question for performers

[yippee1999]

I suppose it's entirely possible that some great dancers just aren't meant to be up on stage, no?

My dream would be to someday be in SOME type of performance, even if "just" with a school's student performers. But my biggest fear is that I will freeze up due to nervousness, and that I'll blank out and forget my moves. However, if I imagine the audience area being dark, or not illuminated, I think I'd have an easier time pretending there's no one really out there watching me. Have other performers found this? Many performances I've been at... the entire room is illuminated, so the audience is right there in front of the dancers.

I just don't know if I could ever get over this.

How do people handle this? Have you ever just totally blanked out during a performance, and not been able to resume the routine? Were you ever able to successfully perform after that?

Thnaks!

 

[alemana]

didn't you JUSt start dancing? are you trying to worry about as many things as possible just in case you might miss some worrying?

buuuut seriously...you will probably do as many of us did, start small, decide if you like it, and if you do, you'll keep doing it. you'll probably get nervous as hell and either deal with it or not... you can't know ahead of time.

 

[yippee1999]

well yeah, I started dancing just a year ago, but I'm addicted... and I've wanted to be a dancer for the LONGEST time, but ... due to my lifestyle, etc., never really had much training, and then the notion of being a dancer (i.e., a ballet dancer) seemed out of the question at the ripe age of 43. But then when I tried salsa, I really "took" to it, and I thought, you know, I might not be too old for salsa. And I've improved so much in a year, that I figure, if I keep up at the rate I've been lately (which is giong out to dances/classes 3x a week on average), that within another year, I should be really really good. I just feel like I was meant to be a dancer... have the right build/frame, don't have to "learn" how to keep the rhythm (just comes naturally), etc. So seeing as I'm 43, if I want to fulfill my dream, I feel like I really need to accelerate things, hence my anxiousness! :--)

 

[thespina13]

Here's a thread I started quite awhile ago that discussed starting to identify yourself as a dancer for the first time. http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?t=12265

Also, I was in a performance with the class group about two and a half months ago, and I wasn't nervous at all. It was just dancing. I loved my partner and really, when you're into it, you and your partner are really all that exist. I think I felt some butterflies, but you're as good as you are, people who don't dance are always amazed because they can't evaluate you from a knowledgeable standpoint, and the ones who DO know anything about salsa appreciate your effort, the emjoyment in your face and the stage you are in your dancing. WE all start. I say, give it up! Get out there! There's nothing like the experience of a performance to reall yput into perspective the different mindsets of social dncing/performing, how the music informs you (or not), the difference between improv and routine, and also the payback you get from really practicing hard for a long time (really concerted effort is quite a pure experience).

Keep it up! You're doing great!

 

[Laura]

But my biggest fear is that I will freeze up due to nervousness, and that I'll blank out and forget my moves.

Ehhh, don't worry about it. Why do I say this so casually and flippantly? Because you will, at some point, freeze up, blank out, and forget. But don't worry, you will somehow get through all of it (muscle memory is a fanstastic thing, and that's what practice is for) and most people won't even notice. Give yourself permission to make these kinds of mistakes, and don't panic when you make them. Then go out and have a whopping good time!

 

[waltzgirl]

Don't forget that you won't be alone up there! You'll have a partner and, hopefully, he won't forget the routine at the exact same time you do! Practice as much as you can with your partner so you develop some trust and communication. Make sure you do a lot of practices where you do the routine all the way through without stopping, no matter what happens. That way, you'll have some practice helping each other out through mistakes.

During my very first studio showcase, I blanked on my cha cha routine at the worst possible time--during a chase when my pro's back was to me and he couldn't see what had happened. I think I just shuffled in place til he turned around, picked me up, and got me back into the routine (of course, it was helpful that he was a pro, so wasn't thrown at all by my goof--that's why I say, if you have an amateur partner, practice goofing and helping one another). And it was NO big deal, I still got top bronze student at that showcase.

