Show Up Like a Showgirl

From dancing in the mirror with a hairbrush microphone to a professional career as a dancer, singer and circus performer, I grew up in showbiz. Confidence wasn’t something I waited to feel, it was something I practised. I was taught through the performing arts to stand tall, breathe through nerves, take up space and trust myself. The stage always felt safe. Under the bright lights I was allowed to be exactly who I was and be unapologetically me.

Unfortunately, on the other side of the stage door and outside of my showbiz world, this was not always the case. Like so many women, I was told to stop showing off. Made to be quieter. Less visible. More palatable. It was a tough realisation in my adult life to find out the world didn’t always celebrate boldness, ambition or a loud sense of self. I no longer felt safe to be seen and, without realising it, the confidence I had taken for granted began to slowly slip away.

It was the moment I pivoted. I pivoted from performing into entrepreneurship. That’s when the confidence I had relied on disappeared overnight, just when I needed it the most, when I was staring into the unknown. Suddenly, without the permission of the applause, the sense of belonging to a cast, and the shiny sequin costumes to dazzle in, I questioned who I was. What was my worth without the stage? I see now that it wasn’t confidence I lost, it was the environment that allowed it to thrive.

Luckily, I realised early in my business building journey that confidence is always within you. But for confidence to thrive and shine, it needs community. It grows in safe spaces, surrounded by people who remind you who you are, cheer you on and celebrate your successes and superpowers.

That realisation is why I created PerformerPreneur®, a business and community supporting performers, past and present, to pivot and explore what’s next with confidence. My work matters because for performers to evolve, to grow and to find their next spotlight, they need their confidence to withstand uncertainty and take the first step. Confidence doesn’t grow in isolation. It grows in community. When you are surrounded by people who cheer you on, celebrate your courage and remind you who you are on the days you forget, showing up becomes possible again.

So here’s my message to you. Confidence needs to be nurtured. Find your people, because with every positive reinforcement, connection and conversation your confidence will grow. When it feels safe to once again show up like a showgirl, you will know you are in the right circle, space, spotlight and the right community. Then, and only then, you will stop hiding and confidently shine again in the spotlights of your life.