Welcome to the grounded performer - a blog dedicated to building the skills to bring your best to the stage and beyond.
This is where I blog about all things related to performance enhancement and building a balanced satisfying and meaningful life as a performing artist - a life that can be sustained for the long haul. I would like to share insights I have learned (and will continue to learn!) about how to stay focused and grounded through the stresses that life and performance brings.
What is a grounded performer?
When I think of a grounded performer, there's a number of things that come to mind. I think of someone who lives with a sense of balance - their performance world doesn't take so much time and energy that there is nothing left for other areas of their life, like their relationships, health, spirituality, hobbies, friends and family,
It's someone who fosters a mind-body connection and knows how and when to either push themselves or rest and recover.
A grounded performer knows how to pay attention and keep attention in whatever they are engaged in, whether that is in practice or performance, so that their preparation is productive and their performances effectively communicate what they mean to express.
Being grounded allows you to stay focused and persevere when under pressure.
At the heart of being grounded is knowing what's important to you, and living, working, and performing in ways that align with that.
A Little About Me
After working as a professional pianist and teacher, I went back to graduate school to learn about the psychological aspects of learning and performing - the stuff they curiously don't teach you in graduate music performance degree - and trained to be a licensed mental health counselor and then (yes, back to school again) a performance psychology practitioner/coach.
I wanted to have a better understanding of what makes people tick and what influences people to do the things they do. More importantly, I wanted to help people work through the stress and anxiety that is a natural part of life and that comes from traumatic experiences. And because of my own experience with performance anxiety, I really wanted to work with high-level performers in music, theater or dance to find ways to not just survive, but actually thrive under the pressure of performance. Because we are doing something that we love - and we deserve to have our performances reflect that!
Other stuff...I like to read, do yoga, go on hikes, explore new places and spend time with family. I like animals (especially dogs!). I love collaborating on music-making with others. And I'm into travel big-time.
What to expect
In this blog, I'll
reflect on research about how people learn and perform best
provide tools on how we can become better at managing stress
give strategies to help make our practice time more productive
share tips on how to elevate our performances
discuss ways we can be more grounded in our lives on and off the stage
We can learn from each other so I'd love to hear from you! What are some ways you've found keep you grounded and focused? What issues would you like to see discussed?
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