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Thread: Performance Stress

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    Performance Stress

    Any good stories about performance stress, be it comps or stage performance?

    I have been performing and competing since 1996 (only DWAS that year), not many comps recently, but still performances.

    In 1997 I did the UK nationals, intended to go into intermediate, but got put up to Classics (the top cat, for pros and teachers) - thing was I was unprepared for that one...I had taught one practice class and was going to teach soon "live" so I was put up to the pros
    I was dancing with someone who had only danced for 6 months!
    In the heat and semi, I was fine, partner was stressed, in the final I was stressed, and my partner was ok.
    I danced like sh*t in the finals and there was not a trace of a smile on my face... (my partner was fine by this time!)

    Since then, first 3 moves, I shook like a leaf, after that ok. I guess I took it serious, and when I got into it, all ok... performances and comps.

    until 2001, when I practiced hard for 3 months, knew the team routine I was doing in the finest detail, and had no stress apart from the sips of water and towel on the hands beforehand.

    Since 2001, no stress, no problems in performances (apart from the towel and water beforehand)

    Your story???

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    Re: Performance Stress

    One of the things that detracted from one of my trips to the Champs was seeing one of my favourite partners quivering with nerves for half of the day before her performance. Came the time and there were two falls within the first few moments. She spent the rest of the day inconsolable. Worst still, from my point of view, she withdrew from the MJ scene.

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    Senior Member rubyred's Avatar
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    Re: Performance Stress

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    One of the things that detracted from one of my trips to the Champs was seeing one of my favourite partners quivering with nerves for half of the day before her performance. Came the time and there were two falls within the first few moments. She spent the rest of the day inconsolable. Worst still, from my point of view, she withdrew from the MJ scene.

    That is really sad and I hope that your friend can find some way of handling her nervousness, but if nerves are going to be debilitating like this then the whole excitement and fun goes out of competing. Competitions are not for everyone. A certain level of anxiety is healthy because you need the adrenalin ,but it is helpful if you can manage your feelings and use the adrenalin to help you to preform. There are breathing exercises and psychology that you can practise on yourself to try and calm down. It is important that you believe that you have every right to be out there and do the best you can. Perhaps starting with some simple moves to get you into the groove, try to just focus on your partner so you forget that you are being watched by an audience, trying to play down the winning aspect of the event, look on it as a time to enjoy yourself and have fun instead of having to win. This is difficult for some people who are fixed on measuring success by winning, but winning is not the be end of everything. Breath through the diaphram, tell yourself over and over that you can do this and will do this and get through the three minutes of each record. You have put the work in and now its time to go out there and show what you can do, think positively all the time. If you make a mistake don't focus or point it out, some mistakes don't even get picked up on if you don't make an issue of them. Most important thing for me is have fun and smile
    Last edited by rubyred; 24th-June-2007 at 12:30 PM.

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    Re: Performance Stress

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    One of the things that detracted from one of my trips to the Champs was seeing one of my favourite partners quivering with nerves for half of the day before her performance. Came the time and there were two falls within the first few moments. She spent the rest of the day inconsolable. Worst still, from my point of view, she withdrew from the MJ scene.
    That is a big negative, and I am sorry to hear about your friends experience

    The first time can be really tough, be it on stage or in a comp, or even the first job interview.

    As Rubyred mentioned psychology can help.
    I have found the use of anchoring a big help, as used in NLP.

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    Re: Performance Stress

    Quote Originally Posted by rubyred View Post
    That is really sad and I hope that your friend can find some way of handling her nervousness, but if nerves are going to be debilitating like this then the whole excitement and fun goes out of competing. Competitions are not for everyone...
    OTOH Perhaps this is why competitions are for everyone. We all fell down on our way to walking, and to dance.
    Quote Originally Posted by T.D.Jakes
    "Its all good." "You've got to go through this to get to that." "It's all preparation."
    I keep being accused of negativity. "You keep looking for things that can go wrong." It is part of a programmers mentality. I look for things that can go wrong in order to prevent them, or circumnavigate them, or fix them, or, on a really good day, turn them into an opportunity.
    The best performers prepare themselves. Extra practise or learning better technique to prevent, and, when it goes wrong, a joke, or a bit of "business". (eg searching for and picking up a non-existent obstacle and throwing it away over your shoulder, then turning to see partner reeling having been "struck" by it.) Sometimes just to carry on as though nothing occurred.

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    Re: Performance Stress

    When waiting for the finals in the champs, we went up the back with the other double trouble lot and whilst they were sitting there waiting, we were throwing ourselves all over the floor and in the air, really messing about and having a laugh. Really helped unnerve us.

    My advice would be to find something that makes you laugh.

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    Re: Performance Stress

    Quote Originally Posted by woodface View Post
    When waiting for the finals in the champs, we went up the back with the other double trouble lot and whilst they were sitting there waiting, we were throwing ourselves all over the floor and in the air, really messing about and having a laugh. Really helped unnerve us.

    My advice would be to find something that makes you laugh.
    "Laughter is the best medicine.". A lot of people are also stressed by their first excursion into a dance class. Laughter helps there too.

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    Re: Performance Stress

    For many, many, oh my god, too many years, I competed in sport and I nearly always got nervous before big matches. Aside from my very first competitive matches, I usually found it disapated (sp?) once I was court.
    People always say it gives you an edge and it's necessary, I don't know if thats true as I never experienced the non-nervous side of that argument for big matches but one thing that helped me personally was a 'routine'.

    On the day of a tournament, do everything more or less in order, always have that banana keep to a routine. I don't know if particularly made the nerves less, but it definitely made them more managable.

    At tournaments, you naturally spend time chatting with friends etc, but I also found some quiet time just before I went on court was a good idea. Not necessarily to think about the match, but to get that calm that helps being focussed. I think that helped 'get in the zone' once I was on court. I used to read a few pages of a book before a big match sometimes, or listen to music.

    Being positive is incredibly important. You need to be 'up' for it. I didn't find it necessary to picture my opponent(s) naked on a toilet like they suggest for job interviews but, simplistically put, thinking 'I can do this' and other positive things is helpful. Watching inspiring movies before is a nice touch too. I used to watch 'Rocky' before big finals sometimes On my personal CD player, I used to have that trumpetty music from that movie

    Nerves happen, stress happens. I don't think you can do much about it in the short term, it's how you deal with it that counts. In the long term, familiarity will deal with it.
    Last edited by TA Guy; 25th-June-2007 at 01:25 PM.

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    Re: Performance Stress

    doing my 1st comp at Weston next month (DWAS and Intermediates) and have no idea how i will do.

    I usually dance better after 2 - 3 glasses of wine (no more) as i relax and stop stressing - even just at a freestyle, but as far as i know the competition starts in the morning o i don't think that's an option (Hmm red wine and frosties, do you think it will ever catch on?)

    More worryingly, my dance partner and i were putting in some extra practice in one of the studios last week and a friend came in to watch and give us a few pointers... He immediately forgot all of the moves we had perfected and resorted to beginners moves throughout - i may need to worry more about that on the day than my own nerves!

    Any tips on calming a nervous lead and reminding him of moves that he has temporarilly forgotten without beeing seen to be whispering in his ear by the judges gratefully received!

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