Dear dancers,

Here's a somewhat official blog about why I think you can take matters into your own hands, you are your own expert, you can read about that here:

Experts at the wheel

In the dance world, experts are usually in the driving seat when it comes to the care and training of dancers. As a health coach, I see that this approach is often ineffective in promoting long-term behavioral change. In order for dancers to grow physically and mentally and to achieve optimal health and well-being, they must take control themselves.

Do it yourself

With small children you regularly hear: “I want to do it myself”. Everyone is naturally curious and self-motivated. There is a theory called the Self-Determination Theory .

An important thesis of the theory is that controlling the behavior of others causes a decrease in their intrinsic motivation. Everyone prefers to be in control, just like when they were little

What does everyone want most:

• Independence: You want the feeling of freedom and the feeling that you can do it yourself. You don't have to be independent, but it's more about having a free choice. You want to be the boss of your own life. For example, if you move into rooms, it is not about independence, but about whether you have made the choice yourself whether or not to leave the house and to feel good about making that choice independently. It is a choice not imposed by others.

• Belonging somewhere: In English you have a nice word for this: B elonging, the experience of belonging somewhere. That you do things that others support you in.

• Skills: Activities you are good at. Using your strengths.

People naturally want to decide things for themselves. They are happiest and most productive when they are in control of their lives. They want to learn new things, master new skills. These things are motivations that also play a role in dancers and that you want to strengthen.

Why let someone else drive

So why is it that dancers often give the wheel to others? As a result, they regularly get stuck and are then unable to go to their own chosen destination. They take what seems like an attractive but unproductive detour. Some choose to ride in the passenger seat, and some dancers even take the backseat. If they then lose their way, they no longer adhere to what they really want, which can quickly make them feel lost and discouraged.

But… says

There are dancers who say “My parents decide how things go, my teachers tell me what to do, my doctor is the specialist”. When other people are in the driver's seat, things are much more likely to fail, especially for those trying to get stronger, live a healthier life, or pick up a new habit. The best way for us to help dancers achieve their goals is to help them take their place behind the wheel. We must encourage them to tap into self-motivation, which, according to the experts (Deci and Ryan: Self-determination theory), is “the core of creativity, responsibility, healthy behavior and lasting change”. And that's what we want, permanent change.

How does a dancer get behind the wheel himself?

Deci and Ryan's work is very inspiring and you learn a lot from it. What they're saying is, first of all, it's important to recognize that we can't motivate dancers. We can only create the conditions in which they motivate themselves. Promoting choice will

increase the intrinsic motivation of dancers. From the dancer's perspective, we should encourage them to initiate, experiment and take responsibility. That is one of the most important things for intrinsic motivation.

Look, I'm driving!

According to Deci and Ryan, humans have an innate need to feel competent. Yet we can be driven by a negative belief that we have talked about ourselves, especially with dancers: “I'm not good enough or I'm never going to succeed anyway”. To counter the feeling of not being good enough, dancers should be encouraged to be proactive and optimally take on challenging tasks with our enthusiastic support. By encouraging dancers to succeed, we enable them to feel competent, energetic and motivated. According to Deci and Ryan, feelings of competence are crucial and, when combined with independence, lead to better performance.

Conclusion

If dancers want to achieve optimal health and wellness, they need to take the wheel and figure out what works for them as unique individuals so that it becomes a part of who they are and is non-negotiable. The training/company should encourage the dancer to pretend to be in the driver's seat themselves.

Grabbing the wheel gives dancers enormous self-motivation, among other things. It helps a dancer build and maintain the energy and strength to handle anything that comes their way. 

Source

https://www.wellcoachesschool.com/post/who-is-in-the-driver-s-seat

2002. Deci – R. Ryan, Overview of Self-Determination Theory: An Organismic Dialectical Perspective, in Handbook of Self-Determination Research,” pp. 3-34, Rochester, 2002.