If you are struggling with self-criticism, or can’t seem to finish or start  to create work, If you find yourself continuously comparing yourself or competing with others, riddled with performance anxiety, or unable to promote your work, or feeling like you’ll have to sell out in order to be successful…..

 

Remember when you were a kid and everything just flowed creatively - EASILY? You played, you made stuff up, you performed it for your friends, neighborhood, your cat - there was no fear, just the thrill of getting everyone to stop for a moment and come into your world? You were known for  your artsy antics and someone told you to "keep doing it, kid" and so you kept at it until you were actually pretty good?  

 

Adults, teachers, or counselors encouraged you to "go for it" and so you did and one day found yourself a professional artist, playing “for reals”, up against the best in what seemed like a never-ending pool of really talented professional artists and maybe it was at this point that you thought to yourself, "oh sh*$%! What have I got myself into? Who do I think I am?"

 

And all of a sudden your creative flow of inspiration just stopped. Or maybe just slowed.  Your work became tedious. Or it became sloppy.  Whatever the case, the pieces were there, you dutifully put them together one after the other,  but when you look at the result it’s just not adding up to the creative greatness you once felt you had in you?  

 

I'm telling you this about this experience of dreading my work because I’ve lived it …

And I can tell you that there is this perpetuated idea that the bigger your success, or the bigger your talent, the easier it gets:

 

MYTH: Professional, successful artists don't experience anxiety or fear when approaching their craft.

 

The truth is quite opposite as you might have discovered by now. The reality is that professional artists often face more pressure as they step into the role of "professional artist."

 

TRUTH: The bigger and more successful you get, the bigger the pressure to be great.

 

There are a whole set of skills your music teacher, dance teacher, or mentor, probably never taught you.  Some of it was natural to you when you were a kid before you started clogging up your creative flow with self-doubt and judgement. Other things, like how to refine your work, how to put yourself out into the world but stay true to yourself, and how to build a community that actually supports you - these were never taught to you.  No one ever told you about the day you would stare down the very stage you used to love and dread getting up there.  No one ever told you how to cope with hanging in the lonely space between working projects.  How to keep your momentum going and how not to be scared sh*#$less that all your “best” work was behind you.

 

How would it feel to have a creative formula that served as a barometer to know when you’re working for or against yourself in the studio? What would it look like to KNOW EXACTLY what you are about so that you exist in a category ALL YOUR OWN and are free from the need to compete with other performers? How would it feel to steer your own career, to have an internal GPS system that was so strong, you would never ever doubt your own choices ever again?  Imagine. . . getting off stage and feeling GREAT about it and thinking, “That was so fun! What’s next?”

 

The good news it that all that IS possible.

 

You can rise as a performer and keep your sanity and soul doing it.

 

There are effective ways of easing the negativity in your head so you can get down to business and actually do the creative work. There are ways you can work with your “zany creative brain,” and still get started, keep going, and complete work that you not only love, but enjoy the process of creating! Can you imagine THAT? Your work CAN be authentic and still successful at the same time - you don’t have to sell your soul to “make it”. And in fact, those who are most powerful don’t. And believe it or not, it is possible to be able to speak about what you do and even promote yourself! without sounding arrogant or pushy.  It is actually possible to be confident and elegant about sharing your gift - and I can see that for you.

 

Not only is all of this possible, but it’s essential.  

These 90% skills are the ones that I see make or break so many careers.  Performers and creators maybe have one of the skills, but they are haunted by another which creates an inability to cope with success or feelings of fear or unworthiness:

 

You can either struggle and be a starving artist, or sell out and be successful.

That’s what the powers that be would have you think.

 

But there is another path, less spoken of.  And that is of the thriving performer.  The bliss filled creator.  Someone who is so aligned and compelled and obsessed (in a good way) with what they are doing that they are like a fast moving train zipping along the tracks.  These performers and creatives, in addition to being good at their craft, have the other 90% skills.  The balance that helps them stay in line with their deepest passion and rise at the same time.

 

I’m Holly Shaw and I’m a working choreographer and a Creativity Coach. I’ve curated and produced dozens of shows, and coached hundreds of artists from Grammy nominated musicians to world class dancers.  

 

 

Just like you, I was born to perform and create work and was starring in film at 16, dancing on stages all over the world by 23, and by 30 was producing my own shows. Since then, I’ve completed and presented over five hundred pieces of choreography and had my work commissioned and funded by the West Wave Festival, Edinburgh Arts Festival and funded by the Hewlett Foundation for the Arts.  

 

 

But my favorite thing to do, what I’m really passionate about, is helping other performers and creators make original work and KILL it onstage without selling out or losing their sanity.