This is a quote I’d like to share with you. I found it in an article I read quite awhile ago.

“Therapists who remember that humans have bodies as well as minds are much likelier to routinely inquire about ongoing self-care, including sleep and exercise.”

A dance teacher, in today’s environment, wears many hats….teacher, mentor, choreographer, bun fixer, bathroom cleaner, floor sweeper, comedian, bill collector, costume consultant, rule enforcer, need I go on…..because I could! I am very proud to have my college degree, however it does not include therapist or psychologist. It should. Dance teachers today are doing much more in the classroom than teaching dance. We have no choice. Now, more than ever before, we are encountering a staggering number of students with anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. It begs the question, if a child is prone to anxiety, is a dance class the right place for them? Is it a help or is it a ripe setting for a full on panic attack? I don’t have the answer to that, only my opinion. I ask you to go back to the quote, because I fully believe that managing anxiety and the stress it puts on the body, can be controlled, to some degree, with movement, exercise, and proper breathing techniques. Yes, a dance class can make us feel vulnerable, but it also offers endless valuable rewards. I have witnessed dance as the salvation for many young people in distress.

In the past decade, the number of parents who have come to me to share that their child is suffering with anxiety, has escalated at an alarming rate. It has been my experience that there is no common denominator from one child to the next. Yes, the end result is a panic attack in some form, but it seems to manifest itself differently with each child. I once had an email exchange with a parent who said to me, well, you don’t know what anxiety is like. Her child never displayed any outward behavior of anxiety in my class, so I was confused. However, I did not feel the need to go into my own history with her. I absolutely know what anxiety is like. I absolutely know what a full on panic attack feels like…..before, after, and during. It has personally given me a great sense of shame, and indescribable fear. But I have not let those moments control my life. I feel great empathy for a student when I see evidence that something is wrong, but I do not want them to let that anxiety control or conquer them. It seems that on a weekly basis I am saying to my classes, no matter what went on today, no matter if school was rough, you got a bad grade on a test, or you had a fight with a friend or your mom while driving here, we leave it at the door. We have an hour to focus on ourselves, our dance skills, uninterrupted, and we must use this time wisely, positively, productively. It is a brilliant reminder for us all, that we never know what is going on in someone else’s life. The teen in distress thinks they are the only one in the room feeling that way. Well, sadly, that is no longer the case. I can look around my room and sometimes it takes two hands to count the number of students I know are having issues. And dollars to donuts, those issues ARE NOT exclusively in the dance classroom. They are revealing themselves in all aspects of a child’s life.

Anxiety is a painful subject. No easy answers. I am not arrogant enough to believe I have solutions. However, I am alert enough, conscious enough to see what I see, and when necessary, I ask for the help and guidance from those who are the mental health professionals. I want my students to be “warriors not worriers” (another perfect stolen quote). I want my students to be fierce in the most productive ways, respectful towards the teachers, the art form, the process, their fellow classmates, and most of all, themselves. Respect that they were put on this earth, in this human form, for some incredible reason. It doesn’t matter that Susie Q on the barre next to you has more flexibility than you, it doesn’t matter that Sally Ann can do the coveted triple pirouette, and it really doesn’t matter that Penelope Pea seems practically perfect! (stole that from Mary Poppins) Each one of us has gifts to share, and we all grow and develop at our own rate.

All I want to do is help. My name is Debbie and I suffer from anxiety. The best coping mechanism in my life has been dance. Dance contributes to keeping me healthy in mind, body, and spirit. My fervent wish is that it CAN and WILL do the same for my students.