Featured The Mindful Dancer: Implementing Mindfulness, Healthy Rhythms and Habits in the Technique Class View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Tamara Dyke Compton,  Christopher Compton  

With a mind toward setting our dancers up for success and longevity, we share the ways in which mindfulness practices in the technique class relate to the development of community, empathy and support of their fellow students. As dancers, we are acutely aware of the need to be constantly improving, and advancing as artists, and human beings. So often in this drive, however, we allow ourselves to be broken down, and betrayed by the negative thoughts within our own brains. In this lowly state, growth becomes stunted, and this internalized negative focus prevents us from supporting our fellow artists in their development. In this movement and experiential workshop, we study ways in which mindfulness can be integrated in a technique class. Methodologies include 3-minute meditations, setting intensions/class focus, compassionate listening, recommended outside readings, and journaling. Supported by educational research, this workshop recounts our experiences with university-level dance students, who have implemented these practices throughout our classes for the past two years. We share the ways in which implementing mindfulness practices, building healthy habits and daily rhythms in the individual dancer have contributed to the creation of a healthy, supportive, and empathetic dance community.