Ballet training is designed to develop creative, expressive artists. However, an explicit approach to technical instruction may not assist in the development of individual creativity and may encourage counterproductive perfectionistic goals. This paper describes a five-day intervention designed to enhance creativity in thirteen adolescent vocational ballet students at an elite ballet school in Stockholm, Sweden. The intervention focused on implicit learning and sensori-kinetic imagery. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests indicated significant increases for creativity perceptions and implicit sources of evaluation, and reductions in perfectionistic cognitions. Case study interviewees, representing the most and least perfectionistic students, reported heightened creativity, enjoyment and, in some cases, a strengthened sense of autonomy and self-regulation. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data forms a convincing case that even a short intervention based on implicit learning strategies and sensori-kinetic imagery can enhance perceptions of creativity and reduce perfectionistic cognitions in ballet class.

The extent to which creativity and perfection can be considered compatible aims for dancers was investigated. Also investigated were how creativity and perfectionism are (a) nurtured vs. inhibited, and (b) related to basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness). Seventy-seven ballet students (12-19 years) completed standardized questionnaires, and eight were recruited for interview. Additionally, five teachers were interviewed.

It was found that flexible perfectionistic strivings (PS) were seen to support creativity while rigid PS and perfectionistic concerns (PC) were seen as inhibiting. Creative work was proposed to reduce PC. Creativity appeared to be nurtured when basic needs were met and via inspiration and imagery; this was experienced more in contemporary dance. Perfectionism appeared to be nurtured when basic needs were thwarted or unsupported, and when teachers were perfectionistic. This was experienced more in ballet. In conclusion, dance teachers who support basic needs likely support dancers’ creativity and aid in perfectionism management.

Conceptualized within the framework of self-determination theory, the aim of the current study was to investigate the relation between perfectionistic concerns and (a) controlled (non-self-determined) motivation and (b) performance anxiety through basic psychological need frustration (frustration of competence, autonomy, and realtedness), and if these relations would be moderated by controlling teaching/coaching conditions. We used a cross-sectional moderated mediation design and purposefully selected Norwegian elite junior performers (N = 171; mean age = 17.3; SD age = 0.94) from talent development schools, who completed an online questionnaire to report their perceptions of the study variables. Associations were examined using structural equation modeling. The results showed that perfectionistic concerns were positively associated with controlling conditions, basic needs frustration, controlled motivation, and performance anxiety. Reported controlling teaching/coaching conditions moderated the positive indirect relationship between perfectionistic concerns and (a) controlled motivation and (b) performance anxiety through competence need frustration. Specifically, these indirect associations were evident for performers reporting moderate or high levels of controlling teaching/coaching conditions. In contrast, there were no indirect associations via competence need frustration for those performers who reported low levels of controlling conditions. In conclusion, the results indicate that perfectionistic concerns appear to be a vulnerability factor that exposes elite junior performers to higher risks of entering a debilitative motivational process. This seems especially likely when exposed to controlling teaching/coaching conditions. Coaches and teachers working with elite junior performers should avoid using controlling mechanisms and instead foster autonomous functioning.

Att som danselev ha en hög perfektionistisk strävan är tveeggat. Det kan å ena sidan bidra till utveckling och framgång inom yrket, men även leda till överarbete, rigiditet och ökad skaderisk. Implicita inlärningstekniker kan minska det perfektionistiska tänkandet och göra balansgången lättare, skriver Sanna Nordin-Bates, Fil Dr. i Idrottsvetenskap vid GIH.

Dance imagery is a consciously created mental representation of an experience, either real or imaginary, that may affect the dancer and her or his movement. In this study, imagery research in dance was reviewed in order to: 1. describe the themes and ideas that the current literature has attempted to illuminate and 2. discover the extent to which this literature its the Revised Applied Model of Deliberate Imagery Use. A systematic search was performed, and 43 articles from 24 journals were found to it the inclusion criteria. he articles were reviewed, analyzed, and categorized. he findings from the articles were then reported using the Revised Applied Model as a framework. Detailed descriptions of Who, What, When and Where, Why, How, and Imagery Ability were provided, along with comparisons to the field of sports imagery. Limitations within the field, such as the use of non-dance-specific and study-specific measurements, make comparisons and clear conclusions difficult to formulate. Future research can address these problems through the creation of dance-specific measurements, higher participant rates, and consistent methodologies between studies.