Question of the Day (Category: Dance Drama)

Happy Wednesday, readers! I hope you're all enjoying your holiday vacations as much as I am. I attended a fitness class on Monday and it reminded me of a time when I could actually make it through an entire pas de deux. When my stamina was actually existent. Maybe I could use a break from vacation!Anyway, today's Dancer S.O.S. addresses the oh-too-common issue of dancer drama. Sometimes jealousy takes over manners, sometimes a competitive edge brings out the nastiness in people. So how do we address it?
Hi Rhiannon, 
I am a big fan of your ballet blog and I am so happy you are back. I have a question about some drama at my dance school. My dance teachers don't seem to notice, but a lot of the girls at my dance studio have been ignoring me. They often have parties, and openly talk about them while not inviting me. I have never felt included and I don't know why because I try to be nice to everybody. I think they might be jealous of me because I have really nice feet, but I don't know. I am 14, should I have my mom talk to my dance teachers, should I confront these meanies, or should I suck it up?Thanks xoxo,Stella S.  Dear Stella,
 
I’m happy to hear that and thank you so much for reading. I appreciate you taking the time to send me your question/problem...
 
To begin, have you ever tried discussing this with these girls? Sometimes the social pecking order is unclear and maybe they’re just unsure of whether or not you want to be their friend. Don’t approach them looking for a fight. Perhaps simply trying to talk to them, learn more about them, and befriend them is a good place to start. Confronting girls with a negative disposition will only make it worse... Trust me!
... However, if you are certain that these girls are being blatantly mean or unkind to you, then the best advice I can give would be to put your “blinders” on and focus on yourself. You can’t force friendship upon people and if they don’t like you,then that’s truly their issue. Just continue to work hard, focus on you dancing, remind yourself who the people are that truly care about you, and keep on trucking. Don’t worry about them.
 
I hope this helps, Stella S. If you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to shoot me an e-mail.
 
Best of luck with everything and happy holidays!
 
Rhiannon -
http://adancersdays.blogspot.com/
Keep the advice column running! Send me your questions at: rhiannon@maine.rr.com. 
Thanks for reading!
Rhiannon -