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The Diamond Method

Shine Under Pressure

You've trained it. You've rehearsed it. You've polished it.

So why doesn't the performance always show what the dancer can actually do?

In the studio, everything can look ready.

The choreography is polished.
The spacing is clean.
The dancers know the music.
The details have been drilled.
Confidence seems high.

And then the pressure of an exam, competition, audition or performance changes something.

A dancer who knew the choreography suddenly forgets.

A dancer who has performed beautifully before becomes hesitant.

A group that looked completely together in rehearsal doesn't perform with the same clarity on stage.

And everyone is left wondering:

What happened?

What if the answer isn't more?

More rehearsal.

More drilling.

More corrections.

More preparation.

More reminders to "just be confident."

These things can have their place.

But they don't always address what is happening underneath the movement when pressure changes the way a dancer accesses what they have trained.

Hope is not a strategy.

And neither is simply doing more of the same thing.

There is another layer to performance.

 

 

What's happening beneath the movement?

A dancer doesn't leave their brain backstage.

Learning, movement, stress, attention, coordination, memory and performance are all connected.

The state a dancer is in can influence what they are able to access.

And the state they need for learning and polishing choreography isn't necessarily identical to the state that supports performance under pressure.

The Diamond Method begins by looking beneath the movement.

It brings together decades of work in dance, brain integration, movement, learning and performance into a progressive methodology designed to help performers access more of what they have already trained.

Introducing The Diamond Method

A deeper way to understand, prepare and support performance

The Diamond Method is not another system for adding more hours of rehearsal.

It is a layer-by-layer approach that begins with understanding what is happening in the brain and body and progresses toward practical application in performance, teaching and studio culture.

You don't have to learn it all at once.

You go deeper as you are ready.

The Diamond Method Journey

Five levels. Five layers of depth.

LEVEL 1

FOUNDATIONS

Understand what is happening.

Begin with the principles of brain integration, learning and performance that underpin the Diamond Method.

Explore the relationship between brain state, learning state and performance state, and begin to recognize how these states can affect what a dancer is able to access.

This is where you build the foundation for everything that follows.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

Level 1 is currently delivered through:

The Missing Link in Dance Training: Brain Integration

This course was created before the Diamond Method was formally named. It contains foundational work from which the Diamond Method has grown and is being refined as the starting point for the Diamond Method journey.

$247 USD

[START WITH FOUNDATIONS]

Conference attendees: use your exclusive conference code for your special rate.

 

LEVEL 2

BACKSTAGE STRATEGIES

Know what to do when the pressure is on.

Understanding is only the beginning.

Level 2 takes the foundational concepts into the moments surrounding performance.

Learn practical strategies to help dancers recognize the effects of stress, understand their individual responses, prepare their brain and body, and create a personalized pre-performance plan.

Explore:

  • Understanding the effects of stress
  • Recognizing changes in brain state
  • Discovering individual brain profiles
  • Movement-based integration strategies
  • Solo, partner and small-group strategies
  • Creating an effective backstage plan
  • Preparing for exams, competitions, auditions and performances

The goal isn't simply to calm nerves.

The goal is to help the dancer access more of what they have already trained when it matters.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

Backstage Strategies

A recorded program based on the original live teaching of the Diamond Method Backstage Strategies series.

$497 USD

[EXPLORE BACKSTAGE STRATEGIES]

Conference attendees: use your exclusive conference code for your special rate.

And this is only the beginning.

The Diamond Method gets deeper as you move from understanding the individual performer to changing the environment around them.

LEVEL 3

IN STUDIO

Bring the Diamond Method into the actual teaching and training.

How does this understanding change the way you teach?

How do you apply it while dancers are learning choreography, developing skills, rehearsing and preparing to perform?

Level 3 moves from knowing about the Diamond Method to learning how to deliberately apply it in the studio.

COMING JANUARY 2027

The inaugural Level 3 cohort will be a guided, year-long journey into application, experimentation, live teaching, questions, feedback and implementation.

More details and enrollment will be announced as we move toward the January 2027 cohort.

LEVEL 4

STUDIO CULTURE

Go beyond individual strategies to transform the environment.

What happens when the principles of the Diamond Method become part of the way a studio teaches, communicates, prepares dancers and creates its learning environment?

Level 4 explores the deeper layer of studio culture.

This is where the method moves beyond individual teachers and dancers and begins to shape the experience of the studio as a whole.

COMING IN THE FUTURE

Level 4 will follow the Level 3 journey and provide an even deeper layer of application for teachers and studio owners.

LEVEL 5

MASTERY

Take the Diamond Method beyond your own studio.

Level 5 is for experienced practitioners who want to develop the depth, skill and confidence to bring the Diamond Method into new performance environments and eventually teach the method themselves.

This will be a significantly deeper mentorship pathway, including extended mentoring, application, competency development and, for those who meet the requirements, the possibility of licensing to teach the Diamond Method under the Diamond Method name.

This level is not simply about completing courses.

It is about becoming someone I can trust to carry the methodology forward.

Where will your Diamond Method journey take you?

