Nervous during competitions/showcases? Where do you get your support?

K

Kanela

New Member
This may be a stupid question... I've done a few showcases at 2 different studios and hope to do a competition soon. I get a bit anxious during the showcases, not much but I bet the adrnaline gets up there during the actual competitions? What calms you down (other than a glass of wine! :D)????? If you're doing Pro/Am - is your Pro of help or just other students? Or do you bring someone else with you (family)?

I'm thinking that especially if the Pro is also performing in Pro/Pro s/he may be focused on her/his own routines and may not have too much time for the students? I've had excellent experience with my fellow students but I also feel that assurance from the instructor once in a while, just before you hit the floor, helps? or am I off track - are we, the amatours on our own when it comes to overcoming our anxiety?
 
To be honest, i normally get less nervous about the dancing and more nervous about the "getting done up" routine. I am always so worried i wont be ready (darn eyelashes!!!), have eaten, and warmed up in time!

after that frenzy is over though, and i am waiting in row call, i normally just take a deep breath and remind myself how well i did last time, and that no matter what the results, i have only gotten better since then. Then i try to just go out and have fun because that's why i do it in the first place. :)
 
Kanela said:
This may be a stupid question... I've done a few showcases at 2 different studios and hope to do a competition soon. I get a bit anxious during the showcases, not much but I bet the adrnaline gets up there during the actual competitions? What calms you down (other than a glass of wine! :D)????? If you're doing Pro/Am - is your Pro of help or just other students? Or do you bring someone else with you (family)?

I'm thinking that especially if the Pro is also performing in Pro/Pro s/he may be focused on her/his own routines and may not have too much time for the students? I've had excellent experience with my fellow students but I also feel that assurance from the instructor once in a while, just before you hit the floor, helps? or am I off track - are we, the amatours on our own when it comes to overcoming our anxiety?
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It's not a stupid question. Ultimately, dealing with your own anxiety will be the most empowering approach to bringing out your best performance. Preparedness helps, but the best way is through experiencing the situation over and over until you develop a good strategy that works for you.
 
Experience, which makes dancing on the floor feel "normal" enough that you're in a familiar place. Only when you feel like you belong somewhere are you truly comfortable--do enough competitions, and you will feel like you belong.

Feeling comfortable with partner, etc., all helps, but cannot substitute for experience.
 
Kanela said:
What calms you down (other than a glass of wine! :D)?????
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Knowing why I might get nervous and having strategies to deal with it on my own.

Kanela said:
If you're doing Pro/Am - is your Pro of help or just other students? Or do you bring someone else with you (family)?
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In my opinion, family, unless they are also immersed in the competitive nature of dance/sports or a particularly interested or sensitive to it, normally do not have the frame of reference to provide the support needed.

I normally seek support, if needed, from other competitive dancers who are friends.

As for the Pro in Pro-ams, they may have multiple students they need to track and prepare so may not have the time to provide support at the event or before. And even if you are the sole student at an event, some pros may not see it as part of the job description or high on their priority list to help you prepare mentally for your event (I would expect they are concentrating on making sure they dance well with you on the floor).

Kanela said:
I've had excellent experience with my fellow students but I also feel that assurance from the instructor once in a while, just before you hit the floor, helps? or am I off track - are we, the amatours on our own when it comes to overcoming our anxiety?
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You may get some advice from your pro prior to the event on how to deal with anxiety, but truth to tell in my experience the majority of pro-ams are usually left to their own devices to deal with anxiety at the event.

Most pros seemed to be focused on reminding you what you need to do on the floor to perform well, not so much interested in how you feel about it. I think it just naturally happens because this is the area they've been working with you on in preparation for the event. I think it's hard for them to switch gears, to forget about the technique and focus on how to get a student in an optimal state for performance.
 
I seem to get most support from fellow competitors. I brought family on my first comp and I swore never again, my nerves are too wired and I'm too tense that hearing any type of negative comments from family makes me snappy. I need support, not criticism, it may be constructive but comps are not the right time to start pointing out my faults. I also can't entertain family or friends during comps coz I'm in this competition mode where I can't relax until I'm done with all my heats. I also feel more pressure on myself if I know family and friends are watching me. I feel more relaxed when only fellow competitors are there because we are all in the same boat.

However, I'm happy to say that not all families are like mine, there are those who are very supportive like the other student my teacher brought to the comp with us. The student's family were very enthusiastic and were cheering heartfully for her and also for me and for the other two students my teach brought along. So, in the end, I just borrowed someone else's family as cheerers =]
 
Hey,

You need to prepare well before the comp.... nothing is better than knowing/feeling how well you prepped for the comp. But other than that being somewhat nervous isn't all that bad in my opinion....Because hopefully all that nervous excitement will transfer into "full out" performance on the floor!
 
Leonid Turetsky said:
Hey,

You need to prepare well before the comp.... nothing is better than knowing/feeling how well you prepped for the comp. But other than that being somewhat nervous isn't all that bad in my opinion....Because hopefully all that nervous excitement will transfer into "full out" performance on the floor!
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You speak my language. Preparation is the panacia of nervousness. When I am prepared well, I am eager to spring out of the deck and hit the beat precisely and confidently with a smile or two. I also agree with that a little bit of nervousness is good because itcanbe used to energize oneself. I usually goof my first heat but it gets better in the following heats. A funny thing is that the more I think I goofed, the higher mark I often received. My greatest comfort comes from those unconditional dance friends, who are roaring for me no matter how I do.
 
Practice - in front of family, friends, pets, anyone - in your house, a gym with a floor while others are working out in the weights/machine areas - it will get you use to being in "front" of people who are watching. Me? If I even see a clipboard I get the nerves going full blast so I avoid it by looking over the seats at the wall (at least trying to), I actually am more relaxed when no one who knows me is there vs family/friends who are screaming for me so lots of practice and immersing myself in the music tends to block out the fact my family, especially our son who has the loudest voice - (does being a water polo captain and past ballroom dancer really produce such vocals)?! is sitting there screaming for us. To the point my pro has to contain himself from laughing. Which then makes me more relaxed.
 
hehe, i think my pro gets more nervous than i do! he tries very hard to be helpful and say, "Just relax and have fun".... but normally, i am perfectly relaxed and i always have fun.

he also asks me if i looked at the program to see who our competition is, and i always tell him the same thing... "NO, I don't bother looking because it doesn't matter!" Our first national comp, i worried the entire comp about who my comptetitors were... i swore that off and decided to just have fun and i have soared in competitions since then. :) So now he is more worried about the competition than i am lolol
 
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