Expert: Jennifer - 2/24/2003

Question
I am 17 and have been doing ballet since I was 4.  I don't consider myself good by no means but improving(honestly).  It was tough for me to go one point at frist but not as much now.  I now have landed the role of "The Beast" in Beauty and The Beast(our studio's recital).  This is quite great considering this is my first role in one of our recitals.  The Belle has had a leed for the past 2 years.  I am just worried I am going to look like shit compared to her.  Can you tell me how I can improve by the end of May.  How do professionals perpare?  Basicly give me a pep talk.  I'm a female by the way, we don't have any male's at our studio.  

Answer
First of all, congratulations on the role, V!

You really do need to stop being so hard on yourself... obviously someone thought you would be able to handle the part since you were assigned the role in the first place!

I don't know the nature of the choreography for your recital, but typically the part of The Beast would require a lot of character preparation. A good way not to be upstaged by a more "experienced" dancer would to really get into your character. If you have a good stage presence and a strong character, no one will notice if you miss a few steps! So talk with your teacher and think about how The Beast should move and act.

Another tip I can give you, though its not really an easy one, is to be confident in your dancing. Make sure you are well rehearsed, and you know exactly what you should be doing on stage... this will relieve a lot of the jitters and help you focus more on *performing* than just on what steps come next. This is one thing that really sets dancers apart on stage. I know from personal experience how detrimental to a performance being umprepared is... I was once assigned a soloist role 2 days before a performance, and I was so nervous about how I looked compared to the other, better soloists that I couldn't execute the steps properly. If I had just taken some time to calm down and relax myself before the performance instead of freaking out, I could have executed the steps that I *knew* I could do off stage.

You don't need to worry about how the professionals prepare. You're in a totally different place than them, and you don't need to take on their worries. This is supposed to be a fun way to express yourself and actually use the technique you've been studying for many years for just the thing it was meant for: dancing! Attend all your rehearsals and classes faithfully, learn your character and choreography well, and you will do wonderfully. Unlike a professional company, you're at a studio where there are many different levels participating, and all are working hard to achieve different goals. No one, in the audience or backstage, will expect a perfectly flawless technical performance. All they want to see is the hard work you've put into it and how much fun it is to do.

Anyone would rather see you dance like you're having fun and make a few mistakes rather than give a technically perfect performance looking stiff and nervous.

Good luck and have fun dancing!