element of psychological health threats that some competitive dancers unfortunately must account for due to the emphasis placed on physical appearance.
Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.
Aalten, A. (2005). In the presence of the body: Theorizing training, injuries and pain in ballet. Dance Research Journal, 37(2), 55-72. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20444641
Judith Lynne Hanna is a professor at the University of Maryland who focuses on anthropology, sociology and dance. She combines these topics to analyze how dance can help heal a person and help improve health. In a broader context, dance therapy is a recent form of movement that does not require any form of previous dance experience and focuses on “movement behavior as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship.” (ADTA) Judith Hanna focuses in on broader concept of dance therapy by concentrating on expressive behavior that relieves stress, disabling conditions, tension, and chronic fatigue.
The typical idea of a dancer is that they are tall, slender, full of energy, and lucky because they dance with all of the “stars”. Much of this is true, however, what many people do not think of are the many hardships that a dancer goes through in order to achieve their high status in the dance world. It takes much hard work and determination along with good direction to become a dancer. However, nothing good comes without a price. Dancers often times have many pressures put on them which can lead to physical and emotional damages. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Dancing is a tremendously difficult task. That is why all dancers must have a mind mentally
Anxiety is defined as a diffuse, internal, loose floating tension that doesn’t have a real danger or an external object. There is also a significant difference from the notion of fear. Fear usually has an outer object (a real fear of a snake, height or an unreal fear, when the danger is just imagined). Anxiety does not have an external object or external danger but has an internal danger. Internal danger can be some intrapsychic conflict, impulse unacceptable to the ego, suppressed thoughts, etc.
She appears to be unable to successfully interact with those around her. The interaction Nina has with her fellow dancers appears to be strained and superficial. Nina exhibits behavior that indicates she views all other dancers as competition instead of potential comrades’ or friends. Being very introverted and unable to share any part of herself with those around her, even her mother, who appears to be the only person that has been remotely close to Nina, causes her to seek companionship with parts of herself instead of healthy relationships with others. Nina exhibits signs of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and paranoid personality disorder through these abnormal behaviors.
“Just as musicians have their instruments, dancers have their bodies” (Price and Pettijohn 991). The body is the only tool in which a dancer has to create art and express themselves. For this reason, there is a constant focus on the body. This constant focus, and constant pressure, can cause the dancers to develop concerns and a negative body image. The term body image can be defined as “the way in which people see themselves in the mirror everyday: the values, judgments, and ideas that they attach to their appearance” (Kelso 1). From childhood people perceive themselves in a certain way. They learn of how to feel about their ...
When you think of emotions you think of the classic, sadness, happiness, and madness. The one people often forget is the emotion of anxiety. Anxiety is one of the only emotions that you can have and actually not show it. Anxiety itself is very strange, depending on who you are, and how your brain works, anything can cause it . Anxiety usually follows you throughout your life but for some people, it changes as you change and grow. You aren 't the same height as you were when you were 6, you grew. There’ s a chance that the anxiety you encounter works the same way. Some classic emotions remain the same throughout your life for the most part, but anxiety as a tendency to morph.
Choreographers define dance as “telling a story without speaking”, “the language of the body”, “explaining your heart through movement”, and “is a unique passion that ca be fulfilling to its choreographers, dancers, and audience” (Senior Mastery Choreography Survey). The responses to the Senior Mastery Choreographer Survey proves that the stimulating and creating process of the choreography in the brain is the difficult aspect of this job, but when the visions are transferred to the dancers the results can be tremendous and sometimes breathtaking. The choreography can be created by the use of shapes, kinesthetic and scenic spacing, timing, and different tactics to leave a meaning to the audience. Choreography and dance have been a part of the arts for a myriad of years and will be for numerous more. It is an emotional entertainment that leaves the audience with a message and feelings towards a
As a prospective doctor, I can expect to encounter life’s biggest challenges. Life and Death situations will present themselves, and it will be up to me to make a spontaneous decision which portrays confidence, finesse, and accuracy. There’s so little time to ponder the best procedure to perform; so little time to waste. Dance has prepared me for this type of challenge. It has perfected the preciseness in my judgments. On stage, there have been times when I will forget my steps and my mind goes blank; anxiousness seeps in rushing with adrenaline, and the initial thought is to “book it” and flee, but my experience in dance has enabled my ability to make quick altercations in the choreography, preventing the ruination of the showcase. Similarly, when an alarming case presents itself, as a doctor, I will be ready to make an accurate decision.
To many, dance is only an art. In reality, dance is much more. It 's an art, a sport, a way to express one’s self, a way to exercise, a way to get feelings out. Since the beginning of time, humans have used different types of dance to express themselves. There are many advantages to dancing, however there are also some disadvantages. Dance is one of the most physically and cognitively demanding sports.
This research is important because I need to know how dance can help me. This also very helpful to me because it showed me another was to relieve stress and calm my anxiety. This research demonstrated another reason for me to stay dancing. Dancing creates a creative outlet for me, something that we don’t really have in regular life, a place to express yourself. These results give me a drive to stay in dance. These discoveries with keep me safe and healthy while I dance.