document the journey (Mercy Salloum)

a note from the interviewer, Prisha:

so young and so wise. 🥹 it was such a joy talking to Mercy because she has such a unique perspective on dance, cross-training, and confidence.

we also talked about documenting the journey and how even the little things can add up to big progress, and i could not agree more.

DanceVibes and danZING did not become what they are on day one. it started with a few late nights, then more late nights, and just kept building from there. i absolutely loved this conversation with Mercy, and i really think so many dancers could benefit from her perspective on work ethic and growth.

“We love dance with, like, our whole life”

For Mercy, dance is not something that fits neatly into one hour after school. She dances six days a week and describes it as her life. That level of commitment can be difficult for non-dancers to understand, especially when it means missing school, parties, or hangouts.

But Mercy is not describing those missed plans as a sacrifice she constantly regrets. Sometimes, she says, dancers are simply fine with missing one hangout because they love dancing so much. “That's life.”

She also wants people outside dance to understand the physical work involved. Dancers are not just showing up, dancing for a minute, and going home. Mercy talks about training for hours—sometimes six hours a day—and the hard physical work that comes with it.

“We love dance, and that... nothing will take our love ever away from dance.”

That love is part of what makes the demanding schedule feel worth it. It is also why dance can feel like “a whole other life” compared with what non-dancers see from the outside.

Why cross-training became an important part of Mercy’s progress

Mercy started looking more seriously at cross-training after noticing that some of her peers’ skills were developing faster than hers. Her teachers told her she needed more strength, and that her alignment was out of place. Instead of only repeating the same skills over and over, she began personal training and Pilates.

The difference, she says, was significant. She became stronger, her alignment started improving, and her skills developed faster than before.

One of Mercy’s most useful observations is that a dancer may not always be missing more repetitions. Sometimes the missing piece is somewhere else: strength, alignment, or the right drill.

“You sometimes are missing puzzle pieces where it could be strength, maybe your alignment, and even just, like, drills.”

That changes the question from “Why can’t I get this skill yet?” to “What part of my training needs attention?” Instead of drilling the complete skill “a million times,” Mercy recommends working on the drills that support it.

She also has a mindset warning for dancers who are working hard but becoming discouraged: do not be so hard on yourself that you lose your confidence. More pressure is not always more progress.

Cross-training is more than physical training

Mercy’s cross-training has not only been about getting stronger. She has also been modeling, which has helped her feel more confident onstage and become more comfortable performing for a camera.

She has been attending acting camp too. That has given her a way to work on character and emotions—not only during a performance, but while practicing dances in the studio.

For Mercy, that is part of what cross-training really means. It can include physical preparation, but it can also support the mental and performance-related parts of being a dancer.

What to do when your progress feels slower than everyone else’s

Mercy is open about the fact that progress can take time. Some people may try a skill and get it immediately. Her own progress, she says, can take longer.

That does not make her journey less valid. It makes comparison especially unhelpful.

“Everybody else's journey is different.”

Her advice is to focus on your own goals and work on what you actually need. If flexibility is the area that needs attention, work on flexibility. If strength is the issue, do strength drills. A dancer does not have to chase every skill another dancer is working on.

Mercy also recommends taking videos and looking back at them later. A video from a year ago can show changes that are hard to notice day by day—whether that is improvement in a skill, performance quality, or confidence.

That kind of record can be a useful reality check when the thought “I’m not good enough” starts getting loud. You may not feel different every week, but the comparison between an older video and a current one can make progress visible.

Celebrate the corrections you finally fix

Progress is not only about landing a major skill. Mercy points to the smaller wins too. If a teacher has been giving you the same correction for a while and you finally fix it, that is an accomplishment.

“Even if it's just small, just accomplish it.”

Those moments matter because they give dancers evidence that their work is doing something. They also help build confidence without requiring a dramatic breakthrough every time.

How Mercy stays committed on difficult days

Training six days a week requires more than excitement. There will be days when a dancer is tired, frustrated, or struggling with a skill. When Mercy feels her confidence dropping, she tries to remember her “why.”

She thinks about why she loves dance, why she started, and how she feels onstage. For Mercy, that feeling became especially clear during her first competition, when she went onstage and immediately fell in love with dancing.

