Angelofdance

This may seem like an odd topic, but what happens to you when you perform?

Personally..... I feel like I just shut off the world (perhaps this is the anxiety working on my brain), where I no longer pay attention to distractions. I come into my own world where my vision blurrs, and the music pounds with my heart. I stay on a high for a while after (perhaps my endorphins?) where I vibrate and become modest.

So what happens to you when you dance? Do you transform? Become an alter ego? get so nervous you can't move?

Iris/aod

Alaya

Hi Angelofdance. I am realy nervus while my performences. If I am not focus I can easy forget my choreo. I love to perform but it can be realy stresful especialy if I want to be perfect. I love to show whot i can do and whot I am good at. It makes me fell wonderfull. Love, Alaya

Ya_Assal

Hi Angelofdance,

Me I turn into a ham. Beforehand, I get the sweats, panick then always say to myself "what is wrong with you? you can't do this!!!!" then I get on stage and MILK IT.

When I was in dance school, when we would do our recitals, I used to love hearing the dancers complain about the audience. Usually it was filled with family and friends who only had energy when the person they knew would perform (which is to be expected). I used to love this because I looked at it as a challenge and the closer my turn came the more pumped I would be about getting everyone in the room to wake up.

So suddenly I would ignore choereography, improvise something and just ham it up until I saw smiling faces in the audience and made the entire room clap along with the music.

Although my teacher would get frustrated that I didn't follow her choreography, she was still proud and it just made all the months of work so worth it.

To this day when I perform I do one thing, I keep serious eye contact with as many people in the audience as is possible, because even if you mess up, I've noticed over the years people still enjoy the performance because they became a part of it.

The the funniest thing, is when I get offstage, I have to sit because I have a serious case of the shakes.

Odd what tools dancers use to enhance their performance.

Assal

miss_shimmy

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bodylicious

Mouse

Things tend to feel a bit surreal when I perform. Like I'm there but I'm also kinda not. Before going on I shake.. like bad trembling shakes and have the hugest desire to just run for the hills, but once the music starts and I start dancing I'm ok. Although the trembles come back after.

My first solo was a bit different though, the trembles didn't stop and I felt very stiff. I'm sure the next one will be easier though.

Norma

Let's see...I've performed with a group once, and I've performed by myself on seven occasions. (I've only been performing since February.)

I have to say the group dance was the most nerve-wracking, because I was so worried about making sure we were all doing the same thing. I only remember bits and pieces of it and I'm sorry about that because if I wasn't so nervous I might have really enjoyed it.

I was so nervous when I did my first solo that I forgot everything! lol Major case of stage fright, for sure. (Which ended up being kind of good, because it totally changed the way I choreograph.)

The last few times I've performed, I've felt totally fine until the exact moment I've walked out on the floor. My stomach drops, I get that cold feeling, etc. But then when the music starts, I'm into it. I have surreal moments off and on during the whole performance--like every once in awhile I suddenly realize what I'm doing and really think about it--then I'm back in dancing la la land.

Oh yeah...and afterwards, I'm usually on kind of a high. I feel exhilerated and I'm sorry it's over and I want to go back and do it again.

Moon

I only did one group performance and it was very nice. None of us was extremely nervous, only a little so we had to laugh at almost anything before going on stage.
During the performance I felt rather good. I only had the idea my smile looked very fake and I felt my lips tremble, but that got less and less during performing. I couldn't see the audience because of the lighting, so I had to smile towards a big black space
I never did a solo yet, but I guess I would be far more nervous when I had to do a solo.

Ya_Assal

Hi Amanda,

I have been performing professionally for 2 years (weddings and special events) but have been doing shows for the past 9.5 years. They were mostly recitals and group performances. I was part of a dance troup for only 3 months then when my teacher became ill, well the ladies of the troup each felt they should take over so I left all that I knew and started my own classes.

I do admit that I love to perform but I really enjoy doing choreography and have begun to shift my direction. This is not my day job, but as teaching picks up, I am hoping to devote more time to it.

Assal

Maria_Aya

I feel ALIVE and a different person, its like an out of body experiense.
Damn
I need my bellyshrink ASAP !!!

Maria Aya

maariku

I have had a number of performances over the past two years, and what Ifeel out there depends very much on the performance. If it is on stage and to a larger audience, I indeed concentrate on dancing so much, that I barely notice anything... I usually don't get nervous before the performance (too much preoccupied with make-up, probably :P), butI have to admit - the moment I step out, my first though is "I wish it was over already" But it passes more or less the moment I actually start dancing.

With smaller audience I try to pay a lot of attention to audience members. Immediately after the performance I usually feel great!!! But sometimes, especially with bigger things, I fall into a post-performance slump. A good sleep usually helps, in that case, and the next morning I am up to going out on that stage again