Ballet vs. The Olympics
And the ONE big thing that separates dancers from the Olympians.
As the Paris Olympics have started this summer, it’s a great time to think what we, as dancers, can learn from the Olympians. The Olympics is an athletic competition, which is held every four years. Just like ballet dancers, they also train everyday and perform their skills now and again. When they perform, they have to be focused and in good shape, typically while competing against an opponent or to achieve the highest score.
Some ballet competitions are also held every four years like the famous USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Many principal dancers were born from it like Nina Ananiashvili, Rolando Sarabia, Johan Kobborg, and more recent principals like Daniil Simkin, Jurgita Dronina, Isaac Hernandez, and Fumi Kaneko. Even if you don’t win a medal, there are many competitors that became principals of major companies all around the world.
As a profession, ballet is not a competition. But competitions are a big part of younger up-and-coming ballet stars.
Typically, no matter your age or level, people do ballet to be good at it. And to take that to the next level is to pursue a professional career in which you hope to climb to the top of a principal ranking. In order to achieve that, you must train and build a mindset that can withstand the pressure and work that is required to be good and get noticed.
Olympians and dancers have 3 things in common
There’s a lot of overlap between ballet dancers and Olympians. And if you can master these qualities that define many Olympians, there’s a good chance you’re on the right track to a successful career in ballet:
Training and Cross-training
As part of their training, Olympians train in what they compete like sprinting, pole vaulting, and gymnastics. If they will compete as gymnasts, they will rigorously practice gymnastics. Similarly, ballet dancers do ballet every day to get better. Also, the Olympians train outside of their specific sport such as when they participate in strength training sessions. As dancers, most of us know that we need to participate in cross-training to strengthen our ballet technique.
If you’re interested in my suggestions for the types of non-ballet cross training that can increase power and decrease injuries, my biggest suggestion for ballet dancers is to train in Pilates so that you can strengthen your abs and core, and apply it correctly to your ballet technique.
Mindset
In a recent interview, Roger Federer shared some advice that’s going viral.
He explains that in his career, he played 1,526 singles matches and won almost 80% of those matches. However (and maybe most importantly), he only won 54% of points in those matches. He goes on to explain, "In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play…When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think, 'It's only a point.'“ He continues that when you accept that you’ll lost points over and over, it frees you to fully commit to what comes next.
There’s been studies done on the top five of professional tennis players, and a big finding is the difference in the way they think (just like Federer mentions). The top players were able to think positively when they failed or their opponent scored. They had more of a mentality of “okay, let’s focus on next time.” The other nearly twenty-five tennis players responded to failure with negative emotions such as anger.
During a ballet performance, if something doesn’t go right, the best of the best are usually able to accept it as part of the performance. They know their overall show will still be great, whereas other dancers might take “a mistake” negatively as a point of failure.
It’s clear that positive mindset, especially under pressure during a performance, is key to success.
Grit
This idea is all about showing up day after day. How you approach your training will define how you will eventually perform onstage. Practicing is the part that makes you better. If you go into your training or rehearsals with a negative mindset (either with grumpiness, indifference, or lack of motivation), the energy you bring will be reflected in the actual quality of your work.
So if you want to better, find ways to improve the quality of your training. Remember that showing up every day with a good energy and attitude is something that is not to be underestimated.
There was a point for every Olympian when they had to make a choice to show up every day, stay long hours, and try to get better and better. You’re not born great, even if you’re a natural. You still have to make a choice and show some grit when you show up, especially on the days where it seems better to just settle for average or quit. The same goes for professional dancers.
While you can make a conscious decision to have grit, I might also argue that the greatest dancers among us are born with it.
How to deal with high-pressure performances
Let’s talk about performing. It’s always going to feel high pressure, even if you’re not going to get a physical score at the end of your performance (although I’m sure sometimes we wish we did get something more tangible after the curtain goes down). And yes, the more you go onstage, the more you might get used to dealing with that pressure.
