World renown dancers pass along their own stories and personal advice on how to over come the challenges of transitioning from the dance studio to the stage. Beginning dancers often find themselves believing that the challenges they encounter when in dance class or performing on stage are just happening to them and no one else. This book is full of personal experiences of professional dancers and dance teachers who tell how all dancers go through the same anxieties and uncertainties and of course the solutions.
Through easy-to-read interviews, they share their experiences with overcoming stage-fright, developing good personal evaluation, how building strong concentration in class transfers to the stage, why it’s important to practice for consistency, handling unexpected mishaps on stage, and how to maintain motivation. They also relate their tales of auditioning and what it’s like when performing so the reader can be best prepared and know what to expect when they are ready to dance on stage. This book gives a broad but detailed look into how to get the most out of dance class so you can be your best on stage.
Sample Interview Quotes:
Oleg Sabline:
"You have to remember that you are a performer and
eventually you are not going to have that mirror. You should
get to know what your body looks like without having to look
into the mirror. That mirror is good and bad – it’s your friend
and enemy at the same time.
The proper way to use the mirror is to glance at the step,
correct it, and try to identify and remember the “feeling” as
you look into the mirror. Then, as time goes by, you begin to
concentrate more on the “feeling” rather than the image in
the mirror. Eventually you achieve the goal of Muscle Memory. "
James Truitte:
"You can always tell the dancers who have gotten hooked on
the mirror - when they get out onto the stage, they don’t
know what to do with their face. All the time they were
practicing in class, they had been looking at themselves only
in a technical way, and not performing. So, they have that
vacant look on their face; they’re not looking into their own
eyes anymore, there’s no more focal point when on stage.
They never develop projection in dance class. "
JWG:
"I always knew when it was my own fault for missing a
step. It was usually from a lack of concentration. I
would get lazy, that’s when I didn’t concentrate. I tried
to get by on my technique. Afterwards, I felt very guilty
about it. I would feel bad until the next performance,
when I could do it right and improve in effort. You need
to concentrate on even the simplest things. That’s
especially true when you are being partnered. And
that’s where I had a tendency to relax and let my
partner do most of the work. It showed. I would feel
bad about that: It happens doing simple steps, just after completing
the difficult combination, because this is the time you
let down, you don’t concentrate as hard. This is when
you make mistakes."
Kim Hunt:
"During one performance of The Nutcracker, I forgot to bow to
the Sugar-Plum Fairy. I knew the directors saw it and I felt like
I had betrayed the company terribly. I felt awful about it, but
it wasn’t a dancing, blaring mistake so I knew, life goes on.
I knew that the time I was making a mistake. I remember
thinking, “My body should be moving, but it isn’t. What’s
going on?!” Another time I changed the choreography a little.
We had rehearsed it a long time one way, then just before
the performance, they changed it. During the performance I
did it the original way. I looked fine, but I was doing
something different than the other two girls on stage. I had to
stride back into the routine. Physically I danced fine, but
mentally I slapped myself in the face. However, I didn’t let it
show."
Through easy-to-read interviews, they share their experiences with overcoming stage-fright, developing good personal evaluation, how building strong concentration in class transfers to the stage, why it’s important to practice for consistency, handling unexpected mishaps on stage, and how to maintain motivation. They also relate their tales of auditioning and what it’s like when performing so the reader can be best prepared and know what to expect when they are ready to dance on stage. This book gives a broad but detailed look into how to get the most out of dance class so you can be your best on stage.
Sample Interview Quotes:
Oleg Sabline:
"You have to remember that you are a performer and
eventually you are not going to have that mirror. You should
get to know what your body looks like without having to look
into the mirror. That mirror is good and bad – it’s your friend
and enemy at the same time.
The proper way to use the mirror is to glance at the step,
correct it, and try to identify and remember the “feeling” as
you look into the mirror. Then, as time goes by, you begin to
concentrate more on the “feeling” rather than the image in
the mirror. Eventually you achieve the goal of Muscle Memory. "
James Truitte:
"You can always tell the dancers who have gotten hooked on
the mirror - when they get out onto the stage, they don’t
know what to do with their face. All the time they were
practicing in class, they had been looking at themselves only
in a technical way, and not performing. So, they have that
vacant look on their face; they’re not looking into their own
eyes anymore, there’s no more focal point when on stage.
They never develop projection in dance class. "
JWG:
"I always knew when it was my own fault for missing a
step. It was usually from a lack of concentration. I
would get lazy, that’s when I didn’t concentrate. I tried
to get by on my technique. Afterwards, I felt very guilty
about it. I would feel bad until the next performance,
when I could do it right and improve in effort. You need
to concentrate on even the simplest things. That’s
especially true when you are being partnered. And
that’s where I had a tendency to relax and let my
partner do most of the work. It showed. I would feel
bad about that: It happens doing simple steps, just after completing
the difficult combination, because this is the time you
let down, you don’t concentrate as hard. This is when
you make mistakes."
Kim Hunt:
"During one performance of The Nutcracker, I forgot to bow to
the Sugar-Plum Fairy. I knew the directors saw it and I felt like
I had betrayed the company terribly. I felt awful about it, but
it wasn’t a dancing, blaring mistake so I knew, life goes on.
I knew that the time I was making a mistake. I remember
thinking, “My body should be moving, but it isn’t. What’s
going on?!” Another time I changed the choreography a little.
We had rehearsed it a long time one way, then just before
the performance, they changed it. During the performance I
did it the original way. I looked fine, but I was doing
something different than the other two girls on stage. I had to
stride back into the routine. Physically I danced fine, but
mentally I slapped myself in the face. However, I didn’t let it
show."
