How To Prepare for your First Dance Performance

Dance performances commence after hours or days of preparation and rehearsals. Getting to memorize a certain track, a particular leap or even just a specific step is not an easy task. If you are practicing a dance routine, you are practicing to be able to do it perfectly – which is easier said than done. Performing your dance routine perfectly in front of an audience will really take more than an ounce of preparation. It will require giving time, energy and focus to be able to pull it off successfully.

Dance greats like Fred Astaire and his dance partner Rita Hayworth spent hours and hours practicing their dances and making sure they were able to dance them perfectly. Astaire himself was a workaholic, striving for precision and perfection in all his dances. Preparation time for a dance performance usually takes from four weeks to six weeks. During this time, you choose the music that will accompany your dance, select the type of dance you will be performing, and prepare the costume that you will be using in your performance. If this is going to be your first dance performance, you may need some help on how to prepare for it. Below are some tips on how to prepare for your first dance performance.

* Know your routine by heart. You should know your dance routine even when you are sleeping or hanging from the rooftop upside-down.
* Dance with your costume on. Try your costume on and perform your routine. If the costume feels comfortable and holds out well during the whole dance, that’s good. Trying it on first will allow you to fix anything that needs to be altered or re-sewn before the performance.

* Practice as if your audience is already in front of you. The minute you put on the music to practice your dance routine smile as if a hundred people are in front of you and not the mirror. Give the smile you will be giving on your performance day.
* Get enough sleep. Your body should be well rested and have enough sleep, most especially the night before your performance.
* Eat the right food. Eat the right food in the right amounts. Eat a few hours before your performance so you don’t feel heavy. If you feel hungry in the last hour, eat a banana. This won’t be heavy in your stomach but it will give you lots of energy.
* Go to the venue early. Be at the venue of your dance performance a little bit earlier than what the director told you. It would be good if your hair and make-up were already done so that you don’t need to worry about fixing-up.
* Relax and do your breathing exercises. If you are tense, you muscles will harden and you will have a hard time executing your routine. Try to relax and have confidence that you know your routine by heart. Breathe slowly and deeply. Be calm and yet alert enough to know when your part is already near.

When it’s your time to dance, go to your position, lift your head and give the audience a confident smile. After all, you will surely ‘wow’ them with your perfect dance routine.