One of the things dancers tell me they desire, more than anything else, is consistency. What this boils down to is a desire to dance pretty much the exact same way from day to day. You want to land clean pirouettes, hold strong extensions, and feel confident or strong, regardless of what else might be going on for you.
The truth about consistency is that it’s elusive. Much like “success,” it’s easier to catch if you get very clear about what exactly it means to you and why you think it matters so much.
While it’s not necessarily realistic to show up and dance exactly identically from one day to the next, what you can be consistent with, and truly home in on is your approach to your dancing. Being consistent with both my dancing and my business here at The Whole Dancer has been pretty dependent on my phase of life, mindset, and support.
When you find ways to be consistent in your approach, you yield the most growth, improvement, and joy in your life and dancing.
What Consistency Looks Like in Dance
Performance slumps will happen, but here are some ways to find a consistent approach to support your dancing:
- Commit to attending class regularly.
Sometimes your motivation will wane, but when you show up regularly, you’ll find ways to healthily push through the physical and mental challenges. This builds resilience that you can apply to auditions and casting situations.
Of course, mental well-being comes first, so if you need time away in order to reconnect to yourself and find support, do it.
- Take time to address your opportunities.
“Opportunities” is how I refer to things you need to work on. Rather than hiding from the things that are creating challenges for you, address them. Seeking outside support might be key in this. Maybe you need a new teacher who can better assess your challenges. Perhaps personal training to strengthen areas of weakness. Whatever the path: don’t shy away from taking action to find your peak performance.
- Get clear on steady, small actions.
Whether it’s in food, food relationship, your approach to your body, or your dance goals, taking small actions often is where you’ll find the biggest shifts. This is part of why I work with dancers for 6 months to start and we add just 1-2 reasonable action steps to their coaching plan each week. Small moves often yield big results.
- Trust the process.
In both dance and life, it can be hard to see or measure changes from week to week. Find your satisfaction in the daily work and effort you put in. By being consistent in those things, you’ll achieve your personal best in terms of performance consistency.
My Personal Journey with Consistency
As a dancer, I showed up consistently and gave full effort, but my results weren’t consistent. I attribute that largely to my inconsistent approach to food and my difficult relationship with my body. If you’re not fueling consistently, your energy and performance can’t be steady.
And for women, hormonal fluctuations throughout the month make it unrealistic to expect the same output every day. Research shows fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels can affect energy, coordination, and endurance — which means expecting identical performance each day is unrealistic.
As a coach, I aim to be a steady force for my clients. I show up, give fully, and adapt to each dancer’s needs. I’m committed to growing, learning, and bringing new approaches to better serve them.
As a business owner and mother, my output has shifted. Since my daughter’s birth in 2019, content creation is no longer my top priority — my family comes first.
My own journey shows how consistency shifts with life, priorities, and circumstances. And that’s the real takeaway: it’s not about rigidly doing the same thing every day, but adapting your approach so you can keep moving forward with growth and joy.
Challenges to Consistency in Dance
When dancers say they want consistency, what they often mean is the ability to replicate the exact same results day after day — 32 fouettés without fail, perfect extensions, flawless performances.
But that’s not realistic. You’re human.
Still, ballet culture fuels the myth. One client told me her coach — a former professional — claimed she never once made a mistake on stage. Honestly, I don’t believe it, and more importantly, it’s not helpful.
True inspiration comes from those who stumble, tell the truth, and share their vulnerabilities. Perfect consistency is a myth — and it shouldn’t be the goal.
Instead of Consistency, Focus on These Things
Patience.
Results come with time. You’ll feel stronger and generally happier with your performance and abilities as time goes on. Results in dance aren’t instant. Anyone selling that is selling a lie.
Discipline.
Be disciplined but not in a way that denies your needs. Be disciplined in your approach while also acknowledging what you need to perform your best. Things like sleep, nourishment, self-care, relationships, and support shouldn’t be neglected in the name of discipline.
Resilience.
There will be ups and downs on this journey. It’s in the toughest moments that resilience is built. Whether that’s body image resilience, resilience through audition rejections, or resilience to get through the more challenging chapters of life, the tough times set you up to deal with the realities you’ll face as a dancer.
Alignment.
Make sure the actions you’re taking are in alignment with your goals. You’ll have so much more energy for what you’re doing and what you want to do if you’re actually in alignment. I spoke with a dancer recently who said, “How can I work consistently as a dancer if my retail job keeps scheduling me during dance times?”
Well, in this case some boundaries need to be set. If retail is the goal, keep taking whatever shifts you’re given. If dancing is the goal, tell your non-dance job very clearly when and how much you’re available.
Taking Action
Consistency isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up for yourself in the best way you can.
You don’t have to be rigid to be committed. Allowing flexibility is going to help you avoid burnout in the long run. If you’ve been striving towards consistency and feel like you’re falling short, it could be time for some support on your dance journey.
Schedule a complimentary coaching consultation to create consistency in dance, health, nutrition, and mindset.
