Conquer Stage Fright

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A trio of girls walks onstage at Nationals. The house lights go down, the curtain rises, the music cues and only two girls begin to dance. The third, paralyzed by hundreds of penetrating eyes and blinding lights, freezes in her opening position, her feet glued to the floor. Her perplexed partners dance by, but she is unable to join them, unable to move at all.

Sounds like a bad dream, but it’s an all-too-familiar reality for many first-year competitors. Stage fright can cripple even the most experienced dancers, but the more prepared your students are, the less likely they are to be bitten by the jitter bug. Start prepping them the first day they walk into your studio. Here’s how:  

All Eyes on Us
Learning and perfecting the steps of a routine is only the beginning. The toughest challenge novice dancers face is overcoming the crowd. They often become embarrassed, shy or scared when they peek out to see thousands of eyes looking their way. Provide students with many opportunities to perform in front of an audience prior to the event.

“Each week, we bring our competition kids into our other classes so they become used to dancing for others,” says Deidre Madrigal, artistic director of The Dance Spot in Fullerton, California. Allow your students a chance to shake out their stage fright early in front of parents and peers.

Conquering the Copycat
Once your dancers know their routine well enough to practice full out, take them out of their comfort zone. “Kids get used to watching other dancers and take their cues off the girl in front of or beside them,” says Sue Parker, director of The Movement Center School of Dance in Canal Winchester, Ohio. “When that person messes up, or they change formations, they become confused.”

For larger production numbers, she suggests having several dancers perform the combination while the rest of the students in the number watch. This way, they aren’t able to cue off the dancers around them. “Every dancer needs to be confident that he or she knows the dance well enough to perform it on his or her own,” she says.  

Practice Makes Perfect
It’s common for dancers to feel anxious at competition, unsure of stage size and uneasy without classroom mirrors. Take them out of their element prior to the big day. Spend the second half of class facing away from the mirror, switch rooms with another dance class or get out of the studio altogether. The more young dancers practice walking on and off stage, the less chance they will walk to the wrong spot or become overwhelmed by what they’re walking toward—lights, judges and an excited audience.

“We hold at least one out-of-studio rehearsal so the kids can perform on a stage,” says Parker. “If I can’t find an affordable facility, I borrow another teacher’s studio. It’s all about getting your dancers into a different environment.”

As competition day draws near, schedule a dress rehearsal that simulates the competition as closely as possible. Try to book an auditorium or gymnasium that resembles the venue you’ll perform in and have each group perform its numbers in full hair, makeup and costumes.

“This is good practice for the parents as well,” adds Madrigal, who uses this rehearsal as a clinic for parents to apply makeup and do their daughters’ hair.

Preparing for the Unexpected
Students new to competing don’t know what to expect. They don’t have the advantage of experience, and that’s where you come in. Prepare your dancers for the little things that could go wrong during their performance, like a shoe falling off, the music not starting on time, a false eyelash coming unglued or someone next to them missing a step.

“The first thing we teach youngsters is, ‘Always keep dancing,’” Madrigal says. “It’s important that when they come off the stage, I don’t make a big deal. These things happen.” Madrigal walks her students through their routine several times, simulating performance mishaps and asking them to react as they would at a real competition.  

Don’t Sweat the Competition
Winning should not be the main concern for you or your students. Instead of stressing the competition and the trophies, concentrate on small, individual goals such as improving a segment of a dance, advises Jana Scheurich, director of Dancin’ Feet in Lewisville, Texas. “Competition is mental as much as it is physical,” she explains. “Dancers will be calm if they see that their teacher is happy and calm. But if you’re nervous, they’ll pick up on that.”

What a Novice Idea
Start students under the age of 12 in a novice division to expose them to the competition scene and allow them to gauge their talent level against dancers with similar experience. “It’s difficult for a 9- or 10-year-old, who’s never competed, to go up against kids the same age with three national championships,” says Madrigal. “I like them to compete against kids their age with similar experience. That way they know how they really compare to other dancers.”

If the competition doesn’t have a novice division (less than two years of training), then, she says, it’s important to be honest with your dancers. “Tell them what to expect,” she says. “There may be very talented, experienced dancers in their category, but they are only competing against themselves.”

Keeping It Together
Even the most talented dancers need a year to acclimate themselves to the competitive scene. Yet teachers often place first-year dancers in solos or duets before they’ve competed in a group, which can be extremely stress-inducing. Instead, warm them up to competition in a production number, so they don’t feel like they’re alone onstage.

And keep them with kids their own age for the first few years. “Even if you have a 10-year-old with the skills to dance with seniors, he or she may not have the stage presence or confidence to perform with an older group,” Scheurich says. “If her parents wonder why she isn’t competing with older groups, remind them that even though their child is talented, there is always something more to learn, always something to work on.” DT

New York City-based freelance writer Alyssa Roenigk also writes for ESPN The Magazine.