Tips for Performers & Competitors
Whether it’s your first piece on stage or you’re a seasoned performer, here are a few things our cast likes to keep in mind while creating stage ready acts.
Practice - Practice your piece multiple times in a row. Put the song on repeat and do the piece twice in a row. If you are completely winded and can’t even stand after running the piece once, it’s probably too much and needs to be edited.
Plan for things to go wrong - Practice your piece incorrectly to create new pathways in case something doesn’t go as planned while on stage. If you mess up during practice, don’t just stop. Keep going! Things rarely go perfectly as planned while on stage and we want to plan for things to go wrong.
Viewpoints - Video your piece from farther away to see how it will translate to audience members sitting in the back. A cute rhinestone on your cheek or a wink at the audience looks great close up but those in the back row won’t even be able to see it.
Glue it on - Make sure your costume is on your body and covering all the bits it needs to cover. If you have a slim costume, try using gymnastic or dancer glue to make sure it stays in place and avoid any slippage.
Ask for help - Talk to friends, fellow dancers and coaches. Ask for feedback on your routine! Just because you receive feedback does not mean you have to take the advice but it is always nice to see your routine from a different angle. Ask specific questions as well. What story was being told? How would you describe my character?
At the end of the day, your piece should represent you in some way so be sure to keep that in mind as you are building. Not every performance can be your best performance but, we should be trying our best each time no matter what. Plan for anything to happen and most of all, have fun!