Beat Stage Fright for Good!

It's common and perfectly normal to feel anxious and scared before a performance.  Understanding the increased pressure of a stage show can motivate some dancers to do their best, but for others, the situation is detrimental to dance quality.  If you suffer from stage fright and have a hard time dancing your best, there are a few things you can do to relax and let go of the anxiety.

1. Build up slowly.  If you can, practice in front of an audience. Invite your parents or friends to peek in on rehearsals (you can do this quietly/without telling everyone if your studio has an open viewing window in the lobby).  If you can't do that, practice your piece at home and ask someone to watch (even a stuffed animal can be an audience member).  Smile or make the appropriate facial expression while you dance, and look at the audience.  If you make a mistake in your choreography, move on and try not to let the audience know you messed up.  If you can do this while practicing, you will be able to do it on stage.

                  2. Talk through it.  Honestly consider what the best and worst case scenarios are for your performance.  Best: you do a great job, perfectly perform your choreography, and get lots of applause and praise.  Worst: you'll fall or mess up, feel embarrassed, and possibly get injured.  Most of the time, neither the best case nor worst case scenario actually happens. It's more of an ok case.   Speak to your director, dance teacher, and family about what to do if mishaps happen.  Know to stand up and keep dancing after a non-injurious fall and move on with the choreography after a little misstep.  If you can easily think through various situations and imagine your actions, you'll be able to perform them if they happen on stage.

                  3. On performance day, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to get ready.  This way, you aren't anxiously staring at the clock all day waiting for performance time to roll around and any fears that you'll miss your stage call will be dispelled.  You can relax and spend time with family and friends.  The alarm will tell you when it's time to get ready for the show.

                  4. Plan a relaxing activity that gets you up and moving, but doesn't totally zap your energy.  Laying on the couch watching movies can make you feel sluggish, and spending the morning playing basketball can overtire you and do the same thing.  I like doing something low-key, like going to a nail salon or making a short trip to Target to shop and walk around.  If you have school or work on the day of the show, attend as usual, but see if you can leave a little early or make time for a feel-good activity before you have to head to the performance.

                  5. Eat well.  Starting a few days before the show, avoid unfamiliar and especially unhealthy foods.  Fuel your body with the right amount of healthy foods to give you energy for the performance.  It's not the time to over or under eat, try to lose or gain weight, or taste lots of new things.  Stick to things you know and things you like.  If the performance is in the evening, I think it's best to have a pretty big breakfast, a light lunch, and then a snack an hour or so before the show.  This will give you the calories you need without leaving you with a full, bloated feeling.  You can celebrate your successful performance with a late dinner after the show.

                  6. Adjust your body temperature as needed.  It's important that you're warm before the show.  Feeling cold can intensify anxiety and trembling, and being hot can make you feel sweaty and sick.  Dress in layers pre-performance, and keep something cozy and something to use to fan yourself in your dressing room while in costume.

                  7. Drink caffeinated or soothing beverages as needed.  If you usually drink coffee or tea, now's not the time to cut back.  If you don't, it's not the time to start.  Try to stick to your usual caffeine intake, but if you feel overly tired, a small cup of coffee can do wonders to perk you up.  If you're too wired, try some peppermint tea to soothe yourself without getting sleepy.

                  8. Create a get-ready ritual.  Figure out how you feel most comfortable when getting ready for a show.  Most people feel good when they listen to their favorite upbeat music and perform tasks in a certain order (makeup, then hair or vice versa).  If you meditate or pray, think about incorporating that activity Into your routine.  The more comfortable you are before the show, the more comfortable you'll be during the show.

                  9. Have a support system.  Let your family, friends, and fellow dancers know that you sometimes experience pre-performance anxiety well in advance.  Ask if some of them can help you get back on track if panic starts to take over.  Maybe a good-luck text from your mom can dispel anxiety right before the curtain rises, or a fellow dancer can warm you up with a hug if you start feeling shaky.

