From Artist to Practitioner: Mental Skills Training in Music and Dance
Date: Tuesday, February 27th, 1:30pm-3:30pm EST
This webinar will explore the perspectives and experiences of two mental skills practitioners who have worked professionally both as performers and practitioners in dance and music. Arianna Shimits is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant who has worked with a wide variety of clients within the performing arts and in sport. Previously, she danced professionally at the Washington Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and the Colorado Ballet. Carolyn Christie is a trained mental performance skills consultant (Master's in Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa) who has conducted mental skills workshops at institutions across North America. She was previously the Second Flute Chair at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and is currently a faculty member for flute performance at the University of Ottawa. The webinar will explore the challenges present in dance and music performance contexts and how mental skills training can be implemented to further artistic development and well-being.
Admission is free, but registration is required. Registration is now closed. |
Presenters:
Arianna Ciccarelli Shimits, AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultant
Former Professional Dancer Arianna Shimits completed her Master’s degree in Sport and Performance psychology at the University of Denver and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. While working towards her BA she danced professionally at the Washington Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and the Colorado Ballet. She performed soloist and corps de ballet roles in ballets choreographed by Petipa, Balanchine, Tudor, Tharp, Webre, Deane, Liang, York, and Stevenson. After retiring from ballet Arianna pursued an MA in Sport and Performance Psychology (SPP), believing that the performing arts could benefit from the skills and training offered by SPP. Additionally, Arianna is a doctoral student at Springfield College studying Counseling Psychology. Throughout her graduate school education, she has worked with dancers, musicians, runners, basketball players, soccer players, cyclists, surgeons, first responders, and adults with eating disorders. She is passionate about helping people perform at their best and believes that complementing rigorous physical training with SPP will help performers of all ages achieve exactly that. Arianna is a CMPC at Persistence Psych, a sport and performance psychology practice she founded in 2022. |
Carolyn Christie, Mental Performance Skills Consultant
Montreal Symphony (retired) Carolyn Christie is a retired Montreal Symphony Orchestra flutist, now trained in mental performance skills coaching. She uses her 40 years of experience on stage coupled with her sports psychology training while working with professionals and students across North America to assist them to excel in their performances. Carolyn won the Second Flute Chair of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) in 1978, after beginning her orchestral career with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. With the OSM she toured 40 times, performing in Europe, Asia, South America and North America. Ms. Christie performed in Carnegie Hall on many occasions and has appeared on about 100 recordings. A devoted pedagogue, Carolyn taught on the faculties of the University of Alberta, Concordia University, and the Conservatoire de Quebec à Montréal, as well as Domaine Forget and The National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Many of her former students perform with orchestras in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Upon retirement from the OSM in 2014, Carolyn Christie attended the University of Ottawa, where she earned a Masters degree in Human Kinetics (MHK), with a concentration in Intervention and Consultation. Carolyn adapted her MHK work to the performing arts, and now leads workshops and offers private counselling to professional and student musicians, teaching them mental skills that can assist them to perform up to their potential under stress. She has worked with clients from North America, Asia, and Europe. |