Notes
Notes in the margins.
Small reflections from the studio and from leading people. Read one, and carry it into your day.
Reflections
Things I keep relearning.
Short notes from the studio and from leading people. Some of them grew into essays; all of them are reminders to myself.
On leading
- Trust is built in small, repeated moments, not big speeches.
- The kindest feedback is specific, brief and about the work, never the person.
- A calm leader gives everyone else permission to be calm.
- Notice the quietest person in the room. Then make room for them.
- High standards and warmth are partners, not opposites.
At the barre
- Pliés before pirouettes. The basics carry everything else.
- The mirror does not care about your title. It simply tells the truth.
- Lightness is built on strength.
- Choose your spot, and return to it quickly.
- Nobody ever outgrows the barre.
On care
- Grace is discipline you can no longer see.
- People remember the small thing done beautifully.
- Honour the people who prepare the stage.
- Care is a craft. It is practised, not improvised.
- End with thanks. Every class does.
Words I keep
On habit and excellence.
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
The second line is often credited to Aristotle. It was actually written by Will Durant, summarising Aristotle’s ideas. Ballet dancers have known it for centuries.
More, at length
Read the Journal
Essays on people-first leadership, emotional intelligence and lessons from the barre.