Prepared to succeed? Dancers development experiences and the psycho-social and professional skills that underpin mental health and performance

‘I can’t think of another profession where young people are trained from such a young age to such a high standard, to have such a low chance of work at the end of it. And those that do get a job are faced with poor working conditions and have these extreme pressures on their mental health.’ Tala Lee Turton, BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, 29 May 2019 Despite intensive training, few dancers become successful professionals. Those who do may enjoy great fulfilment and engagement in their work, but are also faced with formidable physical, economic, and practical challenges that may damage their dance performance and well-being. Therefore, this PhD research aimed to provide guidance on optimal processes of dance talent development (DTD) to equip dancers for a professionally successful and mentally healthy career by investigating dancers’ experiences in training and careers, and exploring what skills dancers felt were needed for success, and how and where these were learnt. To achieve this, I undertook five empirical studies that engaged 1174 dance professionals and students. In my first two studies, I explored dancers’ experiences during training and careers and the skills and characteristics they felt enabled them to achieve self-defined success. I also explored how dancers felt that key skills were developed. I interviewed 34 students, professionals, and retired dancers in ballet, commercial, musical theatre, contemporary, and hip hop. Dancers recognised the importance of technique and talent, but felt that professionalism, marketing, self-care, and psychosocial skills were most critical for success. Psychosocial skills were developed through experiences rather than training. Dancers described success as necessarily incorporating both performing well in dance and experiencing well-being in life. Experiences of challenge were described in three ways: 1) enjoyable and beneficial; 2) difficult but still beneficial; or 3) unnecessary and harmful to well-being, skill development, and success. Harmful challenges included rejection, competition, few employment opportunities, mental illness, and abuse. Dancers sought psychological support and education to address these challenges but often felt unprepared for their careers after training. These findings provide novel indications of dancers’ holistic definitions of success and spectral perceptions of challenges. The findings also imply that current dance training may not adequately prepare dancers to achieve holistic success, particularly in terms of psychological education and skill development. Additionally, dancers may seek to engage or persist in a challenge, hoping for beneficial effects that may not materialise, which may have mixed impacts on well-being and performance. In my third study, I explored the interrelationships between experiences and skill development during dance training through an exploratory sequential mixed-method study with Kayla (a pseudonym), a first-year contemporary dance student. Over 15 weeks, Kayla participated in biweekly interviews. She completed pre- and post-interview phase questionnaires on psychological needs, achievement orientation, motivational climate, irrational beliefs, cognitive appraisal, post-traumatic growth, social support, and thriving. In interviews, Kayla described challenges related to foster care, caregiving, teacher criticism, presentations, and homesickness, alongside successes in auditions, exams, and relationships. Like the previous studies, Kayla perceived experiences of challenge to confer both positive and negative well-being and performance impacts but also described an ecology of support that fostered her growth. Regular reflection enhanced her self-awareness and her skills for a dance career. The questionnaire results reinforced these findings, showing high needs satisfaction, strong task orientation, and a supportive climate. The social support questionnaire results reinforced Kayla’s interview data. In questions focused on audition scenarios, she experienced both high-threat and high-challenge appraisals, suggesting a complex relationship beneficial for performance. Questionnaires indicated significant post-traumatic growth in strength, life appreciation, and new possibilities, aligning with her interview insights on Kayla’s value of challenges for growth. While she rated her subjective performance vitality, and positive affect highly, Kayla also faced considerable negative emotions and irrational beliefs, raising questions about the balance between challenge appraisal and negative feelings. This study used a novel prospective methodological approach, incorporating an investigation of challenge and success experiences in combination with known individual and environmental risks and protective factors. The findings highlight the simultaneous experience of challenge and threat among high performers and the experience of negative affect during challenge appraisal, adding new insights into the experiences of pleasant and unpleasant challenges. In light of the concerning findings around dancers’ experiences and impacts on mental health, I conducted two further studies. Study 3 was a convergent mixed-method study (n = 1060), investigated the prevalence of both mental illness and well-being, stressors, as well as risk and protective factors for mental health in primarily female ballet dancers. The findings revealed that one in two dancers reported moderate to severe anxiety and depression symptoms, with high burnout and low autonomy support, low self-esteem, and low resilience associated with the poorest outcomes. Dancers felt that they lacked effective coping skills for stressful experiences, including health concerns, discrimination, lack of industry support, and poor pay. Study 5 was a qualitative study (n = 79) and explored perceived systemic barriers and facilitators to dancers’ success and mental health among a diverse group of professionals in dance including dancers, mental and physical healthcare practitioners, educators, and advocates. The findings suggested awareness of the need to promote mental health among dancers and progress in investment, education, and intervention. However, there was also evidence of a high prevalence of current, serious mental health concerns. Persistent systemic barriers to mental well-being exacerbated mental health concerns, including societal perceptions of dance and dancers, a lack of funding, and abusive practices. These studies offer novel empirical evidence of both the scale and the ecologically complex nature of the mental health concerns faced by dancers.