Should You Rehearse Full Out or Mark the Choreography?

Rehearsals: Do you dance full out or do you mark the choreography? In my opinion, you should dance full out for all of your rehearsals unless you’re told not to - Destiny agrees with me (!):

Your body builds muscle memory very quickly. Marking the choreography too often can actually reduce your performance level when it comes to the actual performance. If you are marking the choreography to “save your energy” or to “go easy because you’re injured”, you should speak to your choreographer/teachers and see what they think. If you’re injured, it’s best to step out and let the understudy fill in – it will be better for you in your future career, as you will be potentially less prone to future injuries.

Dance full out every time, but if you notice that you’re feeling exhausted or dizzy or sick during a rehearsal, step out and tell your teacher. Remember to always prioritise your health!

On stage, you rely more on muscle memory than you’d think – a lot of the time, we don’t even think about the next step that we’re supposed to take, because our body knows what it has to do. But you can only do this if you’re completely prepared and if your body has memorised the whole routine. Good muscle memory allows you to focus on artistry and emotion which is just as important as the choreography itself, so I suggest always dancing full out.

However, don’t do it right before a performance. Minutes before you go on stage, your body is naturally going to be tensed, and the last thing you want to do is run a choreography full out.

If your teacher wants you to run through the choreography, you can do a mental exercise instead: My dance teachers always told me right before any performance to say all of the steps out loud – instead of dancing the choreography, talk yourself and the others in the dance through the steps verbally. For example, if you’re doing “tombé, pas de bourré, glissade, jetté”, say it out loud instead of actually doing the steps. This way, you’re making sure that you’re in complete control of your brain. And don’t stress if you can’t remember the name of a step or if you don’t know how to word it correctly – that’s just nerves, and once you’re on stage you’ll be alright (!)

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