How to handle gossip in dance

I read everyday and in the current book I’m reading, Business Made Simple by Donald Miller, the author states there are two predictors of success. I’m paraphrasing here, but his predictors are essentially:

Successful skills.
1. The Hero mentality. If someone has a hero perspective they can take on challenges and overcome difficult situations. If someone has a victim mentality, they will blame their lack of success on outside people/circumstances.
2. Emotional Intelligence: Being able to manage your emotions and understand the emotions of the people around you.

Keeping these skills in mind, let’s talk about dance and gossip! These do not mix, yet they often tend to collide together in an explosive firestorm during the fragile teen years. Here’s some survival skills to get through it.

How to get through the teen years with more success. You are only responsible for your actions and words. Do the right thing. Be kind. Do not talk bad about anyone. Do not gossip. Stay focused on your goals.

How to handle gossip. Let’s role play this! If someone says something negative on your team, you can respond, “I do not want to talk bad about a teammate.” You also should NOT repeat gossip because it only makes everything worse. If there is something serious or harmful going on, you need to communicate with an adult.

Essentially it’s easy: Be kind, stay in your lane, do the right thing!

However, this formula can be VERY hard to execute especially as you navigate the teen years. So let’s talk about when people make mistakes.

If you make a mistake, sincerely apologize.

If someone hurt you, try to remember we are all human and we’re all going to make mistakes. The only way to function as a team is to forgive teammates who are trying to learn from mistakes.

If your team works together to honor the same values, it will help make the treacherous teen years so much more enjoyable. 

Remember to be the best you and stay away from unnecessary drama! You get to be the hero in your own story. Just make sure you’re doing the right thing and being aware of how your actions and words effect your team!

Nichole Fortunato, Director & Co-Owner
Elite Performance Challenge
Excel in Motion