Communication Skills for on and off the Stage

Dancers are constantly communicating on the stage. In improvisational dance, our steps are words, our cues are punctuation, and each dancer who leads the group forms sentences. Each sentence spoken by the lead dancer is woven with the sentences spoken by the next lead dancer to tell a story for the audience. Even in choreographed dance, the rules of communication are clear while on stage.

Off the stage can be a different story...

Just like on the stage, communicating off stage takes clarity, trust and courage.

In this class you will:

-explore your own communication style

-learn tools for communicating when conflict is involved

-explore tips for having a conversation when conflict is involved

-practice what to do if these strategies don't work (e.g., handling REALLY difficult people).

For most of us, having difficult or conflictual conversations is not an easy thing to do. Preparing for conflictual conversations help make them successful. Handling conflict effectively off-the- stage can positively impact communication and performance on stage and make your class or troupe even more successful.

In this class we will focus on conflict because this is the most challenging form of communication and because these skills can be taught and learned.

This is an area where your personal improvement will positively affect any group with whom you interact. This is true because people learn through modeling. Even if you belong to a group where conflict is an issue with multiple group members, when you change, the dynamics of the entire group change as well.

Sneak Peak

The Conflictual Conversation

So now that you are considering your mindset as you approach the conflict, let's consider a way to think about the situation that might further help you sort it out.

Think about dividing a conflictual conversation into three parts or three conversations:

• The “What Happened?“ Conversation: The "What happened?" conversation usually involves disagreement over what happened, what should happen, and who is to blame.

  • The Truth of what happened

  • The Intentions of the people involved

  • Who is Responsible for the situation

• The Feelings Conversation:The feelings conversation is about the parties' emotions, and their validity.

• The Identity Conversation: The identity conversation is an internal conversation that each party has with herself, over what the situation tells her about who she is.

This class is available at the Belly Dance Business Academy online for $45. One of my most popular classes, this class has already been taken by 166 dancers! Let me know if you have any questions.