Finally get better. Every. Single. Practice.

I started dancing in 1998 and reached S Class within roughly four years. I was ranked 7th in the German ranking list and was a member of the German national squad. My biggest achievements were probably 7th place in the final at the Blaues Band der Spree and 6th place at the ranking tournament at Dance Comp. I have been teaching as a dance sport coach and dance teacher since 2002. Since 2023, I have specialised in mental coaching for competitive dancers.

In the lower classes, I was used to success. At smaller competitions, I was usually on the podium and dreamed of S Class. When I made it, I was briefly overjoyed. But the ‘dream’ quickly turned into a nightmare.

Results stagnated. Because of a lack of experience and knowledge, my new dance partner, who was also my partner in private life, and I trained completely without a plan and therefore without success. We hoped to improve through countless repetitions. Instead, we only drilled our mistakes deeper.

And every time something did not work, I became angry – first at myself, then at her. So we argued every day, or rather, I scolded. She stayed silent most of the time. I had stomach aches before every free practice because I already knew how it would end.

Before major competitions such as the German Championship, Blackpool or the GOC, stage fright set in about two weeks beforehand, so strongly that I was on the toilet ten times a day.

At competitions, my body usually switched into survival mode. I could only feel it at about 30%. My dance partner suddenly felt completely different too. Whether out of panic or ambition, she usually gave much more energy than in practice, which caught me cold every time and stressed me even more. Our competition results were correspondingly poor.

In the end, both the dance partnership and the relationship broke apart.

This self-made hell made me search for a way out. I was simply tired of suffering. From therapy, self-study, coaching and a few ‘fortunate circumstances’, I gradually developed my current approach: practice smartly and harmoniously, perform optimally.

Today, I help competitive dancers take this path much earlier than I did.