Deborah sets out to help you, the aspiring male ballerina or ballet dancer, gain greater understanding and control over the demanding world in which you live.
Any student of music, writing, and performance of any kind needs to know some survival skills to maintain emotional intelligence and stick to positive thinking. Each new class, with new exams and fierce competitions, can instigate implosions of doubt. How do you take control of your mental and emotional space before that important event? Or so you can get a good night’s sleep?
Deborah designed this book so that tweens and teens could discover that there is a way to start a dialogue about the self-sabotaging thoughts and beliefs that influence their patterns of behavior and success. This 48-page book features eight teens with common problems and challenges, like how to take charge of their feelings and how to act like a professional in the dance studio or anywhere and everywhere. You will learn techniques such as Mental Rehearsal, Creating a Feeling, Refocusing and a very powerful Act As If. These fun (but really awesome) activities will help train your brain, whether you’re a teen or a late-starting adult in ballet, toward success.
As a ballet teacher, I have always encouraged students to find ways to help them deal with their frustrations, fears, and struggles with the competitive and perfectionist aspects of performing arts outside of dance classes. I believe that private, independent study is best for people: guided contemplation and the application of uplifting creative techniques to maintain a positive outlook, our way.
That in itself is the challenge: find your own way. “Train Your Brain: A Guide to Teen Wellness” is a wonderful first step on that path.