If you follow these tips and believe in yourself, you're sure do a great job!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

In the U.S., Thanksgiving is next week.  As the unofficial start to the holiday season, Thanksgiving can sometimes bring on anxiety surrounding food and upcoming Nutcracker performances.  Here are a few tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is healthy and fun.

1.      Eat well, but don't overindulge.  If cooked with limited sugar, salt, and fat, Thanksgiving foods can actually be very good for you.  Turkey breast contains plenty of protein, stuffing made with whole grain bread and veggies packs complex carbs and vitamins, and cranberry sauce is full of antioxidants.  Get involved in the cooking if you're eating at home or bring some healthily-made dishes to a get-together to make sure you can feel good about what you're eating.

Regarding desserts and fatty foods like mac and cheese, it's wonderful to celebrate with a small amount of these foods.  If your plate consists of mostly lean protein, complex carbs, and veggies, a small serving of a more indulgent food is great complement.  Treat these foods more as condiments instead of main components so you can get the flavor without feeling bad about the unhealthy ingredients.

2.      Exercise, but don't overdo it.  If your Nutcracker opens on Black Friday, you definitely don't want to wear yourself down or get injured on Thanksgiving.  If you're in the habit of doing a morning cross-training activity like Pilates or swimming, keep it up if you can.  If not, it's great to join a family member for a walk around the neighborhood or a similar gentle activity.  If your clan is one for a rough football game after Thanksgiving dinner, you may want to sit out as running and tackling are likely to give you bruises and other injuries.

3.      Keep anxiety in check.  If there's a difficult relative or anxiety provoking food making things tough for you, it's fine to take a step back.  You don't have to eat the sugary sweet potatoes or talk to that uncle who keeps asking when you're going to quit dance and get a real job.  It's ok to walk away from a situation if you feel uncomfortable (especially if once your anxiety starts, it takes days to come down).  Remember that you are responsible for making the best choices for you, and you should not feel bad for doing so.

Backstage lifesavers you didn't think you needed

Here are some items that have saved the day for my performances.  As odd as they may seem, they're perfect additions to your performance kit to stave off little-anticipated disasters.       

 1. Swiss army knife

        This miniature multi-tool has almost every gadget you'll need back stage.  I use the scissor function the most (usually to get strings and shredded satin off my pointe shoes).  The tweezers are perfect for manipulating wire on jewelry and hairpieces, the nail file is great for removing ragged nail edges before pulling on tights, and the knife can be used to score the soles of shoes to get better traction.  Since it folds up to about 2 inches long, the tool is easily stored in a makeup or shoe bag.

        2. Hand lotion

        I always get dry hands from handling lots of props, but hand lotion remedies more than just flaky skin.  Have you ever experienced major tutu static where your skirt sticks to itself between your legs?  Put some lotion between your hands and rub it in a little (but not all the way), then rub your hands on your tights.  This will keep the tutu from getting static cling.  If you have a costume that chafes areas of your body like under the arms, spread a little lotion on the area and rub it in before putting on the outfit.  Your skin may still get red, but it's less likely to get itchy and flaky.

        3. Stomach medication

        Sometimes you don't feel mentally nervous, but your body reacts anyway.  Upset stomach, gas, and nausea are common symptoms, and sometimes they don't show up until the performance is about to start.  Put a travel-size container of your preferred stomach medicine in your bag so you can take some if you start feeling sick.  

        4. Vapor rub

        Do you feel like you don't breathe very much when you dance?  I tend to be very out of breath after intense choreography like snow scene in Nutcracker.  To encourage you to breathe more deeply, apply vapor rub (Tiger Balm works great too) to your chest and upper ribs.  The menthol scent will open your sinuses and help you take deeper breaths, and the sensation on your skin will help energize you for sharper dancing.  For whatever reason, other dancers tend to like it and tell me I smell good when I do this.

