Being Content in Creating Content:
How to Create and Share Your Content in a Healthy Way
By Rapha Conrad
For dancers, the impulse to create and perform never really goes away. There might be days that you’re not able to take classes, go to rehearsals, or book professional gigs. Still, there’s always that tug—the need to move, to express, and to share. I must be honest… life doesn’t pause so we can focus on dance. Many of us are balancing non-dance jobs to pay the bills, caring for families who rely on us, or pouring time and energy into projects outside of the
dance world. With so much on your plate, creating and sharing dance content (on Instagram, YouTube, or anywhere else) can easily shift from joy into a source of stress.
The key to sustain your artistry is this…
CREATE WITHOUT SACRIFICING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. In my last blog, I talked about how I slowly got back into moving and sharing my dance content after a setback. In this blog, we are going to talk about maintaining that momentum whether you are a working dancer incorporating content creation or want to pursue a path into being a content creator
while balancing your daily life.
1. Redefine What “Dance Content” Looks Like
It’s easy to think content must look polished, professional, or trend focused. Dancers thrive on authenticity, not perfection. To you your studio might be your living room, bedroom, outside. If it’s safe to move, that’s valid. If you only have five minutes during your lunch break to improvise, that’s still artistry.
When you’re working a 9-to-5, caring for kids, or running non-dance projects, your time is already stretched. Instead of aiming for long, elaborate routines or cinematic videos, embrace simplicity. Snippets of movement, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your process, or even your reflections on what dance means to you right now can connect deeply with others.
Reminder: your lived reality or life experience is part of your artistry. Dance in the margins of your life and let that be enough.
2. Take the Time for Dance like Self-care
When your calendar is packed with work deadlines, family duties, and projects, dance can feel like the first thing to cut. For lots of dancers and content creators, movement and creating isn’t just physical. It’s emotional maintenance and brings spiritual healing.
Schedule your creative time the same way you would a doctor’s appointment or family obligation. It doesn’t have to be long; 20-60 minutes a week, which is enough to keep you connected. Treat those moments as sacred, even if they’re small. If you’re a parent, maybe it’s when the kids are asleep. If you’re juggling jobs, maybe it’s early morning before the day gets loud, or later the day when everything starts to slow down. For example, I make Friday mornings my time to choreograph or freestyle (sometimes I would film content during my me time) before I head to my day job. Sometimes on certain Saturdays and Sunday (depending on what my schedule is like for either chores or working on a documentary that I’m producing/co-directing), I would take certain hour to work on content (whether if it’s dance content or not).
The act of prioritizing - even in tiny doses - keeps you grounded in your identity as a dancer.
3. Batch, Repurpose, and Release at a Steady Pace
When you finally find the energy to create, maximize it. Record multiple short clips in one session, improv to different songs, or write down a handful of captions or ideas at once. Later, you can spread them out over weeks. I have learned from Youtubers, Colin & Samir, that a great way to write your ideas is to put on a timer or song(s) that is no longer than 15 minutes. Keep on writing those ideas that pop up in your head and see what you have came up with. Pick and choose on the written ideas that can work for your creative schedule.
This is a great way to prevent the constant cycle of “I need to create something new to post today,” or “My views are low! Need to post something NOW!”. You’ll have a small archive of ready-to-share content. That way, if your week is swallowed up by work deadlines or family responsibilities, you can still stay consistent without draining yourself.
4. Let Go of “Always On” Culture
Social media can make us feel like we ALWAYS must be active (posting multiple times a week or day, chasing algorithms, keeping up with trends). For dancers balancing non dance lives, this is unsustainable.
Can I be honest. You are not behind.
You can create at your own rhythm/pace, share when it feels right/in the right headspace, and take breaks without apologizing. The dance community will still be there. Your creativity doesn’t expire if it isn’t immediately shared. Give yourself permission to step back when needed. Some projects are for the world, and some are just for you. Both are valuable.
5. Find the Overlap Between Dance and Your Life
If you’re working a non-dance job, raising a family, or investing energy into other projects, you don’t always need to separate “dance life” from “real life.” Sometimes they can coexist.
When you are at work, maybe you record a movement phrase during your lunch break in the office courtyard. If your content is educational, you could probably share tips or stories related to anything with dance (Health, Audition stories, etc.).
If you’re with your family, get them involved (if they are okay to do so). When I’m with my sister, we film videos of us either doing our choreography or a comedic sketches that has dance involved.
If you’re working on projects or creatively working in a different field (writing, design, film), use that inspiration as fuel for your dancing. My choreography background has been beneficial as a producer and co-director of an upcoming documentary currently wrapping up.
Blending your worlds reduces the pressure to “make time” and instead let’s dance integrate naturally into your daily rhythm.
6. Prioritize Mental Health Above the Feed
This is SO important. If creating starts to feel more like a demand than a joy…pause. Your well-being always comes first. No content is worth your burnout.
Ask yourself:
1. Am I creating from a place of inspiration or obligation?
2. Does posting right now feel nourishing or draining?
3. Do I need to keep this piece private to protect my joy?
It’s okay to answer NO to post. Some of your best creative work may live only in your body, your journal (I highly recommend getting two journals: one for your personal, the other for your dance/creative journey), or your private archive. That doesn’t diminish its worth.
To close, every single dancer’s and creative’s artistry doesn’t disappear when life gets busy. They adapt. Dancers and content creators can create and share content while balancing jobs, family, and non-dance projects, but only if we protect our mental health in the process. Dance and Content Creation were never meant to be sources of pressure. They’re meant to be outlets, a release, and a reminder of who we are. Give yourself permission to create slowly, to share selectively, and to move with intention rather than obligation. At the same time, when we give ourselves through our art and content when we are true and joyful, the audience/people will feel that and will be inspired.
Your artistry isn’t defined by how much you post and how many views you get. It’s defined by how you nurture it, even in the busiest seasons of your life.
Need some jams for your content or to groove to? Check are my Top 5 songs to add to your playlist:
1. “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean
2. “The Big Goodbye” by AJR
3. “Not Afraid to Try” by Ben Rector
4. “SUPA GOOD” by Yung Gravy, James Brown
5. “Keep An Eye on Summer” by Jacob Collier
Oh yes! To find out more about and how you can support my documentary, “For the Kommunity”, visit projectmtythicalbeast.com.
A native of Dothan, Alabama, Rapha Conrad has been trained in dance, music, and theatre. She took dancing and acting seriously after attending Tremaine Dance in 2009. Since then, Rapha has continued with dance training, along with working with many choreographers from Justin Conte to David Moore. Plus, she has made appearances in movies, tv shows, and YouTube (like “Marvel’s Captain America 3”, “Dynasty” on the CW, “Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link”). Also, she has traveled from Atlanta to Los Angeles as a freelance choreographer and dance teacher for ten years. Besides dancing and acting, she is an online content creator and is working on her first documentary film called, “For the Kommunity” (which will premiere in early 2026). Her mission is to inspire those to be their authentic selves and keep on pursuing new realms of possibilities with a joyful heart.
Social Media Links:
Instagram.com/raphaconrad
Youtube.com/@RaphaConrad
venmo.com/Rapha-Conrad
