What Can Ballet Teach Us About Belonging? Key takeaways from my conversation with Katina Olsen
What happens when a dancer grows up within the world of ballet, develops a deep love of contemporary dance, and eventually finds ways to bring together technique, identity, culture and storytelling?
In this episode of The Ballet Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with dancer, choreographer and educator Katina Olsen about her journey through dance and the many ways her early ballet training has continued to influence her work.
Our conversation moved far beyond technique. We talked about discipline, belonging, cultural identity, representation, positive pedagogy, rejection, resilience and the responsibility teachers have to create spaces where young dancers feel that they belong.
Here are some of the key ideas I took away from our conversation.
1. Ballet teaches much more than technique
Katina began dancing at just three years old. Her early ballet training taught her discipline, commitment and the importance of consistently showing up.
But perhaps more importantly, it taught her that difficult things can become achievable when we keep working at them.
She described this lesson as something that has stayed with her throughout her entire life, not just in dance, but in everything she does.
For teachers, this is a useful reminder that the impact of our classes extends well beyond the exercises we teach.
A tendu, plié or pirouette might be the immediate learning objective. Still, the habits developed through training, persistence, discipline, responsibility, resilience and commitment, can become part of a young person's wider approach to life.
What are our students learning from us beyond the steps?
2. Feeling that you belong can change everything
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was Katina's reflection on being a young dancer who wasn't always the strongest or most naturally gifted dancer in the room.
When she moved to Brisbane for full-time training, she suddenly found herself surrounded by highly accomplished young dancers. She described herself as something of an “underdog” and knew that she would have to work hard to hold her own.
But the teachers who connected with her and recognised her potential helped her feel that she had a place in that environment.
That is an incredibly important responsibility for dance teachers.
Students don't necessarily need us to tell them that they are the best dancer in the room.
Sometimes they need to believe:
“I belong here.”
A teacher's belief in a student's potential can become part of the student's belief in themselves.
3. Excellence and positivity are not opposites
Katina is a strong believer in positive affirmation and reinforcement, but that doesn't mean lowering expectations.
In fact, she makes an important distinction: teachers can be firm, realistic and committed to excellence while still creating a positive environment.
The question isn't whether we should correct our students.
Of course we should.
The question is how we correct them.
Katina spoke about moving away from fear and shame by reframing corrections as opportunities to discover something.
Rather than isolating one student and making them feel that they have done something “wrong”, she often brings the whole class into the correction:
“I've just seen this person do it, but you might also need this correction. Let's work on it together.”
That small language change can completely alter the emotional experience of receiving correction.
The technical standard remains high, but the student isn't made to feel that their mistake reflects their worth.
4. Be careful of a deficit mindset
There is a tendency in ballet to constantly look for what needs fixing.
The leg could be higher.
The turnout could be stronger.
The feet could be more pointed.
The arms could be more coordinated.
There is, of course, value in identifying areas for improvement. But Katina and I discussed what happens when everything becomes a deficit.
If students constantly hear what is wrong, they can begin to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with them as dancers.
And in a discipline where perfection can feel like the ultimate goal, there will always be another correction.
We may need to become equally skilled at identifying what is working.
What is beautiful?
What has improved?
What quality does this dancer bring to the movement?
Where can we see effort, curiosity, musicality, commitment or individuality?
Students need to know what they can improve, but they also need to know what they already have.
5. Representation matters
Katina's story also highlights the importance of representation within dance education.
She spoke about growing up without seeing many Aboriginal people within her ballet training and about how, in her early training, there wasn't necessarily space for her to bring her cultural identity into the ballet studio.
Her reflections led us into a broader conversation about how ballet spaces can become more culturally aware and inclusive.
For teachers, this raises an important question:
Do our students feel that they can bring their whole selves into our classrooms?
Getting to know our students, their backgrounds, identities, experiences and ways of learning allows us to teach more authentically.
Katina and I also spoke about the connections between ballet and Aboriginal ways of connecting with Country, including ideas around grounding, energy, and connection.
These conversations remind us that ballet need not exist in isolation from the people who practise it.
6. A dancer's path doesn't have to be linear
One of my favourite parts of our conversation was Katina's discussion of rejection.
She spoke openly with her students about not having her contract renewed with Bangarra and how difficult that experience was at the time.
But looking back, she can see how that rejection redirected her towards opportunities, experiences and creative work that may never have happened otherwise.
It is a powerful message for young dancers.
The dance world can involve enormous amounts of rejection.
Auditions.
Exams.
Casting.
Company contracts.
Scholarships.
Competitions.
Sometimes a “no” can feel like confirmation that we aren't good enough.
But Katina's story offers another possibility:
What if rejection isn't the end of the story?
What if it is simply a different direction?
She described her experience as a redirection that ultimately reshaped her, both as an artist and as a person.
That is something young dancers need to hear.
A moment to reflect
After speaking with Katina, I found myself thinking about the environments we create as teachers.
So perhaps these are questions worth taking into the studio this week:
Do my students know that I believe in their potential?
How often do I tell students what they are doing well?
When I give a correction, does the student understand how to improve?
Could any of my language unintentionally create shame or fear?
Do my students feel that they belong in my classroom?
Am I creating opportunities for students to bring their identity and experiences into their dancing?
Do I share enough of my own journey to help students understand that successful dance careers rarely follow a straight line?
The bigger conversation
What I loved most about speaking with Katina was that our conversation kept returning to the idea that dance training is about people, not just technique.
Technique matters.
Discipline matters.
High expectations matter.
But so do belonging, joy, representation, encouragement, identity and connection.
Katina's journey demonstrates that ballet can be a foundation without becoming a limitation. Her early training gave her strength, discipline and technical knowledge, while contemporary dance, cultural connection and lived experience allowed her artistic voice to continue evolving.
And perhaps that is one of the most important things we can give our students:
a strong foundation, without telling them exactly who they have to become.
A thought to take into your studio this week
“Students need to know what they can improve, but they also need to know what they already have.”
If you'd like to hear the full conversation, listen to my episode with Katina Olsen on The Ballet Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-ballet-podcast/id1886997929?i=1000779061523
https://open.spotify.com/episode/34sVNg9cI6pWxcsncEnetp?si=SxBXuyg6RGm_umnA7slMbw