How Dance Teachers Can Support Self-Esteem and Build Confidence in Today’s Students

Two weeks ago, I had no idea who Alysa Liu was. But when I watched her skate at the Olympics this year, I literally cried.

As someone who works with young dancers (and as a dancer myself), I know how easy it is to get in your head and let nerves and imposter syndrome overtake you, even on a much smaller stage than the Olympics. So seeing her go out there in front of the entire world, say she doesn’t care about medals and that there’s no losing, and then ACTUALLY back that up with her performance made me very emotional🥹

Alysa was easy to watch. I didn’t feel nervous for her at all, because it was so clear that she trusted and believed in herself. It felt like it didn’t matter that there were millions of people watching. She wasn’t putting on a show— she was simply being her authentic self, having a good time, and letting us see her do something she loves.

This kind of presence comes from having a strong sense of self-esteem and confidence. And with the way kids are growing up today, these are two things that dance students often lack.

When I was a student, I would compare myself to the other dancers at my school. And then it would happen when I went to auditions or competitions. But young dancers today aren’t only comparing themselves to their peers— they’re being flooded with social media content of dancers from all over the world, every single day.

As dance teachers, we can’t control the realities of the times we live in. However, we can ask ourselves how we can help our students navigate the unique challenges they’re experiencing, and we can shape what happens in our classes.

But first, we have to clarify something important: Self-esteem and confidence are the not same thing👇🏼

Self-esteem is the overall sense of one’s worth as a person. It’s the belief that I am worthy, valuable, and enough, even when things don’t go well or someone gives you feedback.

Confidence the belief in your ability to perform a specific task or set of tasks. For example, a dancer knows they can successfully do a double pirouette or pick up choreography quickly at an audition.

A dancer can appear confident but still struggle with self-esteem. They can execute a move really well, but spiral the second they make a mistake or receive a correction.

Self-esteem is the broader foundation of “I am worthy as a person, dancer, and learner,” which as an educator is what I want my students to feel right away and all of the time.

Confidence, on the other hand, doesn’t happen immediately. Alysa Liu didn't become so confident by just telling herself positive affirmations— real confidence is built through attaining competence, which comes from putting in the work consistently, struggling, improving over time, and proving to yourself, I can do hard things.

That’s why our role as educators matters so much. The environment we create either supports that slow, earned confidence, or works against it. The way we talk to students, define success, and respond to mistakes directly impacts whether students develop confidence rooted in skill and trust, or confidence that disappears the second something goes wrong.

So the question becomes: how do we intentionally build both self-esteem and confidence in our classrooms??

Below are my suggestions👇🏼

The Way We Frame Success

The way we define success in our classrooms has a huge impact on students’ self-esteem. If success is only framed as “getting it right,” or being the best dancer in the room, students quickly learn that their value is conditional. They start to believe they are only worthy when they are perfect, praised, or outperforming someone else.

My teachers growing up were noritious for this-- when I did something really well or better than others, they would praise me. If I didn't or made a mistake, they'd ignore me for the rest of the class. 

Instead, when we frame success around effort, consistency, growth, commitment, and enjoyment, we give students something much more stable to stand on. A dancer who understands that showing up, trying again, getting up when they fall down, consistently working hard AND having fun in the process matters just as much as the end result is far more likely to develop a healthy relationship with their training. In fact, those things directly impact the end result, right?

What you can do: Call out students’ focus, resilience, improvement, and effort. For example, praising a student who continued dancing and finished the sequence strong after they made a mistake, or pointing out if a step looked better this week than it did last week. Over time, valuing progress helps dancers internalize the idea that their worth isn’t dependent on perfection. And when they directly experience the results of their efforts over time, that will build confidence!!

The Way We Provide Feedback

Corrections are one of the most important parts of dance training. One way to protect students’ self-esteem is to frame feedback as information and curiosity instead of judgment. When corrections are specific and neutral, dancers are more likely to hear them as helpful tips instead of criticism.

For example, instead of saying a vague comment like “That was messy,” offering a clear adjustment such as “Try initiating the turn from your back instead of your shoulders, what changes?” gives the dancer something actionable to work with. It communicates that errors are part of learning, not evidence of failure. Over time, students who receive feedback this way are way less likely to feel insulted when corrected and start trusting their ability to rise to the challenge and improve.

Creating Opportunities for Autonomy

Confidence grows when students feel a sense of ownership over their learning. When everything is dictated for them, they may comply, but they don’t necessarily trust themselves.

This might look like on occasion, allowing dancers to explore their own musical interpretation for a combination. Maybe one month you let them pick the music to your warm up sequence. Or, giving them moments to choose how they want to apply a correction by asking questions like, “What felt hardest about that movement?” or “What do you think would help you here?” instead of immediately giving your correction. In this way, we are teaching students to listen to their bodies and instincts.

Celebrating Individuality

It's really important to remind dancers that while we're all working toward technique and mastering skills, at the end of the day dancers are artists, and that involves discovering what makes them unique. Everyone has individual talents and strengths, and students should know them and have the opportunity to hone them. Because the truth is, dance is subjective and there's often not a "right" way to move. I don't want my students trying to be exactly me or someone else. I want them to become the best version of themselves. 

When a dancer knows who they are and what makes them special, it's much easier to handle the negative feelings that come with comparison.

As teachers, we play a huge role in this, because students often don’t recognize their own strengths right away. We can help name what we see. Maybe a student has strong musicality. Maybe they struggle with flexibility, but they are naturally stronger. Maybe they're great at sharp movement and dynamics. When we point these things out, we help students build an identity within dance that isn’t solely based on what they lack.

How can you help your students develop their strengths and discover their own voice within dance? Within the structure of class, where can you allow for individuality? This is one of the reasons why improv is so important!

Leading by Example

Whether they realize it or not, students are always absorbing how WE conduct ourselves.

They notice how we respond to our own mistakes, how we speak about ourselves, how we react when things don’t go as planned. When we model self-compassion, adaptability, and resilience, we give students permission to do the same.

When we show that we’re still learning, experimenting, and growing, we model a version of confidence that isn’t about being perfect— it’s about being secure enough to keep going. That kind of confidence is far more sustainable, and it’s exactly what we want our students to develop over time!

In conclusion...

As dance teachers, we may not be able to protect our students from comparison...it’s inevitable. But we CAN create spaces where confidence is earned through competence, and self-esteem is protected regardless of outcomes. We can create a learning environment where students feel safe to try, fail, and grow.

And when we do that, we’re not just training better dancers. We’re helping shape more secure humans, onstage and off!