        5. Eye drops

        Stage lights can be super bright and hard on the eyes.  Performances with atmospheric effects like fog machines can also make eyes hurt or feel cloudy.  Even holding eyes open to apply makeup and false eyelashes can contribute to redness and dryness.  Putting in a few eye drops before applying makeup can keep your eyes from getting too uncomfortable during the show.  This will minimize distractions and help you be on top of your game.  (Note: If you need to apply eye drops during the show or after you have done your makeup, gently dab under your eyes with a tissue immediately after application to keep mascara and eyeliner from smudging.)

        6. Hot and cold clothing

        You never know what the temperature will be like in the theater and dressing rooms--it may be nothing like the weather outside.  It's important to stay warm enough to keep your muscles supple, but cool enough to keep from sweating off makeup or getting lightheaded.  To make sure you can be comfortable and covered in any environment, bring warm-weather and cold-weather layers to the theater.  Make a leotard or t-shirt and sports bra your base layer, and add a warm hoodie or jacket over top.  Even if you abandon one layer as soon as you get to the theater, you'll be prepared for anything

Studio Politics

Dance studio politics can create some difficult social scenarios.  When the director's child is a student, people are promoted to higher levels based on seniority rather than ability, and donations can "buy" leading roles, dancers and their parents often feel confused and uncomfortable.  Sometimes things happen for good (though hard-to-understand) reasons, and sometimes such happenings are indicative of an overall bad atmosphere.  In this post, I'll provide a little guidance on some of the most common studio politics issues and some advice on when to let things go, when to push back, and when to find a new home studio.

1.       My child wasn't promoted to the next level even though he/she seems to have the required ability for promotion.

Some rules and decisions regarding age and advancement make sense, like requiring students to be a certain age before getting pointe shoes.  This is a safety concern, so even if a 9-year-old is a prodigy, she needs to wait until the studio's standard age of 11 before getting pointe shoes to ensure she has a safe and successful pointe experience.  Other rules that prevent students under a certain age from participating in advanced levels or strenuous programs are also usually for health and safety reasons.  It's never worth it to get upset about level placement when age and physical maturity is part of the issue.  In this case, let it go.

Similarly, when it's required for a student to spend a certain amount of time in a level (like a full school year), never expect your child to be promoted before the allotted time is up.  In this case, let it go.

If age and amount of time aren't part of the problem, it's a good idea to ask the director or teacher for more information.  Always be polite and lighthearted, and ask only about your child.  "Connie's been in level 2 for a year now; I was wondering when she'll be ready for level 3," is a good way to start.  Most teachers will give you some information (like, "She's strong at the barre, but needs to work on her balance and turnout in the center.  She might be ready next year.") that will help clarify things.  Don't expect a full run-down of the student's abilities or how the leveling system works.  Ask thoughtful questions if you're still confused, but don't make accusations that your student is being singled out.  The teacher or director should provide answers as long as the info you're asking for is about your child and not other students (this can be breaking confidentiality).  It's the mark of an inexperienced or poor teacher if he/she refuses to answer.

If it's clear that other students are being promoted for seemingly unfair reasons, like in exchange for donations to the studio, that's an indicator that something not quite right is going on.  Calmly ask a staff member you trust if your suspicions are correct.  It's possible that it's a coincidence, and speaking to someone on staff should help you figure it out.  If you're right and there is a corrupt system in place, it's time to find a new studio.

2.      A student was promoted to the next level, and he/she does not seem to have the required ability.

It can be tough to watch a class and see one student lagging behind.  What's going on is probably a compassion promotion or a seniority promotion.  When students are enthusiastic recreational dancers who lack natural talent, they can sometimes look behind other dancers despite similar amounts of training and experience.  It gets hard for studio directors when students don't progress according to expectations.  It may be possible to have a student repeat a year once, but it becomes humiliating for the dancer if she's told to repeat the same level again.
Studio directors must weigh the pros and cons of making the student (and parent) happy with a level promotion and keeping the student in a level consistent with his or her abilities.  Sometimes this results in a compassionate promotion.  Similarly, students are sometimes given additional promotions in big years, like the 5th grade or 12th grade years (when it may be reasonable to assume that this will be the student's last year dancing).

