The Power of Self-Confidence: Why is Your Dance Ability Linked to Your Level of Confidence

Over the years, I have learned that a deep understanding leads to improvement and better results. You may think, as I used to before, that you don’t need to get under the skin of what confidence is in order to improve your dance ability. Well, the technique doesn’t mean anything by itself. We are not robots that can be programmed to dance. 

We have emotions and we are vulnerable, especially on the stage where thousands of people are watching us. All that energy must be channeled in a proper way and this is where confidence comes into play.

Self-confidence is the human ability to believe in oneself, to know that you can accomplish any task or challenge, no matter the odds, the difficulty, or the adversity. To be honest with you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will succeed but the belief in yourself will definitely have a major positive impact on what you are trying to achieve. It’s not something that comes easily to us. It takes time, passion, and the willingness to push oneself to overcome the hardships that come along the way.

How and Why Confidence Impacts Ballroom Dancing?

First of all, you should not mistake this with the ego. Confidence is trust in yourself but it’s not centered on the self. While I am confident and I dance, I don’t think only of myself and how amazing I am. Instead, I focus on the dancing and let go because I trust that I will be able to face whatever may come. This is how confidence gives you the necessary space to enjoy the dance and be present.

Let’s say that you have a long-term goal that extends over a few years. We, people, usually describe success by whether we satisfy the goals we set or not. It may happen that if you don’t feel like getting close to it, you lose confidence, question yourself, and reach a point where you give up. 

Always be thirsty for self-improvement 

Rather than defining the limitations that we have by setting long-term goals, why not just commit to continual improvement? I used to have a video journal of my dancing to see how I improved from one lesson to another and what needs more work. This process helped me build a strong foundation. It’s great realizing how far you’ve come.

Dancesport is also about the relationship that you have with your teacher and your partner. Dancers that have a low level of confidence can develop defeatist attitudes. This leads to an unproductive relationship with their teacher. They end up taking it all too personal and that is a barrier to self-improvement. Remember and accept that you are a human being with imperfections like everyone else.

Moreover, if you have a strong sense of self and you offer everything you got at any given moment, you will also trust your partner and thus strengthen the bond that is formed between the two of you. This is the practical side of confidence and it comes from hard work, experience, and improvement.

Also, if you’re experiencing stage fright read our previous article “How to Overcome Stage Fright in Dancesport“.

Confidence Is An Unwavering State Of Mind


Confidence is a champion’s state of mind that results from the combination of a realistic self-assessment and a strong desire to reach new heights. It’s something that you constantly develop and work on. Ballroom dancers with confidence don’t dwell on what the audience thinks about them. They feel good even though they know that they are not perfect. In this way, they don’t form an image of themselves based on the perception of others. 

Observe how top dancers such as Anna Matus and Gabriele Goffredo carry themselves on the dance floor and in real life. They exude confidence through their voice, posture, eye contact and gestures. They have strength and resilience on their quest for “gold”. What matters here is their attitude. Every ballroom dancer has it’s own unique style. That is what you need to work on.

A professional knows that without discipline, the level of self-esteem will decrease. You have to let go of instant gratification and have the courage to abstain from short-term pleasure. If you want to feel good about how you’re thriving as a performer in the world of dancesport, you need to know exactly where you are in relation to where you want to be. Further, you must elaborate a plan with the exact steps that you need to take in order to reach that point. Stick with it no matter what and remind yourself to focus on what you can control.

By being disciplined and working on self-management you will grow as an excellent dancer. Always keep in mind what’s driving you to dance: without your passion, you will become too dependent on other people’s opinion.

 

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Dancing has been my passion since I was 13 and since then I've been doing things in that direction. Writing, creating and putting together the biggest community for dancers around the world!


Tags: confidence skills

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