Sunday, March 5, 2017

Dealing With Nerves

ESB teacher JoAnn Zayak wanted to share her advice on how best to deal with your nerves with upcoming performances and exams.



As performance time comes near, stage fright is always something that dancers deal with. Nerves are a natural thing that happen to all dancers. But sometimes our nerves can get in the way of us performing our best. Here are some hints to help deal with stage fright.

On the day before the show:
1. Visualize your dance, think of your choreography and imagine you are dancing your routine on stage. Imagine how good you'll feel dancing on the stage, and the moments that make you love dance!

2. Goal setting: make a goal you would like to achieve while dancing - whether it is fixing a correction your teacher gave you, or a personal goal you want to achieve.

3. Make a plan to do something special after your performance - taking a hot bath or going to get ice cream. Anything that will remind you that this is just a show.

4. Tension! It sounds weird, but try tensing your body from head to toe then begin a slow and steady breath while still holding tension in the body. While breathing in and out slowly relax a part of the body (one part at a time) from your smaller limbs like your fingers and toes and move through to your larger limbs like your arms and legs until your body is fully relaxed. This will help relax the body and help you get a good night sleep.

On the day of the show:
1. Breathe! Breathing is important to relax the body and allow your nerves to calm down. Take a few moments to breath and relax. You can repeat the visualization and tension exercises from the night before if needed.

2. Be grounded, feel your body and be present in the moment. Keep focused.

The most important thing is to remember to stay positive and enjoy every moment of the performance experience! No matter what happens be proud of yourself and the great job you did!

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