If you see this going on with another student, don't worry about it unless that student is significantly impacting the level of the whole class (this rarely happens).  If it is affecting your child, encourage your dancer to speak to the teacher and ask to receive more personal corrections.  It's best not to mention any other dancers.

If this is happening to your child, have frequent check-ins about whether your student is happy and feels appropriately challenged.  If dance is too hard or no longer fun, it may be time to switch studios or find another activity.  If your student is happy, leave things as they are.  It's not worth creating the upset to address the issue.

3.      The teacher/director's child is a student in my child's class, and the teacher/director's child is getting more attention and/or a better dance education.

Try not to be upset about the fact that the director's child attends the studio and is in class with your child.  How could the director not have her child attend the studio when she's doing her best to run an establishment that provides a strong dance education?  Really, a director sending her child to a different studio is a mark that she thinks that other studios provide better programs than hers!

It's common for dance studio directors to foster their children's dreams (or push their own dreams) of a professional dance career.  Therefore, directors' kids might get more attention, more corrections in class, and more guidance on the requirements for moving from student to professional.  If your child dances only recreationally, this might be annoying, but isn't really a problem as long as your child's needs are met.  If your child is interested in pursuing a professional dance career, make sure the studio staff knows this.

In this day and age, it's common for students and parents to complain of unfair treatment if students get too many corrections or are not praised enough.  When training for a professional dance career, it's important for dancers to learn to deal with criticism.  When parents teach their own kids, they often have a good idea of how much criticism their kid can take before they begin to break down.  Teachers do not have this information about students they don't know as well.  Therefore, they often feel comfortable pushing their own kids harder because they don't fear them getting upset, complaining, or writing a bad review of the studio.  Encourage your student to talk to the teacher about his or her dance education needs to ensure he or she is getting the right balance of corrections and praise.  Most good teachers can adjust how they teach and talk to students to ensure everyone's getting the right amount of criticism.  When talking to the teacher, your student should use I-statements ("I would like...," etc.) and avoid discussing other students including the teacher's child.

If you ask specifically for help getting your child the training needed to pursue a professional dance career, the director should provide you with everything his or her child is getting.  However, it will probably cost you extra cash.  It just doesn't make sense for a teacher to pay herself for her child's private lesson, but it does make sense to charge you for your child's one-on-one session.  Even though it might not seem fair, it really is.
If the director refuses to work with your child for anything but a legitimate reason (like your child is extremely disrespectful or has an injury that really prevents dance training), move on and find a new home studio.

4.      The same people get cast as the leads in every performance.

It can be difficult to see the same dancers in leading roles each year with no variety.  At first glance, it can seem that the director has favorites.  While this is possible, there are also a few other less controversial possibilities.

If the people frequently chosen for the leads come from a particular group within the studio, like the highest class level or the group of high school students, and there are not any new additions to that group each year, this may be the pool of candidates for leading roles.  Unfortunately it takes 5 or more years to see if this is a pattern, but watch for new dancers joining this group and see how they are cast.  If these new people eventually get leading parts too, then this is the case.  This is not a problem, and there's nothing you can do to change it.  If you're younger or in a lower level, stick with your training and eventually you will get there.

Depending on the choreography for the shows being performed, there may only be a few dancers capable of performing it.  Many female ballet leads have to do multiple consecutive fouette turns en pointe.  If not many dancers at the studio can do that, this limits the number of candidates for a role.  The same thing goes for male dancers and partnering.  If a dancer isn't strong enough (yet) to lift a partner, he probably isn't (yet) a candidate for a leading role.
Most of the time, it's better to pay attention to your own parts (or your child's parts).  If you are cast in roles that get consecutively more advanced as you advance in class level, everything's going well.  You are moving up, and one day you may be a candidate for a lead.

If you are in the highest level or among the top auditionees for a part, yet don't get a leading part for several performances in a row, try speaking to the director.  Never be accusatory or demanding, but ask what elements you could improve in order to earn a leading role in the future.  Most good directors will offer a few tips.

