#71: Don’t Compare Your Rehearsal to Their Perfect Post

In this empowering episode of Dance Colleges and Careers, host Brittany Noltimier reminds dancers, parents, and performers that what we see online is a filtered version of reality. From TikTok trends to viral pirouettes, we're often bombarded with “perfect” content that leaves us doubting our own progress. But real growth happens in the rehearsal room—where struggles, stumbles, and perseverance lead to powerful breakthroughs. Brittany shares a heart-to-heart reminder about the value of imperfection, the importance of struggle, and why your dance journey is valid—messy moments and all.

🎁 Don’t forget your free bonus download at brittanynoltimier.com/71

Transcript

You cannot compare your dance journey or dance class to somebody else's perfect post online. Hello there and welcome back to Dance Colleges and Careers. I am your host, Brittany Noltimier and this is the podcast where we talk about all things dance. Colleges, careers, competition. So let's get to it.

It's so funny if you see the musical or the movie Hairspray and you watch these kids come home after school, they turn the TV on and then they learn the dances with the people on TV and then they're doing the dances with them at home. And then we see that again in the eighties with Michael Jackson and MTV. And as these videos and these dances were coming on TV, people would rush home, turn the TV on and follow along with their dance routines.

And now with TikTok, you see other people doing these dances and everybody props up their phones and they do their little teeny tiny movements to follow the trends and all the TikTok dances

And that's like a cool, fun activity to do.

But you know how it is when you're making those videos, when you're posting those. Rarely do you ever post the very first thing you recorded. You prop up the phone and then you have a few mistakes or the phone falls down or the lighting's not right. It's just not perfect. And you go back and you do it again and again and again until you have something that you'd be proud of, something that you wouldn't find embarrassing to post online, right? Have you done that? I'm sure you

So think about it guys, when you're posting on your social media, you're not posting the most raw video or the most raw take, unless it's something hysterical and you're like, I got to share this for the likes on this, right? And you're like, this is a fail, but you're not showing the parts where you failed, where you'd be embarrassed by the failures. Okay. And the problem that is existing in our training today is that

We're in class feeling like failures because we're spending so much time scrolling on our phones, following all these people who are perfect with the most perfect technique, most perfect bodies. And we keep thinking and telling ourselves, how the heck am I ever going to look like that? Is this even worth doing? Because there's no way I can ever live up to all these other people I see online.

Now, first of all, I just want to say telling yourself very well could be you. You might be that person that everybody looks up to or you might become that next famous person you follow. But the reality is what you see online is not their true reality. What you see online is their perfect post, not the journey. You're not seeing the embarrassing mistakes. You're not seeing

when they fell out of a double pirouette and they're showing you a video of them doing eight turns. We all have our mistakes. all have the rehearsal journey. And the more you only scroll and see the perfect videos,

The more we get this self doubt because we're no longer comparing ourselves to just the other dancers in our studio, we're comparing ourselves with the most famous people online and their viral videos. And it can be confusing because now you might have friends who've gone viral because it is a little bit easier to have that viral post or.

the video that makes them really popular. And you might have several friends who already do that or have a lot of followers online,

But that's not always real guys and comparing your journey to somebody else's finished perfect product is just not healthy. It's not good for you and it just does not help you in your rehearsal journey. I read this post by Rhee Gold the other day and it was all about struggle and it said parents when your child comes out of dance class struggling.

and say, what's going on in the class? What is wrong with the teacher? What is wrong that my child can't get this? Remember that struggle is a part of the journey. It's a part of the process. And without struggle, they can't have that overcoming accomplishment. So allow your child to struggle, be there to support them. But remember that struggling is a part of getting stronger.

growing and becoming a better version of themselves.

or competitive dance were so easy that they never had to struggle, then it wouldn't be any fun. When we play games, a really simple, easy game is not fun to play. It's fun when there is something difficult to it, a task you have to overcome, a conflict that you have to work together as a team in order to win the game. not fun just to have easy wins.

It's fun when we have that feeling of accomplishment.

So remember to let your child struggle. Let them have the rough day where they're not perfect, because that is all a part of the journey and that is truly what makes us stronger every single day. So that when they do accomplish it, when they do nail that skill they've been working on or the performance, or they just get the critique from a teacher that they really respect, then that will mean so much more.

than that one day when they were struggling because they were falling out of their turns. So be there to support them in the journey.

Be there as a shoulder to lean on. You don't have to be the fixer as hard as that is because they need that struggle. I need that struggle. We all need that that's what gives us motivation. That's what gives us a reason to to the next level.

So remember, when you're scrolling online and you're seeing everybody else's perfect life, perfect technique, perfect pirouette that that is not the reality. That's the perfect post. That's the finished product.

Enjoy the journey, enjoy the process, and don't let someone else's finished product compare to your rehearsal journey because that's unrealistic. You've got this. And remember, I always have a freebie with every episode I give. This week it's number 71. So it's just my website, brittanynoltimier.com/71 number of the episode. So slash 71,

grab your free bonus at my website, BrittanyNoltimier.com/71 because that's this week's episode. And I hope you have a wonderful day. So until next time, go out there and be brave, tell your story and own the stage.