Your First Performance

After months of belly dance classes, you finally have an opportunity to perform! You're excited--this is your very first performance, and you want it to be great! Here's how to make this an event you will always be able to remember with fondness.

Generally, your first performance is something you'll know about in advance. One of the best cures for stage fright is preparation. So, as soon as you've learned that you'll be performing, prepare! Many dancers don't do much to prepare because they "don't have time". But often, there are preparations you can make that can be done at the same time you're doing something else like commuting to work.

Making the effort the time to do these things will give you much more confidence when you step on stage because you'll feel much more ready when the time comes. That confidence will add sparkle to your performance! So, start preparing several weeks before the big show. If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing right.

Get a copy of the music and a portable cassette player with headphones. Listen to the music over and over again in your car, on the commuter train, while you're grocery shopping, and while you're vacuuming the house. Listen to it so many times that you know exactly what's coming and when. Listen to it so many times that you find yourself getting tired of it.

If you'll be doing choreography with a group to this music, think through the choreography as you listen. For each verse, and each chorus, imagine yourself doing the appropriate dance movement. This drill will help you anticipate exactly what comes next, and you can do it in many settings where it would be impossible to actually get up and practice the steps.

If you'll be doing an improvised solo to this music, imagine yourself dancing as you listen. For each phrase, think of a movement that would look good with that particular phrase. Pick 3-4 movements that would work well with this song, and then when you get to a place where you can practice, try them and see if they really do work. Drill the same 3-4 movements over and over. Once you feel as if they are ingrained as part of your dance, add 2 more movements to your "mental" practice sessions, and then add them to your physical practice sessions.

If you're standing in a long line in a public place, such as the post office or grocery start, start mentally running through what your music sounds like and what movements you want to do to it. This will help you identify places where you don't yet know the music thoroughly, or places where you don't yet know what dance movements to do. Make a mental note, and work through those when you do have some time to practice.

Some teachers set rules for what type of costume you should wear in your first performance. Others tell you to wear whatever you like. Either way, you'll need something suitable.

There are few things more frustrating than trying to attach the last bit of sequin trim to the bottom edge of your skirt backstage 15 minutes before your performance is scheduled to begin! Get started creating your costume the instant you learn you're going to perform. Give yourself time to find a suitable fabric, choose the right trims, and get the sewing done. Even if someone else will be making it for you, allow plenty of time in advance. Set a goal of having the costume completed a minimum of 10 days before you perform.

Once the costume is ready, practice in it! Some of the disasters that occur on stage are due to dancers in brand-new costumes who tried them on standing still but didn't try moving in them. Even professional dancers fall prey to this. Wear your new costume to class. Put it on when you practice at home.

When I had a new costume custom-made for me in Egypt, I wore it to a troupe rehearsal. It felt fine when I tried it on in Egypt, but when I wore it for an hour of dancing, I discovered that the belt was too loose and it slid down over my hips to the floor! Thank goodness I wore it to a rehearsal so I could have time to move the clasps before I performed in it!

Wear everything for your practice--your jewelry, your hairpiece, your veil, and your shoes. Practice with the same music and props that you plan to use in your show. How else do you expect to learn that the rhinestones on your belt will catch the lace in the veil you want to use and tear it, or that your new shoes give you blisters?

If the show will be in a public place that you can visit ahead of time, go to the place and look at the stage. Look at where the audience will be sitting versus where you will be dancing. Note whether they will be watching you from head-on, or from all sides. Look at the size of the stage, and imagine yourself with a delighted smile doing the dance you have prepared on this stage. Imagine the applause that will follow.

If you can, find out what the backstage area looks like, and explore the dressing room. Imagine yourself feeling relaxed and happy in this setting.

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Prepare a checklist with everything you think you'll need for that show. Here are some ideas on how to get started:

The night before your show, pack everything on your checklist. Set it all together in a single place. That way, you won't forget to grab anything the day of the show.

If there's anything you can't pack the night before for some reason, write a note to yourself identifying which items have not yet been packed. Place that note right on top of the tote bag that contains everything, so it can remind you the next day of the last-minute items you need to add.

You're excited! You're now backstage, and you'll be the next dancer. Now what?

• Take several deep breaths. This has a calming effect.
• Do not tell yourself, "I'm so scared!" Instead, tell yourself, "I'm so excited!" Use the energy generated by your nervousness in your favor!
• If one of the other people backstage talks nonstop about being terrified, being afraid she'll make a mess of everything, etc., get away from her! Go off to the side by yourself, and don't let her contaminate your enthusiasm with her fears! She is talking about her fears as her way of coping, which is her prerogative, but if you start trying to calm her down you won't be taking time to take care of your own needs. Let your teacher take care of helping the other student cope--that's her job!
• Listen to the music being played for the dancer ahead of you, and start improvising to it. Remind yourself of the joy you find in dancing by doing your own private dance to her music.
• Adopt an attitude. Tell yourself, "I look beautiful today! I love the music I'll be dancing to! This will be fun! What a friendly-looking audience!"
• As the dancer ahead of you leaves the stage, draw yourself up into your proudest, most beautiful posture. Well-known dance instructor Bert Balladine advises doing some small hip drops backstage while you're being announced to pump yourself up. Again, remind yourself that you are a wonderful human being about to share something you love with a friendly group of people.

Once you're on stage, think about enjoying what you're doing. You're there to have fun, right? So, have fun! If you see a friendly face in the audience, smile brightly and nod at that person--even if it's someone you don't know! Listen to your music, and let the joy you find in dancing carry you through. If you're dancing with your classmates, catch the eye of one of them and wink at her. Zaghareet for the sheer fun of it.

If you're performing choreography with a group, remain focused the whole time on doing the dance as you learned it. Think. If someone else does something different from what you intended to do next, do not immediately copy her--it's entirely possible that she is the one who is making the mistake, even if she is your teacher! Trust yourself. Steal a glance at everyone else and see whether they are doing the same thing as you. Don't change what you're doing until you're certain that you're the one who is wrong.

Take a good drink of water, and dab your face with a tissue. Either put your cover-up on over the top of your costume, or put on the change of clothing you brought with you. Relax. Reward yourself by doing something fun with your friends. You've earned it!

When you get home, immediately take your costume out of its bag. If it needs any repairs, make them now. Let the perspiration air out, then put it away.

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