Let’s talk about what many ballet dancers hear before they go onstage to perform. Many times (even professionals), a coach or teacher or director will say, “just have fun, just be free out there.” While I cannot assume that Olympians don’t hear that, I’m pretty sure that that kind of statement is not going to help defeat your opponent (the opponent in ballet is getting through a hard ballet). For example, when you’re performing in a full length Swan Lake, the advice to “just have fun” isn’t going to cut it.
While there is value to having fun and enjoying yourself during a performance, what you need most is focus.
How to focus your focus
How do you focus for a high-stake, high-pressure performance? This might sound weird but you shouldn’t try to be focused for three hours in a full-length ballet. However, there needs to be moments where you have to turn on your focus (whether it’s before a lift, before the pas de deux, or the finish of your variation). These moments of critical focus will only happen if you work on specific ideas during the rehearsals leading up to that performance. And I’m also not saying the quality of focus has to be as deep as the performance in those rehearsals. But you have to understand the points that will require the most of you during the rehearsal process so that when you add adrenaline into your performance, your focus will be focused.
During a ballet performance, you also need to learn how to relax. This can only happen if you have a game plan going into it. You should never wing it in a ballet performance in the same way that no Olympian is going to wing their gymnastic routine or try a new tennis serve on the spot.
In any long or short performance, you’ll have moments you’re more focused, and you should have moments that you are reacting in real time (more going with the flow). There’s execution of your plan and there’s moments of responding to the live music, live dancers, and live audience.
And this is a perfect moment to point out how dancers are very much not like Olympians.
This is not to diminish Olympians and the fun and success they do experience while excelling at their sport (it’s true that watching Roger Federer play tennis can feel like you’re watching an artist). But dancers are doing something slightly different onstage than Olympians in the arena, even if it’s still to get a score or gold medal in a ballet competition…
What separates dancers from Olympians?
Let’s go back to Roger Federer. When he is in a tennis match, he is the main character, he is the story. However, as dancers, we (as our personal self) are not the main character. We play a character. Our competitions are judged based on our technique, cleanliness, accuracy of tricks…and portrayal of a character. While a gymnast does include some “artistic” dancing elements in their routine, they will never be judged on whether they beautifully portray a dead girl who was betrayed by her lover (I’m taking about Giselle here).
The art of ballet is something that Olympians don’t have to master. They don’t have to understand story, characters, and how to incorporate all of that into a physical presentation to the audience. If you want to really dive more into the artistry of ballet, you’ll enjoy this article here. In ballet, the artistic part of a high-stake ballet performance is directly tied to your physical technique. The presentation of your character and your story has to be directly tied to what you’re physically doing onstage and your ability to tell that story (your “stage presence”). If you have good “stage presence,” chances are that you’ll be a soloist or principal dancer. If you don’t, you simply will not be given chances to lead a story onstage. You’ll be told you just don’t have that quality.
Why aren’t dancers doing this?
So while you watch the Olympics, think about how much work you’re putting into ballet as well as you’re understanding of the work. Ask yourself, do I really want to be a ballet dancer? And if the answer is yes, then don’t just rely only on yourself. Here’s the thing about most Olympians—they have coaches. Does any Olympian show up without a coach and tell the world they are self-made (this seems to be very normalized in ballet, especially the superstar dancers)? Relying on coaches is something Olympians take advantage of that dancers do not. You want to work with someone who can build a game plan with you during class, during rehearsals, and training outside of the studio. I’m referring to a 1:1 relationship (like taking private lessons from a personal coach), and not simply a rehearsal director who yells corrections at you.
Find a smart and positive teacher that pushes you beyond who you were yesterday and who you are today. This is the key to taking yourself to the next level.
Even if you’re already at the top.
I’m here for you if you need a high-quality coach to take your strengths to the next level. I am always willing to work with those who want to get to the very top.