Dance Psychology for Artistic and Performance Excellence

The dance world is filled with technique books, which certainly serve an important role in helping dancers improve their performance. But the market has been conspicuously void of instruction on a vital aspect of dance performance: the mental aspect. Developing Psychological Strength in All Dancers Jim Taylor, a veteran sport and dance psychologist and author, and Elena Estanol, a dancer, instructor, and sport and dance psychologist, bring their experience and knowledge to Dance Psychology for Artistic and Performance Excellence to help dancers at all levels develop psychological strength to maximize their performance. Dance Psychology for Artistic and Performance Excellence will help dancers in these ways: • Understand how to use the mental aspects of dance to their advantage. • Learn simple techniques to raise their dancing to a new level. • Refine their technique and overcome performance challenges. Individualized Program and Web Resource Tools Dancers will build a strong foundation for performance by employing the dance-specific psychological strategies. The individualized program will help dancers reach their potential in artistry and excellence in school, the dance profession, and dance-related careers. The book comes with a companion web resource containing 40 worksheets that will help dancers grow mentally through reflection and self-examination. Dancers will be able to use these tools to refine their technique and overcome performance challenges. Scientifically Proven Psychological Methods Dance Psychology for Artistic and Performance Excellence incorporates some updated content from Taylor's original best-selling book Psychology of Dance. Through the authors' research and experience with dancers over the past two decades, this book offers the latest in scientifically proven psychological methods and practices that dancers have used to achieve optimal performance. As the authors write in their preface: What separates good dancers from the best dancers lies