pre-competition disorder

I want to go dance rhythm at Blackpool so badly but can't imagine the face DP would give me if I asked...:eek::p
 
The nerves arrived full force this morning, rather than the slow building of them that I am used to. Thanks, butterflies... it's super helpful of you to arrive after all the pre-comp run-throughs and practices are done, a little over 24 hours before I'll be loading the car, and when all I have left to do (once I make it through the day at work) are non-stress relieving activities like finish tanning, paint my nails and pack my stuff, which all give me tons of time to think. Just great.

Also, thanks competition gods for having me start singles with VW again... why does this keep happening? It's the hardest dance for me to do when I am nervous and tense, and goes way better once I'm settled in and calm.
 
Prior to every comp I have a lesson where I just can't do anything right. I was a complete mess yesterday afternoon, after really great morning lessons. Thank goodness I'll see pro another time before OSB!
 
FancyFeet said:
Love this. A huge part of my comp stress used to come from the same thing. I now go in with one or two overall things to focus on and maybe - depending on how big/new the overall things are - one thing per dance as well. I used to ask pro for them, but now I generally just inform him of what my focus will be and ask if he agrees.

Then I write them down. And when I start to freak out after warming up in that period where I'm waiting to get started, I read them. And post-comp, I pull out the list and make pro read it again before I'll let him watch the video.

Our general rule is that if, for example, my declared main focus for the comp was musicality and expression (face, and use of upper body), then that one spot in the video where I missed a toe lead or my heel turn was less than perfect can not be heavily criticized because *halleluiah* there was an actual expression on my face and I was at max extension. The flubbed footwork can totally be noted as something that needs to be addressed going forward, but as it was not the declared goal for the comp, it gets a lighter treatment that it would had "precise footwork" been the goal.

It helps me focus and be in that calm place at comp. And it makes the horrible experience that video review used to be tolerable without alcohol, as it brings some focus and makes it more constructive (rather than a confidence and motivation destroying list of mistakes made).
Click to expand...

This is exactly my problem; all of a sudden I'm trying to do everything my brain knows all at once, instead of dancing what my body knows and focussing on one thing. I'm looking at the messy lesson as an opportunity to fix the precomp panic long-term, rather than going with my inclination yesterday, which was "I drove 450 miles today for *that*?!?" The added mental pressure certainly didn't help anything!
 
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