Dance Performance with Confidence
I remember being frightened to death dancing my first few student recitals in belly dance. I was not used to performing for a crowd or on stage. I don’t do public speaking and I am a bit shy. While in class and at home, my dance would be fine. When it came to performing in front of crowd, I would just totally blanking out, forgetting my moves, my dance was not so smooth and fluid, and my expressions pathetic. Sound familiar?
The more I participated in dance performances the better my confidence. Still, even after performing regularly in little shows and at restaurant now for a few years, I sadly realized, I was still not at my true potential. My self-doubts/fears were still making me a less than stellar performer. I even tried to imagine in practice that I was a star, some great dancer. Yet when it came down to actually performing in front of a crowd, I would forget to pretend to be a star and just be so focused on “does the crowd like me or do they think I am a horrible dancer?” . I realized I had to change somehow. I embarked in an introspective journey to try to determine the cause of self doubt and try to find a solution to improve my confidence in dance.
First I reflected on why I was not so confident yet others seem to be so at ease and confident. I think it really has to do with personality but also life experiences. I was not used to performing/speaking in front of large crowd, or even participating in sports with crowds. My job was very secluding with very little healthy interaction with people. I am basically in front of a computer all day which left me ill equipped with performing in front of people with any real measure of confidence.
Years shape my perception of myself as the intellectual one, the quiet one, etc. It built up this barrier that somehow, someway I wanted to break through. Break through the limitations I know my mind was putting on myself. I knew from practice the potential is there but how to translate when performing in front of a crowd? How to find that confidence and belief in oneself? How to forget about what other people are thinking and just loose oneself in the dance?
So how do you gain confidence?
I researched and started to employ the following strategies. Hopefully this will help you if you are fighting stage fright or performance issues.
- Rewrite the story you tell yourself– Every day we are living our story. We have a commentary going through our mind. It’s time to write a new story! A story where you are empowered. Have a vision on who you want to be as a dancer. Think in your mind every day, I am going to be the BEST dancer I can possibly be or my love for dance will give me momentum to excel in dance performing…Keep repeating and reaffirming this story
- Think about your strengths
- Positive thinking books, CDs, podcast, etc
- Pretend like no one’s watching. Don’t concentrate on the people around you – just dance
- Have a repertoire of go to moves in case your mind goes blank
- Know you music
- Don’t worry. It could be your costume, hair, weight, or even dance style. Forget all about it. Remember that you are your toughest critic.
- Practice expressions at home in front of a mirror. Enjoy and feel your dance so you can show the passion or expression when you perform.
- Even professionals make mistakes. Don’t sweat the mistakes. Chances are audience won’t even notice.
Hope these little suggestions can help you gain more confidence when you dance!
“It’s not who you are
that holds you back,
it’s who you think you are.”
Leilani Dance 