That memory gives her something to return to when training feels difficult. If she is thinking, “Oh, my gosh, I can’t get this skill,” she tries to remember why she came to dance and why she continues to do it so much.

Her other reminders are the ones she returns to throughout the conversation: do not compare, and trust the process.

Scissors and squishies: what is in Mercy’s dance bag?

Every dancer has a dance-bag answer, and Mercy’s is a memorable one. The most random item in her bag is a pair of scissors. She learned to sew her first pointe shoes and needed them for that—but she admits she probably should have taken them out because they are not safe to carry around casually.

She also keeps squishies in her bag to help get stress out.

It is a funny list, but it also fits the reality of spending so much time at the studio. Dancers carry the things they need for training, for repairs, and sometimes simply to stay calm and collected.

Why ballet and footwork matter to Mercy

Mercy practices ballet every day because she sees it as a major part of dance. In her opinion, there is always some sense of ballet in every dance style.

Her path to pointe shoes also came through patient, consistent work. When she was younger, her feet were not very strong and were sickled. She began doing footwork every day, including band exercises, calf raises, and other foot exercises.

The important part was not that each individual exercise looked dramatic. It was that she kept doing the small things.

“Even, like, just practicing small little things every day that might not seem that they're helping, they will help.”

After about two years of foot training, she noticed a major improvement and got her pointe shoes. Her experience is a strong example of how consistency can be difficult to appreciate while you are in the middle of it. The work may feel tiny on one day, but the result can look very different after months and years.

Mercy’s dream app for dancers

If Mercy could create a dream app or website for dancers, it would combine training resources with performance and confidence support.

She imagines separate tabs for foot exercises, turns, and jumps. A dancer could choose an area and receive different drills to practice. The purpose would be to keep working on those exercises so the dancer’s skills could improve.

She would also include a performance section for dancers who need help with basic stage-related skills, along with confidence tips and a place to write notes.

That idea reflects many of the themes in Mercy’s own training. Dancers do not only need more combinations. Sometimes they need a drill, a reminder, a performance tool, or a way to remember that they have already prepared.

As she points out, a dancer may feel stressed before a competition even after completing the rehearsals. A reminder that you did the work and are prepared can be just as useful as another exercise.

How documenting dance helped Mercy become more confident

Mercy’s Instagram presence grew out of a simple habit: recording herself while she practices. She films stretching, foot exercises, turns, jumps, and even random moments from training.

At first, she did not always feel comfortable sharing what she filmed. She remembers thinking, “No, don't post that,” including when the video showed her failing.

Over time, posting became easier. She says that having more than 2,500 supporters following her journey has really brought her confidence up. Sharing the videos also helped people connect with her account, and she has made new friends through social media.

Her advice for dancers who want to start posting is practical: document the process first. The videos can help you see your progress, and later they can become content for your page.

You also do not have to wait until every video feels perfect. If a video does not perform well, Mercy says she deletes it. That makes posting feel less permanent and less intimidating.

The important part is getting past the hardest step: actually posting the video.

Mercy’s advice to dancers who feel discouraged

Mercy’s last piece of advice brings the whole conversation together. Whether a dancer is struggling with confidence, a skill, comparison, or slow progress, she says not to give up.

“You just gotta keep practicing, believe in yourself.”

She also talks about the power of the way dancers speak to themselves. Telling yourself, “I will get this skill” or “I will do good on this performance” can help raise your confidence.

Her final reminder is to stay with the work long enough to see what changes. A year from now, you may look back and be amazed by how much you have progressed.

“Never give up because you never know that in maybe a year later, you're gonna look back and be amazed on how much you have progressed.”

That is not a promise that every skill will happen quickly. It is an invitation to keep showing up long enough for your progress to become visible.

why this matters:

so young and so wise. 🥹 it was such a joy talking to Mercy because she has such a unique perspective on dance, cross-training, and confidence.

we also talked about documenting the journey and how even the little things can add up to big progress, and i could not agree more.

DanceVibes and danZING did not become what they are on day one. it started with a few late nights, then more late nights, and just kept building from there. i absolutely loved this conversation with Mercy, and i really think so many dancers could benefit from her perspective on work ethic and growth.