Year 7 - huge anxiety over dance

[Lillylolz]

Year 7 - huge anxiety over dance

My daughter has just started yr7 and part of the curriculum is dance, she’s had it a few times now and she absolutely hates it as she struggles to follow and learn and memorize the routine. She feels embarrassed and humiliated. Shes struggling to sleep the night before due to crying so much…. The rest of starting yr7 has been great, she’s made friends, embracing her lessons and trying hard with her homework etc. But this dance is really taking the wind out of her sails and causing stress and anxiety. I’ve told her to tell school how she feels. Is there anything else I can do? Will she get used to it? She also hates getting changed in front of everybody as feels self concious and the room they get changed in is tiny.

Thanks 🙏

I've been a Head of PE for many years and dance is often a topic I get children worried about. Call her PE/dance teacher on the phone to make them aware. They can help manage her anxiety around it and provide support. No teacher wants to think a child is crying and worrying about their lessons the night before.

Getting changed is trickier as secondary schools only have limited spaces and timetables aren't flexible to allow individual children to change separately elsewhere. Is there something specifically that worries her? If her main concern is body image then that's something to work on with her at home but it might be more simple such as embarrassed of her underwear? Practicing changing to PE kit at home might help so she can get faster at it (less time undressed in front of her peers).

I'd have thought starting Y7 with dance in PE would unsettle a number of students. Definitely let school know there are concerns about both the current activity and the getting changed.

Great advice from above to make sure she doesn't want some different underwear (permanently, or just for PE days), and to practice getting changed.