How to Manage the Post

How to Manage the Post-Convention Crash Convention weekends—with their opportunities to learn from expert teachers and acquire new skills—are a highlight of the season for many dancers. But they can also leave participants feeling tired, irritable, or unmotivated when they return to their studios. What causes that crash after a convention weekend, and what steps can dancers and teachers take to prevent and manage it? The Dancer Brain at Convention Intense convention weekends can be hard on a dancer’s nervous system. Emerson Valentina, executive director of the Broadway Mental Health Foundation, describes the dance convention atmosphere as a perfect storm for sensory overload. “Your brain is trying to process blasting music, flashing stage lights, and the spatial awareness of hundreds of other bodies,” she says. And the pressure to win scholarships and impress industry-leading educators can add to feelings of overwhelm. Valentina compares the nervous system during a convention to a humming car engine. “Your body is flooding your engine with high-performance fuel, chemicals like adrenaline, dopamine, and cortisol,” she says. (See “Fight, Flight, or Dance?,” p. 46.) “But when the convention ends, your body slams on the brakes.” The brain can misinterpret this dramatic shift as a physical or emotional crisis, causing the crash that teachers notice after convention weekends. What Dancers Can Do On convention day, a perspective shift can help dancers moderate their brain’s stress signals, making the post-weekend crash less likely. Convention teacher Tom Richardson acknowledges that conventions can be overstimulating, but recommends that dancers focus on the community-building side of the experience, rather than the competitive pressure. Before the convention, think about “going in with the mindset of absorbing as much as you can, sharing your own creativity, and embracing the opportunity to meet new dancers,” he says, rather than who’s watching or what the stakes are. Valentina encourages dancers to help regulate their stress responses by focusing on what they can control in class, rather than worrying about things they can’t. “Dancers cannot control how many people are in the room or what style the choreographer chooses,” she says. “They can control their focus, their work ethic, their kindness to the person dancing next to them, and how quickly they pick up details.” That kind of reframing will help keep dancers’ brains and bodies on a more even keel, lessening the likelihood of a crash come Monday morning. The Role of the Teacher Kelsay Stephensen, owner of Trademark Dance Academy in New Jersey, plans ahead to prevent post-convention crashes: She is highly selective about convention attendance. “Whenever you’re taking 10 to 12 classes in a single weekend, it’s unrealistic to expect every class to go perfectly, and that alone can feel overwhelming,” she says. Rather than taking the whole team to every event, she suggests picking events that are best for individual dancers. Teachers can also facilitate a healthy, less-stressful convention experience by setting realistic expectations. Richardson emphasizes learning over results. “It’s not about being the best, but being present, focused, and authentic,” he says. “Let dancers know that making mistakes is part of the process and it means they are learning and pushing themselves.” Valentina encourages teachers to develop a cooldown for the brain post-convention, with gentle movement activities to lessen the effects of the crash. “The week following a convention shouldn’t be about pushing for the next trick or drilling competition routines,” she says. “When instructors educate themselves on nervous-system regulation and create a safe space for their students to come down from the adrenaline high, they are truly helping their students to build long, resilient careers.”