The SonderFlow Collective
The Mental Side of Dance
A workshop for competitive dancers that help build inner skills technique alone can't teach.
You barely slept last night...
because you were up late packing, prepping and priming for the long weekend ahead of you. You're tired and those are just the logistics. You still have at least one child to attend to who is having a meltdown in the bathroom because her eyelashes won't stay on. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just go grab some coffee as they walk themselves through their own meltdown and de-escelate?
This is where I come in.
Performance Edge
This workshops gives your dancer the tools they need to regulate, recover, and perform at their best. Made for competitive dancers by a competitive dancer who's been on both sides of the stage.
The Gain
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Work it - practice skills that will help dancer move themselves from frantic to steady and anxious to confident
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Make it - a stronger performance through quieting their inner critic and accessing star quality stage presence
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Do it - for the emotional and physical recovery
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Makes us - have a better relationship with dance and with ourselves AND makes us harder, better, faster, stronger (obviously).
The Series
A 4 Session Series. Session Length: 60 minutes each. Best Fit: Competitive dancers, ages 8–18. Where: Delivered on-site at your studio. Scheduling: Weekly, or spaced leading up to a competition.
Know Your Nervous System
Competition nerves aren't the enemy. Dancers learn to identify their own activation signals and build tools to move from anxious to ready. Skills include grounding, orienting, and havening for pre-performance anxiety.
Your Body As The Instrument
Recovery, rest, and listening to signals. Somatic awareness skills help dancers distinguish productive discomfort from signals that need attention. Includes self-compassion practices and tools for post-comp recovery.
Parts on Stage
The inner critic, the perfectionist, the freeze-up. Using accessible parts-based language, dancers externalize and work with the inner voices that show up under pressure. ACT defusion tools help them unhook from self-doubt mid-performance.
Performance State On Demand
Putting it all together. Dancers build a personalized pre-performance ritual and somatic anchor they can use on competition day — and leave with a toolkit that travels with them.
Who's Behind This
Breanna Sacco is a licensed clinical counselor, competitive dance choreographer, and movement educator with over 25 years on stage and in the studio.
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She's choreographed award-winning competition routines — including a Choreography Award at Ovation, Breakout, and ADC in 2026 — and holds advanced training in dance movement therapy, somatic approaches, EMDR, IFS, DBT, and ACT.
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She brings both worlds into the room: the lived experience of a competitive dancer and the clinical skills of a therapist. This isn't a generic mental health talk. It's practical, body-based, and built specifically for what dancers face.
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Credentials: LCPC (Illinois) · LMHC (Washington) · Dance Movement Therapy · EMDR Trained
DISCLAIMER
This workshop series is educational and wellness-focused. It is not a substitute for mental health treatment or therapy.