Protect the stars of tomorrow!
There’s an obvious rise in social media exposure for dancers in today's modern world. Due to over-posting, burnout is a particular concern for young ‘elite’ dancers. Let’s try and do whatever we can to protect and educate our young dancers from the awful road of burnout.
Burnout!
Burnout is a mental condition caused by overuse of the mind and body. It can lead to severe mental illness.
We have all have seen it!! Young pre-pubescent dancers who are thirsty to learn it all NOW! They go full time at age 11, and on a weekly basis are posting an overload of social media posts. Their little bodies and minds are put under enormous amounts of stress, and they’re too young to have insight into their future. It’s really up to us, teachers, to educate their parents and look out for these impressionable dancers.
Another concern for social media exposure is the obsession and the need to receive outside validation. Ballet is an art form that, true to its core, requires a strong sense of belief in oneself from the inside.
Think about it!! The students that are over-posting are the passionate dancers! The ones with big dreams of a career in dance. Perhaps even the stars of tomorrow! How devastating for them to not fulfill their dreams that they’ve most likely had since their first ballet class.
It’s about enjoying the process of becoming a dancer! It’s not a race!!
We, as dance teachers, are advocates for these students, and we need to educate the parents and protect these young students.
It also inflates the ego, which in turn causes them to feel deflated when their posts are not well received. It creates an obsession with posting more and more to receive validation, which leads to… BURNOUT. They are relying on other people's validation to feel good about themselves.
This is not healthy for their self-esteem at all!!
For example, A student puts up a post of themselves dancing, and once it’s out there, they check to see who’s seen it and how many likes they’ve received. It’s very unhealthy for their brains to be constantly checking their phone, and even more unhealthy to seek this external validation. And, of course - through this obsession, they overdo the amount of dancing throughout the week and…BURNOUT!. A precious 10 year old whose body and mind is still rapidly developing can be burnt out by the time they’re 14 (if they’re lucky…)