New Publication: How Mental Skills Training Can Support Freelance Dance Artists

We're delighted to share the publication of a new SPRINT Project paper led by doctoral researcher Michelle Schachtler Dwarika, alongside Mary Quinton, Sanna Nordin-Bates, and Jennifer Cumming. The study, published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health explores how mental skills training (MST) can help freelance dance artists navigate the unique challenges associated with their careers.

Freelance dance artists often face uncertainty around employment, finances, identity, and career progression. While these challenges can affect wellbeing, relatively little is known about how dancers use mental skills to cope with such demands or how practitioners support them in developing these skills.

Through interviews with freelance dance artists and psychologically informed practitioners, the research identified three key themes:

• (Re)connecting with thoughts and emotions through metacognition

• Managing career challenges through self-regulation

• Experiencing benefits that extend beyond dance into everyday life

The findings suggest that mental skills training is far more than a performance enhancement tool. Participants described how mental skills development helped them manage career challenges, enhance wellbeing, build confidence, and develop qualities that were transferable beyond dance. The study also highlighted the important role psychologically informed practitioners play in supporting dancers' mental skills development.

This research forms part of Michelle's doctoral work, which aims to better understand how mental skills training can be tailored to support freelance dance artists and contribute to sustainable careers in the dance sector. It builds upon previous SPRINT research examining strengths-based and psychologically informed approaches to supporting wellbeing and performance in dance.

The University of Birmingham recently featured the study in a news article highlighting how mental skills training can help freelance dancers manage career pressures, support wellbeing, and build confidence. Read the full story here:

👉 Mental skills training helps freelance dancers navigate career challenges, new research finds

You can also read the full open-access paper:

👉 Freelance dance artists’ experiences of managing career challenges: insights into mental skills training from artists and practitioners

Congratulations to Michelle and the team on this important contribution to our understanding of wellbeing, career development, and mental skills training in dance.