Conditioning for Young Performing Artists®
Somatic and perceptual support for young artists
Young performers often learn to keep going before they know how to listen to what their body is telling them.
A child or teenager may be talented, disciplined, and highly motivated, while also carrying pain, fatigue, and performance anxiety.
This work supports young musicians, dancers, actors, and public speakers with the body, movement, and the relationship between performance and self-trust.
It is not about pushing harder. It is about helping the young performer have more support, more awareness, and more choice.
What we work with
This work may support young performers navigating:
performance stress or stage anxiety
pain, tension, or recurring injury patterns
posture and movement habits around an instrument
breath, jaw, shoulder, spine, or balance issues
recovery after falls, procedures, illness, or overtraining
perfectionism, pressure, or fear of making mistakes
the transition between practice, audition, and performance
a body that tightens, collapses, or works too hard under pressure
Young performers are still growing. Their bodies, identities, and nervous systems are still developing. The work is paced with that in mind.
How the work happens
We may work with Body Mapping, movement inquiry, breath, balance, imagery, sound, visual attention, somatic tracking, gentle regulation practices, or simple ways to help the body understand itself more clearly.
Sometimes we begin with the instrument, posture, or a specific tension pattern. The work is adapted to the young person in front of me, not to a fixed protocol.
For parents
Parents are welcome to be involved in the process, especially with younger students. The goal is to help the young performer feel supported outside the session in simple, practical ways
“I'm Oksana and I'm 16 years old. I've been playing the flute and taking ballet lessons for years now, and I'm pretty good at both. But, I've been dealing with some major pain in my body because of my flute posture and the intense dance training schedule. My left knee's been giving me some trouble too, and the doctor recommended surgery if I want to keep dancing. My parents booked me online sessions with Bianca and she taught me about body awareness, which was kind of weird at first, like paying attention to my breathing, eye movement, jaw, shoulder blades and other body parts I never thought about. She taught me how to notice my thoughts while practicing or performing. I never realized how much my breathing was holding me back until I started working with her. Bianca's pretty cool to work with - she always comes up with unexpected things that somehow work! Now, I move better, can play the flute longer, and my dance frame is way better. I might still need knee surgery in the future, but for now, the doctor says that the knee is stable.”