Perhaps the most mysterious and frustrating experience that dancers must face is the occurrence of a slump. Dancers seem to fall into slumps with no apparent cause and come out of them for equally unclear reasons. Also, there has been no consensus on what causes them or how to cure them. Now, though, SlumpBusting provides a systematic program for understanding and alleviating slumps.

What is a Slump?

A slump is any significant drop in a dancer’s expected level of performance. Every individual will have some ups and downs in performance, but, in a slump, performance falls well below normal cycles, typically for unexplained reasons.

Causes

There are four general causes of slumps. Physical difficulties include fatigue from overtraining or performing, lingering illness such as colds, and stubborn little injuries such as muscle pulls and cramps. Small technical changes during performance can also lead to a slump, e.g., changes in the execution or timing of a skill. A variety of psychological factors can also produce decreased performance. Loss of self-confidence, concentration, or motivation can hurt performance. Also, what happens away from the studio or stage, e.g., problems with school or in relationships with family and friends, are potential causes for slumps.

SlumpBusting

Identifying the primary causes of a slump is a crucial step. This process may begin with a careful examination of possible causes, e.g., having a complete physical or reviewing training and performing schedules. Dancers should also look to see if there are any personal, non-dance problems that might be the cause of the slump. If it seems necessary, a counselor might be consulted.

The next step is to take some time off. This can be tough to do with a tight schedule of performances, but slumps tend to perpetuate themselves and thinking long-term is important. Dancers might miss a performance, but then perform better in the long run. Taking time off to get away from the environment that has caused the problem is necessary to develop perspective, i.e., breaking the negative emotional chain. An afternoon might be enough, or a whole week may be needed. Time off gives dancers a chance to stop dwelling on the past and start thinking about the future. Time away also is physically restful and gives dancers time to develop a plan to get out of the slump.

Goals

Once dancers understand the causes of a slump, they need to specify a variety of goals to remedy the causes and alleviate the slump. The return-to-form goal clarifies the ultimate aim of the SlumpBusting program. Specifically, it stipulates the level of performance to which a dancer wishes to return. As with all goals, the return-to-form goal should be specific, measurable, and realistic.

The causal goals address the level of performance associated with a particular cause of a slump. For example, if the slump is caused by a physical problem, the causal goal might involve a measurable level of strength to be worked toward. If the slump is due to technical or psychological issues, then causal goals should be geared toward resolving those problem areas. A specific goal should be established for every cause.

Daily training goals specify how dancers will reach their causal goals. When dealing with a technical problem, for example, dancers must ascertain the most appropriate way to correct the flaw.

Daily performance goals are essential if they are unable to take time off from the performance schedule to resolve a slump. These goals are established to provide dancers with a level of performance to work toward that, although below the desired level, is above the current slump-induced level. Each daily performance goal provides a realistic level toward which to strive, thereby making performance reinforcing rather than discouraging.

Conclusion

Slumps are a significant source of frustration to dancers. By understanding the causes of slumps and designing specific SlumpBusting programs, dancers can overcome these decreased levels of performance and always perform their best.