May 26, 2020
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Terry Hyde, a psychotherapist at Counselling for Dancers, where he offers support specifically for dancers dealing with emotional and mental health issues. Terry’s journey into psychotherapy has been extremely unique. Upon retiring from a seasoned dance career, Terry successfully sold two businesses that were linked to the performance industry. Terry went on to pursue an education in psychotherapy and now hosts workshops, Skype sessions, phone, and face-to-face meetups to support dancers, wherever they are.
Terry understands the value of a healthy mental state in the performance world, where rejection and heartache are commonplace. And, after retiring from dance, Terry used the very same skills he learned from dance to build a business so that he could help other dancers. On the podcast, Terry walks through his entire career and speaks to best practices in mental health, how dance can help in other walks of life, his upcoming book, and how we can all be our best selves.
Moving Quotes:
“We, as dancers, are disciplined. It’s the discipline of doing ballet. It’s that feeling of wanting to do it right — wanting to do it properly. Instead of doing any structured education in business, I just learned as I went along. Just picked things up."
“Dancers have translatable skills. When you come to an intersection point — when you don’t want to dance anymore — you still have those skills. The determination, the focus, the drive — everything like that."
“Look after yourself. You are unique, and you are the most important person in your life. And that’s not being selfish either."
“Take things as they come. Don’t look too far ahead. Your own personal unique journey is going to look different than your friend’s journey. You have to be happy with yourself."
“The best person dancers can talk to is themselves — their gut feeling. There’s an intrinsic link between the mind and the body."
“My workshops are about learning how to assess your feelings, to understand your own feelings, and to ask for help. Dancers will learn how to be mentally fit and emotionally strong."
“Dance is subjective. Just because the choreographer doesn’t like the style of dance that you can do doesn’t mean you’re a bad dancer. It means you can’t do it the way they want it. Artistic directors are very fickle people."
“The power of the mind can make or break you. It works both ways — it can be so positive or so negative."
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
3:13: Terry walks through his journey as a dancer and businessman, from his earliest dance lessons to his thriving entrepreneurial ventures.
7:56: Terry discusses how he managed to teach himself the principles of finance and how his dance background worked to his advantage.
13:34: Hyde speaks to mental health and how his workshops help eliminate negative stigmas around the subject and teach ways to foster a healthy mental state.
21:00: Terry shares about how dancers can get involved in his workshops.
23:30: Hyde discusses his book and how he’s hoping it can help distribute the teachings from his workshop on a broader scale.
28:07: Hyde shares some advice for up-and-coming dancers on breaking into the dance industry, while maintaining a healthy and positive mental state.
33:43: Terry explains a practice that he finds extremely valuable in realizing your full potential and achieving your goals — writing down your intentions.
36:01: Terry discusses the importance of journaling in helping you release negative energy and in tracking positive progress on any given task.
38:38: Terry explains why it is important to take a holistic approach to health, rather than simply taking medicine.
Bullet List of Resources –
Terry Hyde
Counselling for Dancers