Entry #4: Performance Quality: Can You Teach It?

If you’re a dancer, dance teacher, or dance parent, you know that the craziest time of year is upon us… COMP SZN! Lots of dancers start their season’s routines in the summer and early fall, so they’ve been working really hard to get these dances stage ready. It's so exciting watching all of their hard work and commitment come to life on stage! I’ve been to a few competitions already this season to cheer on my dancers, have tuned in to livestreams to see teams compete, and have helped clean and critique lots of dances in preparation for the season. One thing that I’ve seen across the board between everyone I’ve worked with the past couple of months is a lack in performance quality (love y’all, but I’m being real lol). All of these rehearsals have been in-studio, and adrenaline does play a part in bringing out one’s inner-performer on stage, BUT I’m still seeing dancers go through the motions on stage and look miserable while doing it. I don’t care if you have flawless technique, if you’re not emoting through your entire body and ENJOYING being on stage, you’re not getting my vote. I think this comes down to two things: Actually teaching and emphasizing the performance quality you’d like to see from your students, and properly preparing dancers to take the stage.

So how do you teach performance quality? Do facials come more naturally for some than others? While some dancers are born performers, it can feel awkward for new dancers, especially those in the thick of teen hormones. As teachers it’s our job to make our students feel comfortable expressing themselves and the proper emotions required of them in certain pieces. There’s a few exercises that I love to implement during class and cleaning time that I’ve seen help transform dancers’ facial expressions and emotions on stage. 

With younger dancers, I love to play the “vowel game.” This is a game that one of my old dance teachers first taught me, and I believe it works really well! You have your dancers sit in front of the mirror and really exaggerate mouthing the vowels - A, E, I, O, U - Encourage them to think about their different vowels while dancing and mouth the letters when they’re at a loss for what to do with their face… This one is especially helpful for sassy jazz faces. Many dancers also have a problem looking down while they’re dancing. You can tape these letters above the mirrors to inspire them to remember their vowels and keep their focus up and confident while performing. 

Talk to your students about the storyline behind their piece. If there’s not a clear one, create one! It’s much easier for dancers to feel connected to their routines if they can relate to and act out the emotions behind the storyline. Turn the lights off, have them sit down, and play their music. Encourage them to close their eyes and think about the message behind the song while they mark their routine. Do this more than once, and have them really exaggerate their facials while marking (hopefully the dark room and closed eyes will help them from feeling embarrassed). 

If you think your dancers feel embarrassed about performing and showing emotion when they dance, play what I like to call the “opposite game.” If they’re working on a lyrical routine, have them do it to an upbeat jazz song (& visa versa for a jazz routine). This helps them explore and tap into various movement qualities and textures and gets them out of the habit of bare-minimum, robot dancing. The goal with this game is to get dancers out of their comfort zone but really to just have fun and RELAX! You can even have them perform the opposite emotion (sassy and upbeat for a serious piece or dramatic and emotional for a fun jazz piece). In my experience, they become less self conscious when they realize it’s okay to showcase silly emotions. If your dancers aren’t utilizing their fullest range of motion while dancing, and you want them to dance more “full-out,” you could take this game one step further and have them dance crazy-like and give 200% effort to make the moves look ridiculous. If you film them while they do this and then show the dancers the potential that’s there, they usually realize that they look better when they give more effort. 

Since a lot of us have been doing this for so long, I think it’s easy to overlook what might not be common sense when it comes to the expectations and schedule of these competitions, especially for our newbie dancers. As a veteran teacher even I get overwhelmed walking into these events, and I know it can be really intimidating for those who are new to the competition scene. As teachers, we should be over preparing our dancers (and dance parents) on what to expect throughout these days, which will hopefully diminish a lot of that stress day of. What are you doing the week prior to prepare your dancers for a competition weekend? I think simulating these performance opportunities is really helpful, especially in terms of seeing what work still needs to be done on the performance quality end. I love having “pair and share” time between two different classes or teams (this is great for recital prep too!). Have the two groups perform for each other, call your dancers on stage as if you were the MC, play the transition music in between pieces like they do at competition, and have them enter and exit the stage just like they would at the venue. Have the audience think of critiques and positive feedback, just like the judges will. Simulating this order of events allows the kids to know what to expect, and in my experience alleviates a lot of the pre-stage jitters. Teach your dancers how to warm up for when you feel like you’re being pulled a thousand different ways throughout the day. I think it’s great to give some of that responsibility to older dancers – they’ll love warming up their little buddies and this further encourages team bonding and that family culture. 

Don’t over rehearse once you’re at the venue. So many of these dancers are in lots of routines, and there’s no reason to wear their muscles and energy out before they go on stage. If they haven’t been hitting a certain skill or section in practice, drilling it before they go on to perform probably isn’t going to help much… In my opinion, this only adds anxiety and nervousness behind their performance quality. No need to diminish their confidence before they go on stage – pep talks  are so helpful, whether that’s prayers or words of encouragement. I always like to ask my dancers to try and think about fixing two to three corrections during their performance. This way, regardless of how they place, they can feel accomplished in dancing their best and know that they’re growing as artists each time they step out on that stage. I’m much more score oriented in setting goals versus wanting my dancers to place or get some type of award. Trying to beat your past score each time you perform is a great way to validate and reassure that the effort being put in at practice to make these routines better each week is coming to life on stage. 

There’s so many ways to introduce stage presence and performance-ready habits throughout the season. One way isn’t better than another… It’s all about finding what works best for your dancers. If you have a method that works well for you that I haven’t mentioned, I’d love to hear it! Our dancers’ artistic growth should be the goal for all of us, and encouraging one another is so helpful! Dancers — do it because you love it, and your passion will shine on stage. 

With love,

Li <3