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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