If this still doesn't help after few seasons or it becomes clear that the leading dancers receive their parts in exchange for payment or other unfair means, it's probably not a good situation.  It's time to find a new studio.

Black Swan: My Perspective

People still talk about Black Swan, the 2010 psychological thriller that won Natalie Portman her Academy Award.  In the film critic community, it's still a great film.  In the dance community, it's still controversial.  In this article, I'll give my perspective as a serious dancer and dancewear expert.

Before I delve into things, I feel obligated to say that it is an R-rated movie, I am an adult, and I like scary psychological movies.  I also wasn't dancing in a company at the time that the movie was released, but I am now, and I watch Black Swan probably 1 or 2 times a year.  While I wouldn't necessarily say it's one of my favorite movies, I do like it.  I won't summarize the plot for the sake of spoilers, but I will reference certain scenes (such as the "breaking in the pointe shoes" scene, etc.)

 I am also aware of controversy surrounding how much Natalie Portman actually danced and how much dancing was performed by her dance double, Sarah Lane.  I agree with the general dance-community-consensus that various media sources should have acknowledged Lane's enormous part in making the movie as visually stunning as it is.  However, I also think that Natalie Portman did an amazing job training and forming her body so she looked the part and could pull off some of the ballet basics.  Some people criticize Portman and say she doesn't look like a dancer, but I have to disagree.  Dancer's bodies are more diverse than people think, and my (healthy)ballet body is still quite slim and petite like Portman's in the film.

Natalie Portman's character, Nina, wears a wardrobe of mostly pastel pinks, whites, and greys.  These colors are reminiscent of classical ballet and the childish perceptions of it, which go well with the character's personality.  However, many professional dancers turn to dancewear that is black or brightly colored.  In scenes with the whole company, it seems like everyone is wearing black and white.  In real life, it's more likely to see dancers in red, lime green, hot pink, and bright blue in addition to neutrals.

Beyond the colors, most of what the dancers wear is actually realistic.  Many of the leotards Nina and Mila Kunis's character Lily wear are from Yumiko (I believe both wear the Tamara style, and Nina wears the Wendy style.), which is a favored leotard brand among ballet students and professionals.  Most of the female dancers wear tights in pink and black, which is common.  Nina frequently wears shrug sweaters or tank tops over her leos, and she accessorizes with wrap skirts and legwarmers.  All of this is very common and authentic, though most dancers mix it up with other warm-ups like knit shorts.  Nina often wears jewelry like small dangling earrings and small necklaces while dancing.  This is common in some settings, but some companies have rules against jewelry.

For footwear, most female dancers are portrayed wearing pointe shoes or flat ballet shoes.  For daily class and warm up, dancers can choose what shoes they prefer to wear.  As the movie shows, female dancers wear pointe shoes for rehearsals and performances.  In some scenes, Nina wears pointe shoes while hanging around the studio and in the bathroom.  This is realistic.

In the scene where Nina is getting her pointe shoes ready for class, she is shown breaking the shank by bending it, what appears to be completely removing the inner shank, scoring the sole, and sewing on ribbons and elastics.  Different dancers have different methods of breaking in shoes and customizing them to their preferences.  However, to me it looks like Nina is completely removing the shank form her shoes, which would render them unusable as pointe shoes.  It's a quick scene and I may not be seeing it right, but if she is removing the shank, that's not a common or authentic way to break in a pointe shoe and have it still be usable.  Cutting the shank at mid-foot is more common and appropriate.  Nina's other actions are realistic.  There is a scene later in the movie where Nina and her mom appear to be sewing ribbons and elastics onto pointe shoes while sitting at home in their apartment.  Dancers have different preferences on how and where to do this, but this is realistic too.  (If you're interested in brand, Nina's pointe shoes look like Freeds to me.  I have read articles claiming most dancewear on set was from Mirella, so they could be from that brand as well.)