I'M A DANCER

Start with Foundations and Backstage Strategies to understand yourself better and develop practical strategies you can use before exams, competitions, auditions and performances.

I'M A DANCE TEACHER

Begin with the foundations, learn the backstage strategies, and then continue into In Studio to discover how the Diamond Method can change the way you teach.

I'M A STUDIO OWNER

Explore the full journey toward bringing the Diamond Method into your studio, eventually creating a deeper studio-wide approach to learning, performance and culture.

I WANT TO TEACH THE METHOD

The long-term pathway leads toward Mastery, where experienced practitioners may have the opportunity to become licensed Diamond Method educators.

This is about more than a better performance.

It's about understanding why a dancer can know something in one moment and struggle to access it in another.

It's about recognizing that the answer isn't always more drilling.

It's about giving teachers another lens through which to understand their dancers.

It's about helping dancers develop a different relationship with pressure.

And ultimately, it's about creating the conditions for dancers to reveal more of what is already within them.

Because brilliance isn't always missing.

Sometimes something is simply getting in the way of accessing it.

The Diamond Method helps you discover what's beneath the movement — and begin removing the blocks to brilliance.

The Diamond Method is for you if...

  • You've watched a dancer perform beautifully in rehearsal and then struggle on stage.
  • You've wondered why some dancers seem to "fall apart" under pressure.
  • You've tried more rehearsal, more preparation and more encouragement — but still see inconsistent results.
  • You want to understand what stress is actually doing rather than simply telling dancers to manage their nerves.
  • You want practical strategies, not just more theory.
  • You believe dancers deserve more than being told to "try harder."
  • You want to understand the brain-body connection within dance training.
  • You're ready to explore what may be happening beneath the movement.
 

About Mariah-Jane Thies

Mariah-Jane Thies has spent nearly four decades exploring what happens beneath the movement — and how understanding it can change the way dancers learn, train and perform.

A dance educator, mentor and movement specialist, Mariah-Jane has been bringing her work at the intersection of dance, brain integration, movement and learning to dancers and teachers around the world since 2014 through international dance conferences, workshops and professional development.

Her work was recognized with the Royal Academy of Dance Innovation in Dance Teacher Award in 2024, celebrating her innovative approach to dance education and her ongoing exploration of how movement, learning and brain integration can support dancers' development and performance.

Her professional background spans nearly 40 years of teaching ballet, modern, jazz, musical theatre, creative dance and conditioning. She is a Registered RAD teacher, mentor and supervisor, a certified Brain Gym consultant and instructor, and has extensive training in developmental movement and other movement-based approaches to learning.

Mariah-Jane has also founded and directed her own dance studio, mentored dance teachers for decades, and shared her work on the TEDx stage through her talk, “Your Movement Habits Create Your Life.”

The Diamond Method is the evolution of this work.

It brings together the knowledge, experience and discoveries developed through decades of teaching, observing and working with dancers and educators — organized into a progressive methodology that allows performers, teachers and studios to go deeper, layer by layer.

Her goal isn't simply to help dancers move better.

It's to help dancers, teachers and studios understand what is happening beneath the movement so they can begin removing the blocks that prevent brilliance from being fully expressed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to complete Level 1 before taking Level 2?

Ideally, yes. Level 1 provides the foundation for understanding the concepts that Level 2 puts into practical performance application.

If you've already completed substantial training with me in brain integration, you may already have some of this foundation.

Is this only for competition dancers?

No.

The Diamond Method applies to situations where performers need to access what they have trained under pressure — including exams, competitions, auditions, performances and other high-stakes situations.

Can dancers take the Diamond Method on their own?

Yes. Levels 1 and 2 can be valuable for individual dancers who want to understand their own responses and develop strategies for preparing themselves.

The deeper Levels 3 and 4 are primarily designed around teachers, coaches and studios.

Are Levels 3 and 4 available now?

Not yet.

Level 3: In Studio begins its first cohort in January 2027.

The deeper levels are intentionally being developed as progressive implementation experiences rather than simply creating one enormous course library.

How long will Level 3 take?

The first Level 3 journey is expected to unfold over approximately a year.

Because it is focused on application, the experience will include teaching, experimentation, implementation and opportunities to ask questions and receive support rather than simply consuming a large amount of content all at once.

What is Level 5?

Level 5 is the future Mastery pathway for experienced practitioners who want to take the Diamond Method into other performance markets and potentially teach it under the Diamond Method name.

It will involve significant mentoring, application and competency development and may include a licensing agreement.

Start Your Diamond Method Journey

You don't have to change everything at once.

You simply have to begin seeing the performance experience through a different lens.

START WITH THE FOUNDATIONS

Level 1 — Foundations

The Missing Link in Dance Training: Brain Integration

$247 USD

[START LEVEL 1]

THEN GO DEEPER

Level 2 — Backstage Strategies

Practical strategies for preparing for performance under pressure.

$497 USD

[START LEVEL 2]

AND KEEP GOING

Level 3 — In Studio

First cohort beginning January 2027.

The Diamond Method is a journey, not a single course.

Start where you are.

Go deeper when you're ready.

And discover what becomes possible when you stop looking only at the movement — and start looking at what's beneath it.