October 2023 – NEXTSTEPPAD

Let’s talk about stage fright. Whether you’re new to performing or you’ve been in front of audiences for years, everybody can admit it’s at least a little nerve-wracking. And yet, it’s the culmination of all the work dancers do! So, as a teacher or studio owner who teaches your dancers all about technique and artistry, how can you coach them through the practicalities of performing, like performance anxiety?

Andrea Kolbe, studio owner of Art in Motion Dance Center in Long Island, New York, shares how she spots and soothes students who are feeling nervous. We also spoke with Chicago-based dance/movement therapist Erica Hornthal, author of Body Aware.

Step one is definitely identifying the problem – and it can start even before you get to the theater. Nerves might be affecting your dancer onstage, backstage or even in the studio well before the performance. Is one of your dancers wobblier than usual the week before? Has their attitude changed in rehearsals?

Kolbe says, “When we have our recitals, I can typically tell when the dancers are nervous because of the look on their face and being super jittery. Some will talk excessively, while others will be super quiet and focus inward. I also have some of the dancers verbalize that they are nervous to me or the other instructors backstage.”

If dancers can recognize for themselves and express to you that they’re not feeling their best, that’s fantastic. But it’s important to remember that nerves will look different on everyone. Different methods of dealing with those nerves might work better for some dancers, and other methods for others. Most dancers feel better after testing their shoes onstage and having time to try the choreography in the space. Some may need time and space to focus alone. Others might benefit from a connecting pre-show ritual with their group, like a huddle and pep-talk backstage to connect with their peers.

“Group camaraderie and teamwork definitely ease onstage jitters and nervousness,” notes Kolbe. “I’ve noticed over the past 13 years of teaching in a studio setting that dancers are much more nervous when they are performing a solo on stage.” In the scenario of solos, maybe take your dancer aside and learn what they personally need, whether that’s to burn off some energy, talk it out or do some breathwork.

We asked dance/movement therapist Erica Hornthal for her top three tips on dealing with those pesky jitters in the wings, or nervousness leading up to that moment. Her take?

#1. “Meet your emotions. Identify what/how you feel physically.”

#2. “Notice what the timing, rhythm and intensity of this emotion is. This will help you express it.”

#3. “Express it. This can be through shaking, tapping, jumping, bouncing, etc. There is no wrong movement when it comes to expressing how an emotion feels in your body.”

A simple 1 2 3, right? Well, if you want to make this method its most effective, it takes some practice. Mental health can’t only be addressed by three “top tips” when you’re already in the wings.

“Practice the above sequence at times when you are not feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed,” Hornthal encourages. “This will allow you to use it when you really need it.” Some of her other suggestions include moving in unfamiliar ways to build a greater emotional capacity, and checking in with your body regularly to identify emotions as they arise.

Andrea Kolbe backstage with students. Photo courtesy of Kolbe.

It’s about building good mental health habits. Be sure to introduce this to your students before the big day. When they’re feeling fear creep in at the studio, or before bed on recital eve or even when they’re not feeling stressed at all, they should use this method consistently so they know they can rely on it when they’re stepping onstage.

What does Hornthal feel is overlooked about performance anxiety? “Anxiety is a feeling. It’s normal,” she says. “You will never eliminate it. The key is noticing it, understanding it, even befriending it so we can dispel the fear and release the control it has over you. It is not something to be avoided, but rather confronted in a safe and compassionate manner.”

If only we had access to professionals like Hornthal in our studios! Few dance schools have the budget to have a dance/movement therapist on staff, but boy would it be helpful. Kolbe agrees that having a mental health expert come to the studio and give a lecture on recital anxiety would be beneficial to her dancers. If not a guest lecturer, what other mental health resources can we provide for our students? As teachers, it’s our job to set them up to do the best they can – and in a performance art, that includes giving them tools to dance without anxiety affecting their performance.

By Holly LaRoche of Dance Informa.

The post Fighting stage fright: How to spot and soothe performance anxiety appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine.

Often times in dance, we can be very goal-oriented. We’re perfectionists, always striving for a better line, one more turn, a little longer of a balance. And sometimes we get frustrated when it feels like we aren’t achieving those things. Studios can get a bit insular when your day is spent studying yourself in the mirror.

So today we’re going to step outside of the studious studio mindset and remind you of something: you’re human! All that training you do? It has effects that can’t be seen onstage; your family, friends, classmates and coworkers see it sooner than an audience member would. Truth is, dancing doesn’t just make you a better dancer, it helps make you a more informed, creative, and well-rounded person.

