So, you’re in ballet class, pirouettes from the corner. Chasse pas de bourree, prepare…
You almost do a nice clean double, except for an annoying little hop at the end. Slightly frustrated, you grit your teeth and tell yourself “get it right next time” as you chasse pas de bourree and prepare for the next turn.
More of a hop, plus you lose your placement.
You sneak a sideways glance at your teacher to check if they noticed your blunder… Phew, you got away with it.
Chasse pas de bourree, prepare…
This time you fling way off balance and your turn is a total write off. You walk away with your head down, pretending you twisted your ankle to avoid facing the terrible reality that… (gulp) you failed.
Your teacher calls out a correction to you. You feel even worse. Nod pathetically and hope they won’t make you repeat it.
Inside, you’re frustrated and angry at yourself, “Why can’t I do this? I’m so crap at turning! This is so humiliating! I’m never going to be able to turn!”
Eventually, you become so afraid of stuffing up your turns that you get all tense and edgy even just thinking about doing a pirouette!
The trouble is, you’re looking at failure all the wrong way.