Please help!...stage-fright!

[*Nila*]

Hello everybody, I need your advice, please...I´m trying to start with performing, actually I would like to become a professional one day But I have a problem with my nervosity, I have a stage-fright
Actually I love dacing for people, I can enjoy it...like last time, I was dancing in a teahouse, there were nice people, I was smiling on them, they were smiling on me, it was nice...but despite this, I wasn´t relaxed, was nervous....so my body wasn´t relaxed too, I was quite stiff Like there were two people in me...one, who enjoyes dancing, entertain people and have connection with them...and another, who is afraid, stiff because of stage-fright.
Uh, can anybody help me? Dancing for people more often would help, I guess..but problem is that there aren´t too many opportunities for me, as a beginner with performing...And how could I interest somebody to make him want me to dance in his event, if I´m nervous while dancing? :think:
Regards

Nila

 

[Mosaic]

I am so sorry to hear that you feel so nervous. The first couple of times I performed in public I was terrified!, But it got easier the more I did it and to be honest I was less nervous with complete strangers than with anyone I knew

Some people will always feel a little nervous before performing but once they get out there the nerves will settle down. What I tend to do, even now is to make sure I have 5 mins of quiet time, and do some deep breathing , some stretches if possible and I visualise the dance area and draw a circle around that area, in my mind, that is my dance zone, and once I step into the zone, no nerves or those butterfly feelings are allowed, I shoo them out the nearest door or window. That is my safe space, diva space a space where I am full of confidence and I can dance my heart out. That is how I have dealt with nerves and even though I don't get that nervous now, I still like to have my quiet time and to draw the mental circle around the dance area. Other dancers may have different methods and it is just finding that one that decreases the nervousness for you. Maybe a soothing de-stressing meditation CD played each day for a couple of weeks before a performance, even hypnosis can help. I hope you can find a way to help yourself.

By the way you mentioned being a beginner, do you mean a beginner at performance or a beginner dancer?
~Mosaic

 

[Yame]

Check haflas and other belly dance events in your area, and check with your teacher about providing more student performance opportunities. The only way to get rid of your fears is to face them... repeatedly!

Losing stage fright takes a lot of practice performing for an audience. Some people never completely lose that stage fright, but it does decrease over time (with practice) and become more manageable.

I've always had stage fright. As a little girl I really feared school plays. In front of an audience I'd get so nervous I'd forget my lines, even if all I had to say were a few words. Performing belly dance became a huge milestone for me for that reason.

When I started performing, I'd get really, really nervous... especially beforehand. But it seemed to me like when I was performing, no one could tell. That's probably because unlike acting, belly dancing is something I have confidence I can do. That helps a lot... knowing that you can do it, even if you are nervous, people won't even notice it. So, remember that.

After many, many performances, I am becoming more and more comfortable performing in public. I do still get nervous beforehand (not as much, though), but while I am performing, even though I am not *completely* comfortable, I am really able to enjoy myself and allow my personality to shine through, nowadays.

So, in my opinion, the keys are:

1. Confidence: You know you can belly dance. Remember that. You are not up there on a stage talking about something you haven't a clue about, or performing a dance you've never taken classes in. You might not be perfect, you might make mistakes, but you know what you are doing.

2. Preparation: Of course, the more prepared you are, the more confident you can be, so this really relates to the first point. If you picked a song at the last minute and you don't even know it, that will impact your confidence negatively. If you are well-prepared and know and LOVE your music, that will impact your confidence positively. Know your audience, think of what they might be expecting. Make sure what you've prepared is audience-appropriate.

3. Practice: Perform as much as you can, at the proper venues. The less you perform, the longer it will take you to get used to performing.

 

[LadyLoba]

Warmup from theatre

When I used to act in college (because I had to to meet degree requirements, I focused on the play writing part of Theatre)...we used to do a warmup consisting of:

1. walking around doing stretches, swinging arms, and reciting tongue twisters. It looks absolutely ridiculous and feels like you're fooling around, but the combination of movement and talking to yourself sort of "burns off" the jitters.


2. If you're REALLY nervous, there is a way we'd calm ourselves before the silly walk around: lay on the floor and focus on each part of your body, relaxing each one and taking deep breaths as you imagine yourself in a place you love.

(I would not do the second one while wearing a beautiful belly dance costume. We did these in our regular school clothes...on a stage that the janitor cleaned every day)

 

[*Nila*]

Thank you for tips, I will try them for sure
Well, I would like to perform in front of people more often, but there really aren´t many opportunities here. I guess this will be a long journey...but on the other hand the more I will wait for performance the more I will be confident in my dancing Although I think my dance skills are good enough to show them in public ( yes, Mosaic, I meant begginer in performing...not begginer in dance ), there are many of things I have to learn and practise...
And as for preparation, I guess I´m quite a perfectionist, I train a lot...I would be much more nervous if I wouldn´t...this really helps me...But the stage-fright is more because of the people in front of me. I think I would be stiff whatever I would do in front of people:lol:

 

[*Nila*]

Well, and since I won´t have any performance at present, I will at least try the tip with meditation music...various music affects me a lot, so this could maybe help.......

 

[Darshiva]

I had some great advice from Barbara Wolfkamp (Bellydance Kismet, Melbourne) while I was in Tassie a few weeks ago. I had terrible stage fright & she said that if you don't get butterflies it's time to stop dancing. Knowing that everyone gets butterflies (even the big names) gave me the confidence to go out there & give it my best. I hope it does for you too!

 

[Shakti]

Here is something that I do, slow your breathing to a slow steady pace. Fill your lungs with air and slowly release.This will simulate being calm to your body and your brain will not release as many chemicals to tell the rest of you that you are scared. This will allow you to concentrate on your performance without getting jittery!

After my first performance, I got such a rush of excitement, it was like jumping out of an airplane, very glad it was over , but also very proud.

 

[*Nila*]

Darshiva, thanks for your post...it made me think about it from a bit different angle...

 

[*Nila*]

Shakti, I will surely try the tip with breathing...I hope it will help me at least a little.
When I´m dancing in public I even sometimes forget breathing because of the nervosity ....and after the dance I´m like I was running for an hour..and so rushed...I´m talking so fast, like "trrrrrrrrr". But I´m also proud that I managed it ( somehow )

 

[Nejmeh]

Also remember your audience will not know what you are supposed to do exaclty most of the time. We tend to be very strict on ourselves and notice every little step taking the wrong way. The audience would not notice that.

I did this once with theatre, forgot an entire monologue, on page long and just made something up as I went along. It stressed the hell out of my fellow´actors´, but the audience never realized it!

 

[Belly Love]

It might help to remind yourself that 99% of people would feel the same way. Sometimes when we get nervous, we feel like something is wrong with us, like, why can't I calm down? And we feel like it's our own personal issue, but it's not. Most everyone gets nervous doing something with an audience.

Also, remember that these people are having fun watching you, they are enjoying what your doing- you are entertaining them! What a wonderful thing! If you can change your mindset about the show, you can change how your body feels.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I know dancers who have been dancing for 30 years and still get stage fright! I still get nervous even though I've been publicly performing for five years. Sometimes audiences are not so friendly, in fact, they can be downright difficult. But if you can just dance like you did when you practiced and really focus on enjoying yourself first, get into that zone, and it will help a lot.

 

[walladah]

Sometimes i think that practicing

is enough to face stage-fear... some others i believe that attitude is everything... however, i admit that stage-performance stress is everywhere in one or the other way (f.ex. the last time i performed in front of people i felt very very calm, but... my stomach was not agreeing at all the entire day of the performance and after it).

however, the easiest way to manage this stress is to perform again and again, till you are accustomed to "handle" the fear. And of course, you should never forget to enjoy youself dancing!

 

[teela]

Nila, I find if I can be doing something while I'm waiting such as knitting, reading a book, etc, it cuts down on my stage fright because I"m focused elsewhere. One other thing that helps cut down on the stage fright is know you music so well that you know exactly where you are in the piece always. If you are a solo dancer, know one knows what you are planning and so what ever you do is right. One of the DVD's I have the person states that if you get stuck run the movement the other direction so if you moved right with hip circles, do it to the left so you can decide what move to do next.

 

[*Nila*]

Thank you a lot for your advices, girls! I hope it will help me when I will have next performance...
My goal is learn how to improvise in order to don´t be dependant on my (weak ) memory, when I´m performing choreography.....Because sometimes I feel I´m so rushed to do some move in certain moment...that I think the audince had to see it. And I´m also afraid that when I´m dancing choreography it can just look planned. Don´t know....But at present I love to improvise at home, but fell safer with choreography when I´m dancing in public.

 

[jellytree]

Stage Fright

I would suggest just doing something in front of people at every oppotunity! Go to karaoke bars and sing in front of people. Take a couple of speech seminars that target stage fright. Join a drama club or class. Anything that gets you in front of people.

Also, try not to think about what others will think of you. Think about how much you love this and you want to share it someone. It might help. Breathing exercises help too.

 

[jellytree]

It's been known that people would rather die than get in front of people and speak. I think it's the number one fear of most people.

 

[Corylus]

I have been dancing just over 2 years and have danced at lots of haflas, a few charity events and have done some paid restaurant dancing.

When I started I was really nervous too but I would say for most people the more you perform the better your confidence becomes. That has certainly been the case for me. I practice and try to make sure I am well prepared which I think helps.

The thing that helps me most is I think to myself 'I'm going to really enjoy this' just before going out and dancing. This helps me because at the point when you are about to perform all you can do is give it your all, try to enjoy yourself and hope that the people watching enjoy it too.

People aren't watching you thinking you're going to mess up, they are watching because they want to watch you dance. The only one worrying about you messing up is you so you have to try and reassure yourself that you are a good dancer, you know what you're doing and even if you do mess up it won't be the end of the world. Everyone makes mistakes and there'll be other performances in the future; you can't change past performances but you can work on future ones!

So, my essential bits of advice to get over stage fright:

1) Practice and prepare yourself

2) Try your best when performing

3) Remember that it should be enjoyable - so try to enjoy it!

4) It's not a disaster if you make a mistake.
Learn from it then move on.

 

[Corylus]

remember that these people are having fun watching you, they are enjoying what your doing- you are entertaining them! What a wonderful thing! If you can change your mindset about the show, you can change how your body feels.

I love this point Belly Love, I completely agree