I also had an early disastrous group performance, in which an inexperienced teacher (not my pro) had choreographed a routine that was too hard for the level of the group and we hadn't had enough time to learn it. Total train wreck! At least, I wasn't the only one making huge mistakes. Full discussion of the performance between me and my pro: Me: That was a disaster. Him: Yep. Never got any other negative comment or feedback from anybody about it.

I've done a bunch of other performing and competing since then. I'm not a naturally outgoing person and I get very nervous, but the best thing I've realized is that mistakes are inevitable. The thing is to expect them and know how to recover from them, not to expect yourself to perform at some impossible level of perfection.

If you won't be performing with a pro, I'd recommend making your first performance in a group, rather than just you and your partner. If you want, you can even dance in the back of the goup the first time, where any mistakes you make will be less noticable.

In my last showcase, my pro blanked for a split second and didn't give me any lead, so I just went ahead and did the turn that was next in the routine. I was much more afraid of having backled him for the first time ever than I was of having the routine go off a bit!

 

[Josh]

shot of patron...? ok maybe not. or maybe, depending on what works for you.

but seriously, there's no substitute for practice. with the group i'm coaching right now, i'm putting in an extra (*cough* non-paid) hour per week with them (would do more, but getting 12 people together is tough) so they will be as familiar with the routine as possible. preparation is #1, it's the key.

there are two schools of thought on the crowd situation--ignore them, or embrace them. personally, i have to embrace them... because i simply can't ignore the fact that there are many many people watching (but for a group, at least they'll watch someone else too, right?). so, i have to feed off the crowd--"hey, they paid money and took time to come and see a show, so i'm going to give them one!" ... that kind of thinking works for me. ymmv.

most importantly, smile big before you go out, and that will set the tone for a good show. yes, you're going to be nervous. but you can have fun and be nervous at the same time! a person's dancing can be perfect, and the number still look weak if the facial expression is scared/nervous/angry when it should be dignified/happy/etc.

above all else, remember--it's all about having a good time--let it show and all other things will fall in place. energy in a show is more important than where your feet go, and your attitude will show through in your expressions.

 

[yippee1999]

thanks very much everybody for the informative and supportive responses! Another idea I had was to start small, as in just performing in front of some friends.... see how that goes. And yes, there's a big difference between being the ONLY couple on stage, and one of a few couples on stage, and yes, if I'm in the back, less stress on me. (Although I know that part of me will be wishing I were in front, cuz isn't it obvious the "lesser" dancers are always in the back! :--) I know, how twisted is that!! I want the attention, but I DON'T want the attention. That's how I've always been, even when just dancing in a club... I want people to be watching me, to admire me... but I don't want it too obvious that they are doing so, cuz then it will make me nervous. Although... no one has ever really confirmed to me that I'm a good dancer.... maybe I just need to hear that to get my confidence level up. Then maybe I won't feel so self-conscious if/when people DO watch me. :--)

 

[genEus]

Being nervous is OK. In fact, it's great! That adrenaline boost is what often lets you push out that 300lb barbell on a bench press, remember something that you learned 3 years ago to help you pass a bar exam, or give a kick-knat performance on the dance floor.

In fact, when I am not nervous before some such activity I am worried that I won't do as well.

But, the crucial component to all these things is knowing that you have 100% the ability to do what you set out to do. And, that's why you practice for hours and hours and hours. If you have to think about what you're doing on stage, you will most definitely screw up. That nervousness will overpower your thoughts and your brain will lock up for a split second, enough for you to miss the next move. However, leave it to your muscles. If you repeat the same routine a thousand times, from different points, different perspectives, mirror, no mirror, eyes closed, eyes crossed, with your dog watching, with your grandma watching, on the train, in your head, before you go to sleep, etc. no matter how nervous you get when you finally get on stage, your body will be confident that you have the ability to do it. Just let it do its thing, and you just have fun and add your soul into the dance so that you touch the people who are watching.

 

[Lofland]

In addition to huge amounts of practice, record your performance in practice regularly. It's an ego crusher at first (maybe always, lol) but you will get more comfortable with how you look.

Once you've done the routine a few hundred times, you'll have a different perspective. You'll still be nervous, but you'll know for sure that you can at least do the moves correctly.