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| I made an "executive decision" to play with my hair for this picture! Photo: Maharet Hughes |
We all love to watch a dancer who looks effortless
and relaxed onstage because it’s a joy
to see. This type of natural performance allows audience members to just sit
back and become enthralled by the dancer’s personality and connection to the
music. But this air of ease and confidence is
often something many performers struggle with, because before we actually hit
the stage, we’re hyper from performance adrenalin and nervous energy! Usually this
type of laid-back grace isn’t natural, it’s a learned skill, which has been honed and perfected, just like any
other type of technique!
One of the things that drives
me (and other audience members, whether they are professional dancers or not)
crazy when watching a show is a performer who carries over bad habits from
their rehearsals or classes into their
performances. It's also the bane of every dancers existence- cause at some point in our career, we all have had bad habits that presented themselves in our performances. Dancers of all levels often
have difficulties controlling unconscious nervous tics and stressed out gestures
when they’re on stage, whether it’s holding tension in their jaws, a
glassy “concentration face” kind of
stare or mouthing the counts of the music. We’ve all seen it!
My own go-to nervous gesture used to be
constantly playing with my hair… and not in a sexy, come-hither way! I looked more like an agitated fifth grader
about to take a spelling test than a relaxed and capable professional dancer.
It took me a long time to
break that habit…and it also took a lot of cussing out loud at myself in the
mirror while I practiced! But the work
was worth it, I finally laid that unconscious tic to rest, and now the only
time I play with my hair onstage is if I do it intentionally.
To remedy our habits, we need to be vigilant during
our classes, practice sessions and rehearsals so that we don’t take these
audience distractions onto the stage with us!
Habits- in any form- are difficult to
break.
These unconscious gestures are have become automatic, and the reason they get
repeated is twofold. First of all, our habits are almost always something that
has been done constantly; whether it
is physical, mental or emotional, habits are learned through repetition.
To illustrate this, think of
a good habit (like your basic dance posture) and you’ll get the idea. Prior to your study of dance, you didn’t go
about your daily activities standing straight and tall, with the muscles in your
abdomen engaged, a lifted ribcage and your shoulders held back and down…. did
you?
Nope, you learned this posture!
And it took a damn long time to get to the
point where this stance became normal
for you! But once you got used to standing in dance posture, it became one less
thing to keep track of, thereby allowing your brain to focus on more important
issues…like executing difficult technique or getting your timing and phrasing
down.
Secondly, many of these
habitual behaviors have become comfortable, reliable and somewhat pleasurable, because for whatever
reason, they make us feel calm and peaceful.
Think of a child sucking it’s thumb and you’ll get the idea. A
self-soothing habit (whether it is shopping compulsively, always having a glass
of wine with dinner or making odd
grimaces onstage) triggers the chemical dopamine in our brains, which in turn
activates our brain’s Reward Center. Why does a dog beg? He knows he will get a treat! It's a habit.
Why did I always used to
twirl my hair onstage? Cause it felt good to do that in a stressful
environment…playing with my hair was a self-soothing “treat”, but it sucked because I not only did it in
public, during performance, but I didn’t even realize I was doing it, because I wasn’t thinking about it!
Once you understand these two concepts, any
habit will become a little easier for you to break. You’ll still need will
power, and you’ll still need to really re-wire your brain to change the habit,
but it can be done!
Here’s how:
IDENTIFY YOUR BAD HABITS
The best way to do this is to
watch taped performances and practice sessions.
Some of the problem areas you notice will be
physical, such as hunched shoulders, sloppy arm paths, or not finishing each and
every movement fully.
Other habits will be more emotionally or mentally based, like
mouthing counts in the music, looking at the floor, or or making a face while reacting to an on-stage
mishap.
Remember that you’re not watching your performance to
tear it apart, but so that you can become a better dancer! Take an objective detachment, become your own
“casual third party observer”. Watch your tape a few times and make brief notes on
what you’d like to change or improve upon, and then let it go, don’t do anything
about it for a couple of days. Watch it again, and see if your reactions to the
performance are about the same, or less or more than they were when you
initially watched it. Take notes, and
compare the notes from both observation sessions. Now, what you need to work on will be clear.
TAKE BABY STEPS
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your onstage
habits weren’t either!
Once you’ve identified the habits
you’d like to break, you can start re-training yourself to avoid them in
performance. Most experts agree that it takes considerable time and dedication
to discontinue any sort of habit… depending
on the individual, breaking a habit or correcting a nervous tick could take
anywhere from a couple of weeks to six months. It’s a process whereby you’re
actually re-wiring your brain!
PRACTICE SELF-AWARENESS
Watch yourself like a hawk in class or
rehearsals, be vigilant and merciless…. By that, I mean in noticing and correcting
the bad habits, not by emotionally beating yourself up! Remember, you are doing
something positive here! Remind yourself
just before you go onstage that you are NOT in any way, shape or form,
going to give into falling back to your old habits. Tell yourself out loud if
you need to! You might look like a nut
in the dressing room, but it’s way better than looking compulsive or nervous on stage!
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Well, maybe not really… but getting an objective,
neutral party to help break your habits
is a fabulous idea! Discuss your habit-breaking goals with your instructor, troupe leader, show director or a friend, asking them to point out when you
engage in the practices that you want to discontinue. It will help to have another set of eyes on
you, and it will also make you feel a little more accountable and supported.
REWARD YOURSELF
Go all Pavlovian - every time you make it
through a class, practice or performance
without engaging in the habit you want to break, give yourself a little reward. A sweet
treat, a new pair of earrings, whatever! And
when you’ve broken your habit once and for all, your biggest reward will be a better performance.
You can do it!
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Belly Dance Handbook: A Companion For The Serious Dancer here:
Photo and graphics: Maharet Hughes
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