Performing Well Blog

Performing Well is a blog to experience wellness and its unique challenges through the lens of the performing artist. A resource for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance community, and beyond, provided by our SMTD Wellness Ambassadors.

Your source for inclusive informal content, conversation, interviews, wellness resources, and more.

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Graphics of five choir singers stand holding black folders. Three stand on a riser behind, and two stand in front. One additional singer sits on a chair near the others with a folder in hand. A graphic water bottle and thermometer are on the left side, while two stage lights shine overhead.

17 Feb 2025

Prioritizing Performer Well-Being in the Choir Concert

The graphic shows a girl frowning, with closed eyes and red marks indicating pain at the jaw and temples. She wears a light purple shirt and holds a silver euphonium.

10 Feb 2025

Admitting You Need Help: My Experience with Performance Injury

The graphic shows a boy sitting with crossed legs, smiling, and pointing at a phone. Around him, yellow blobs of text display the affirmations: “I can do this,” “I trust myself,” “I am not alone,” “My art matters,” and “I am loved.” The background is a blue gradient.

03 Feb 2025

The Performing Artist’s Guide to Affirmations

The graphic displays the title, “Practicing and Wellness,” along with the subtext, “An EXCEL Log Re-Post by Casey Boyer, MM Viola and Chamber Music.” The background is light blue with an image of Casey holding her viola and decorative white lines.

13 Dec 2024

Practicing and Wellness

This graphic image depicts drawings of three children. One is smiling and using a mobility aid, one is playing guitar and using a wheelchair, and one is singing into a microphone. The background is light blue with red and corral-colored swirls.

06 Dec 2024

Inclusivity and Wellness: Adaptive Music Lessons in Special Education

Graphic depictions of three Latinx children show them playing instruments: one with a microphone, one with a keyboard, and one with maracas. Reddish swirls decorate the blue background.

22 Nov 2024

Representation and Wellness: Latinx Storytelling in The House on Mango Street

Two graphics of women pop out against a light purple background decorated with flowers. One plays a guitar while the other in a wheelchair listens to music through headphones.

11 Nov 2024

Teaching with Wellness in Mind

A woman in an orange sweater sits with an open notebook, eyes closed and smiling. Music notes, falling leaves, and a calendar decorate the blue background.

04 Nov 2024

Amidst the Storm: Learning How to Pace Yourself Mid-Semester

The graphic depicts a woman in pink clothes doing yoga and a cartoon brain holding up a glowing lightbulb.

07 Oct 2024

Fluidity and Focus: Toward the Pursuit of Emotional Liberation

Three musicians march across a light yellow background with a saxophone, cymbals, and clarinet. Light blue music notes decorate the background.

27 Sep 2024

Music’s Role in Enhancing Physical Well-being: Insights from Michigan Marching Band

The graphic shows the title on top of a purple-blue gradient with decorative swirls in yellow and green. Four graphics around the text depict a woman seated in meditation, a thought bubble with plus and minus signs, a broken knee, and a judicial scale.

16 Sep 2024

Avoiding Sunk Cost Fallacy to Prioritize Well-being

The graphic depicts a light pink sticky note pinned to a board. The note has a yellow smiley face in the middle. Six arrows point away from the face, each pointing to one of the following words: creative, friend, kind, sibling, introvert, and funny.

26 Aug 2024

“You Beyond the Music”: A Conversation with Annie McPherson

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