The movie shows some characters with troubling habits.  Lily smokes and takes drugs, and Nina possibly has an eating disorder.  Unfortunately, both characters' issues are relatively common in professional ballet companies. In an art form where both stress and pressure to look a certain way are high, some people turn to drugs, nicotine, and anorexia/bulimia to lose weight or channel stress.   While some dancers who do this develop chronic issues, many quickly discover that these habits are harmful to dance quality and often lead to an increase in injuries.

As far as depictions of company life go, the movie portrays some things quite differently from how they happen in real life.  First, the company seems to be structured with only Beth as a principal dancer, a group of 10 or so soloists, and a corps de ballet.  In a company that size, it's likely that there would have been as many principals as soloists.  It is fairly common for dancers labeled as soloists to debut principal roles (like swan queen) before actually being promoted. For dressing rooms, having soloists "room together" and the principal dancer(s) separate is fairly accurate (at least for performances), but varies from company to company. 

As shown in the movie, it is realistic for several rehearsals to be happening simultaneously in different rooms at a studio.  Usually rehearsals are held with either all dancers learning the same part (like the dancers cast as Odette from all casts learning the part of Odette together), or all dancers in one scene (like the parents and children in the party scene of Nutcracker all learning separate parts in a community setting).  It's less common for rehearsals to be called for one rank alone, like soloists.  In a scene showing Nina learning her swan queen role, a ballet mistress is teaching Nina her choreography.  This is very accurate; usually different members of staff are responsible for memorizing and teaching the choreography in different ballets.  The artistic director usually won't watch rehearsals until after dancers have learned their parts.

One scene shows Nina visiting a chiropractor in a location that appears to be part of the company facility/theater/studio.  It's common for large professional companies to have all or any combination of a chiropractor, PT, nurse, and massage therapist on staff to meet the dancers' needs.  Another few scenes show Nina and Lily meeting with a costumer and getting measurements taken for swan costumes.  Most companies also have a full time costuming team dedicated to creating and modifying dancers' costumes.  In one such meeting, the costumer remarks that Nina's lost weight.  No matter a dancer's state of health, slight weight loss (and inch loss) leading up to performances is very common, especially for dancers performing stressful and very active roles.

Regarding auditions and casting, most companies that employ dancers full time and rank them as corps, soloist, etc. do not call dancers in for auditions.  Auditions are held for new company members and for children who wish to perform with the company in children's parts.  A company like the one in the film would probably not have a sudden audition where the soloists all go into a studio and show a variation.  More likely, the director would just post a rehearsal schedule and start teaching the variation to the soloists he was considering for the lead.  The cast list that's posted in the movie is more like a list that would be posted for a local dance company or a high school play.  Usually cast lists for large professional ballet companies have multiple casts (different dancers will dance each part on different nights).  It's likely that Nina and at least two or three other girls would have all been cast as swan queen, and there would have been a single understudy for all the casts.

When showing the relationships between different people in the company, I think the movie shows interactions that are possible, but not probable.  Tomas's position as artistic director does give him authority over everything within the company.  The movie shows him giving the dancers a lecture about their upcoming performance season while they are performing combinations in class.  This is really unlikely; a director generally would not disrespect dancers and ballet masters by diverting everyone's attention like that.  The film also shows intense competition among the female soloists.  Most dancers who are up for the same part are competitive, but not to that extent.  Dancers have to work together, and most aren't willing to risk a hostile work environment to make their feelings and opinions known. 

The part of the movie that shows Swan Lake's opening night has always been confusing to me, and not because of the psycho drama.  Nina has a breakdown the night before opening night, and when she wakes up, she isn't sure what time it is (but it's light outside).  She rushes to the theater and arrives just in time to get ready and get on stage.  For all major companies, matinee performances happen, but opening night always consists of an evening show.  Evening performances are usually at 7 or 8pm, and company call is usually 2 hours before that.  Unless Nina slept all day and woke up around 4pm (possible, I guess), she's rushing for no reason.