It’s Not About the Medals
At MYMD we don’t determine our success by the colour of the medals or the number of trophies we win at competition. That would be allowing the opinions of others to determine our worth. At competition adjudicators give us feedback and help us improve and grow along our dance journey, but their decisions on who gets first place has nothing to do with our value.
Instead we attend competitions for the performance experience, the life lessons and life skills competing can teach us.
Life Skills such as;
- goal setting
- team work
- accepting feedback
- good sportsmanship
- strong work ethic
- time management
Life Lessons such as:
- “winning” or “losing” with grace
- practicing to improve
- progress over perfection
- learning to process our emotions from big excitement to sometimes big disappointment
- learning to put “we” before “I” – individual commitment to the group effort
- balancing dance, school, friends and family time
We work to put our best foot forward every time our dancers hit the stage. With age appropriate music, costumes and choreography we help our dancers feel good about themselves, gaining both self confidence and self empowerment.
Encouraging our dancers to watch and cheer for other studios, helps them see the bigger picture. We want our dancers to be inspired by the talent and creativity of other dancers and their teachers. We endeavour to lead by example, as we help our teaching friends and colleagues from other studios backstage with costumes, music or props. It is important to us that our dancers see us enjoying our time backstage with our friends, as the dance world is small. The dancer you “compete against” today can be your co-worker, team mate or even boss tomorrow.
In the big scheme of things the time we compete is short, but the lessons and friendships gained can last a life time.