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“Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximize their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.” –Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring[/caption]
As a dancer, finding a mentor is one of the best things that you can do for your career.
Finding a mentor means looking for an instructor or experienced dancer who will be able to guide and encourage you in your quest to become the best dancer you can be.
A mentor isn’t someone who knows everything, rather, they are someone who has been there, and done that. They’re able and willing to offer help, support, and advice to you, and will be able to speak from personal experience. An ideal mentor is someone who is passionate about dance –and who wants to see others excel as well.
Having a mentor isn’t just for young people –people of all ages benefit from having someone to guide them towards success and to help them to avoid common pitfalls along the way. No matter how advanced –or new, you are in your dance career, you’ll be able to benefit from having a mentor.
If you want to take your dance to the next level, here are a few benefits that come from finding a dance mentor.
Help You to Avoid Common Pitfalls
Having a mentor is a great way to learn from experience –without having to make the mistakes yourself! A mentor will be able to share advice and experience with you, helping you to avoid a number of common pitfalls and errors. Of course, you’ll still have to make your own mistakes, and learn some things the hard way, but having a mentor can help you to sidestep many common issues.
Provide Feedback
A mentor will be able to provide you with feedback, since they’ll be experienced in dance, they’ll be able to immediately spot things that you may be doing wrong, and provide feedback that can help you to improve. Embrace this advice, and take it to heart. Taking it in and learning from it will help you to grow. After all, with no critiques it’s difficult to improve, so if you find someone who offers sound advice, don’t let them go!
Help You Focus
Let’s face it –distractions are all around us. Having a mentor will help you stay focused and on track. Mentors can be great for helping you to keep on-task and focused, and a good mentor will be able to remind you about the important role that the small things have in forming the bigger picture.
Provide Encouragement
Finally, mentors are invaluable due to the encouragement that they offer. Since they know dance, you can know that when they provide encouragement, it’s genuine. Dancing can be a tremendously competitive field, and most of us find it difficult to deal with rejection –even though it’s common in this career. A mentor will be able to help you stay on course, and will be there to spur you on when you feel discouraged, reminding you that your moment will come!
Finally, it’s important to recognize the role of a mentor. A mentor isn’t responsible for your success or mistakes; rather they’re simply there to provide support and encouragement to you. Bearing this in mind, it’s important to be respectful, and to show your mentor that you value their time –and efforts. Don’t cancel appointments that you’ve made, or show up 20 minutes late for class. Having a mentor is a gift, and it’s truly a give and take relationship; after all, they’re doing this for you! If you have a mentor in your life, don’t forget to thank them, and show them that you value and appreciate them whenever an opportunity arises.
Have you found a dance mentor? To find dance instructors in your area, visit Dance Hub. Make new friends and hone your skills while connecting with others who love dance!
Image: Peter Voerman