We touched base with Board Certified Dance Movement Therapist Sara R. van Koningsveld to hear how she uses dance in her therapy practice to benefit her clients. On top of her BC-DMT certification, she is also a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), a Graduate Laban Certified Movement Analyst (GL-CMA) and registered yoga teacher. She has a deep understanding of how and why movement helps us be better humans.

Sara R. van Koningsveld. Photo by by Chirs Ly/OddLy Captured.

Dancers have our own theories. It’s hard not to dance an exercise on one side, then the other, then reverse it and not feel at least a little smart. We count ourselves to be team players when synchronizing corps de ballet choreography or mirroring fellow dancers. Creative problem solving is practically our job, especially when choreographing. Our time management tends to be on par with the best and busiest. We pride ourselves on being hardworking. Partnering encourages empathy and a sense for consent. These skills are all byproducts of the cognitive, physical, social and emotional awarenesses that van Koningsveld helps her clients access and build.

Van Koningsveld defines DMT as “the integration of body and mind, through movement.” And it isn’t limited to dance – “Movement can sometimes look more like mindfulness practices, such as walking or breathing, and/or self-awareness practices focusing on the sensations of the body.”

Some of what van Koningsveld says of DMT supports dancers’ hunches about dance sharpening their cognition and other skills. And some of it points to a lack of awareness – such intensively physical training can sometimes put the emotional and mental benefits of movement on the back burner. When we get so wrapped up in the technicality and performance of dance, we may miss out on some of its natural benefits. So van Koningsveld is here to help us reconnect with the (not so simple) foundations of movement. Let’s start with what dancers do well. We’ve got coordination literally from the tops of our head to the tips of our toes. “In dance/movement therapy, as well as other mind-body professions, we call this physical intelligence or body awareness ‘kinesthetic awareness,’” says van Koningsveld. “Kinesthetic awareness is one of the main elements of my DMT practice, because from that awareness change is possible.” Our kinesthetic awareness is well honed; we practice it daily. When a move doesn’t feel right, we practice and adjust until it does.

But we make that change in our physicality for aesthetic purposes. What about changing our physicality for emotional purposes? Here’s something dancers could build on. “For a very simple example, you notice butterflies in your stomach. Do you like them, or do you not? Are these butterflies for excitement, or is it anxiety? As a DMT client, you get to make that decision for yourself, and then decide what to do about the butterflies. We may move the butterflies or watch the butterflies. Either way, we are building kinesthetic awareness. Your body is giving you information about your current emotional state through your physical state.”

Van Koningsveld explains that Laban-Bartenieff technique takes kinesthetic awareness even further, building concepts of “body knowledge” and “body prejudice” from it.

“At any time, we can try on new movements and choose to either become conscious or remain unconscious about them. Here is another short example. In (western) culture, we do not typically bow when greeting someone; we are used to shaking hands. Imagine being in a situation where a bow is customary – we try on bowing to greet someone, and maybe it makes us uncomfortable. But do we notice that discomfort, or do we just continue about our day? To expand our body knowledge, we would acknowledge the discomfort, get curious about it and expand our self-awareness about why it’s uncomfortable. Is it because it’s something I don’t know? Or is it because I have problems with bending at my hips? We get to explore what makes bowing to someone feel so uncomfortable – physically, mentally and emotionally. Ignoring that sensation, ignoring information our bodies are giving us when we move in a new way, would lead to or reinforce body prejudice.”

Sara R. van Koningsveld. Photo by Nir Livni.

With all the kinesthetic awareness we engrain in ourselves for dance, we can apply that awareness to our world outside of the studio. We can pay attention to our physicality and foster our body knowledge, gain insight through our body into how the environment around us is affecting us, and either change our environment or change how we’re interacting with it. We can notice other people’s physicality, and help them feel more at ease or included. All through understanding how physicality links to emotionality and mental health.

For such a human capability, it feels almost like a superpower. Does it sound too ‘out there?’ What if you paid attention to what constitutes the absolute best hug, how it feels to be wrapped in the most comforting embrace you can imagine? That kinesthetic awareness, that almost choreographic understanding of an everyday gesture, can help you provide that comfort to other people.

Professional dancers of this day and age are considered athletes, and rightly so. But thinking solely in physical terms can limit the benefits movement has to offer. Dance is also emotional and creative. Of course moving your body has physical benefits, but it also gives you a sense you can tap into that provides feedback on how you feel. So every so often, dance outside of the mirror, and instead of thinking about how it looks, notice how it feels. If you’re looking for guidance on how to hone that superpower, talk to a Dance Movement Therapist like van Koningsveld about using DMT to care for your mental health, or even just to learn more about yourself.

By Holly LaRoche of Dance Informa.

The post How dance can make us better people appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine.