Emotions/Energy

In my last blog post I mentioned a little about using emotion to express yourself in dance. You need to show the audience your feelings throughout the song and show those feelings throughout your whole body as well as your facial expressions. Showing emotion in your dance makes it a more enjoyable performance, not only to watch for the audience, but also for yourself. You will find a deeper connection to the song and your dance will come out stronger and with more energy. Performing a dance with a straight face and lazy movements makes the dance honestly just look bad, and makes it look like you do not enjoy what you are doing. Of course we all have days where we do not feel motivated, and are just too tired to show any full energy, but the audience does not know how you are feeling that day, all they see is a lazy performance level. (A bit harsh, but true.) Having full energy, and a lot of emotion in your movements, makes your dance and performance that much better. You can practice these facial expressions at home by the mirror, and incorporate that practice into your dancing. Another way to practice putting more emotion and energy into your dancing, is to dance like you would sing the song, I know that sounds a little odd, but think about it, you wouldn't hit a high note with no expression on your face, think of the little hand gestures and facials singers do when they are performing/practicing their singing, even if you are not a singer, try lip syncing a song, and see what your hands and face do. They will not be still, let me tell you that. Keep on practicing those facial expressions and energy/emotion and you will see an improvement in your dancing.

Performances

With dance show/recital season coming up I thought it would be the perfect time to write about performances and my own personal experiences with them. I have done recitals when I was little, and I have also done dance shows at school, and have performed with my BBYO chapter for our annual Regional Convention talent show. Doing many shows I have quite a bit of experience with nerves and excitement of performing. Pretty much everyone is always nervous yet excited to perform, but sometimes the nerves can overlap the excitement The best thing to do is to not stress yourself out too much, which in some cases can be easier said than done. The worst thing to do is to over practice, of course you can go over a few moves before you go on stage but you should only do it full out once a few hours before going on stage and then take the time to relax and breathe. A few weeks before your performance you should make sure you have everything you need; shoes, costumes, any basic necessities like hair ties and bobby pins, hairspray, makeup, etc...) you want to do this ahead of time in case you still need to go out and buy something before your performance. You have more important things to worry about the day of the performance then to worry if you have enough bobby pins. The night before, you want to relax as much as possible, stretch, make sure everything is packed for the show, and my advice to you if you want to wash your hair I would do it at least 2 days before the show because freshly washed hair is harder to work with when trying to put into a tight and sleek hairstyle for your performance. Now, it is the day of the performance, grab all of your things, and get excited! For the actual performance the most important thing you need to remember is to show emotion and to show that you are having fun on stage. The audience wants to see a performance, not a mark of the dance. Make sure to change your facial expressions and really tell the story. And of course you want make sure you are sharp and elegant with your movements, if a flexed foot or a bent leg is choreographed into the dance, make it very defined, or else it will look like you forgot to point your toe and straighten your leg. Remember all of the corrections your dance instructor has given to you, and show confidence on the stage. Your performance value is just as important as technique, don't forget that.I personally have a show coming up in May, and it will be my last dance show of my high school years, and there is so much nostalgia.  Good luck to all who are performing soon, and if you already had a show I hope you did well and that you enjoyed your show!

The Steps to Improvement

Improving as a dancer takes time, hard work, and patience. If you are part of a studio, or taking a class at school, you need to put in work outside of class consistently. Some things you can do:

1. Stretch! Stretching is extremely important in dance, and in any sport and or physical activity. Every dancer needs to be warmed up before starting to dance. Stretching improves flexibility, helps your joints move through their full range of motion, enables your muscles to work effectively, and increases blood flow to the muscle. Make sure to stretch for at least 20 minutes everyday.

-Some great stretches include: lunges, pigeon position, splits (even if you cannot get them all the way down just yet, just hold them at the point in which you can get them, and you will see improvement over time), another great stretch is where you are in a lunge position, except both knees are on the ground, bend the back leg and reach with your opposite arm and pull your foot closer to your back. Also, you want to really stretch those hips, hip flexibility will help tremendously in dance, from the splits, to improving leg lifts and extensions, and turns. And make sure to stretch your back and shoulders, as flexibility in your back and shoulders is a big part in dance, this will help attitude turns, acrobatic tricks, extensions,  your arabesque, and more.

2. Strength! Aside from being flexible, being strong is a main factor of dance. Strengthening your core is something that a dancer hears everyday "Tighten your core!" "Use those abs!" that's because having a strong core helps a dancer find their centre which improves turns and control in your movements. Of course, strengthening your legs, and arms are just as crucial as your core, so make sure to add in all elements of exercise to work on these areas. Simple crunches can help with core, as well as reverse crunches,  sit-ups, holding a plank, push-ups, bicycle crunches, jack-knives, and many more.

Here are some great videos to help with core strength!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M79QHvZaEHw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TrFrKbEYNE

This is only the beginning of improvement, everyone has to start somewhere. Stretching and strengthening is a part of every dancers daily routine, and it will never not be required for a dancer, to continue stretching and getting stronger.