Soft Skills in Dance

Knowledge that is specific to dance is often implicit, meaning you may not necessarily be able to identify and articulate in words the range of skills you are cultivating. Yet many of the implicit skills found in dance practices are regarded as the most important needed currently in society – creativity, flexibility, dealing with complexity and uncertainty, understanding, and appreciating differences, patience, and perseverance, to name a few. These are called soft skills, which are patterns of thought, behaviours, and communication. Dancing with others is an important pathway for developing soft skills, because the body plays a central role in how we navigate our emotions, responses, and actions: soft skills grow through, with and embed in the body and by encountering other bodies in space.

In this webinar you will gain an insight into a new language to identify and articulate soft skills that are important to you on a personal and professional level and how to communicate them both within the dance sector and beyond. This is especially important if you are at the beginning of your career because being able to identify and articulate the soft skills in your practice will help you feel more confident in your professional environment and help you attract future employers. In this webinar the authors of „Soft Skills in Dance - a Guidebook to Enhance your Practice” will guide you through key aspects of the publication. This is the first guidebook written for dance artists, choreographers, and teachers to support them in recognizing and articulating the soft skills in their own practice, as well as how they can be applied to work environments and other sectors.

The webinar was produced in 2023 and provides basic knowledge. Please note that there may be changes to specific dates or details. We will always endeavour to keep you as up to date as possible with any updates.

• Do you hold certain beliefs that guide your practice?
• Are you motivated by interests in representation, desires for fairness or to address those who are often on the margins of society? If yes, describe the attributes you associate with those values (i.e. compassion, integrity, transparency, humility).
• How do those interests relate to the soft skills you focus on activating through your dance practice?
• When have you altered your practice? What was gained?
• Is there anything you wouldn’t do? Are there any lines you won’t cross connected to relations with stakeholders?
• Do you have a list of actions that you always follow? Do any of these actions concern the wellbeing and situation of other stakeholders?
• What would you like your practice to be recognised for?

Thinking about your answers to the above questions, how might you complete these sentences:

• Soft skills I use most are…
• Soft skills that are most important to me are…
• Soft skills I would like to develop more are…
• Soft skills I want to focus on over the duration of the project…

Guidebook “Soft Skills in Dance”

Map of Soft Skills

WITH CARE.Toolkit

Appreciative Communication: Fundamentals

Being a Dance Artist Nowadays

Self-Confidence & Self-Esteem in Dance