How to be a great performer (in dance)--Toby

How to be a great performer(in dance)
Dance is a beautiful,yet misunderstood form of art that many enjoy for entertainment, but aren’t knowledgeable of the intricacies implemented into the performance as a whole. The audience only knows that they are impressed by what is put on stage, however they don’t know how to explain why and how specific pieces attract them. Well I am about to go step by step of how a dancer lures their audience in. 

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1.)Going full out and trying your best
Though many talents revolving around dance, such as flexibility and ones capability to pick up choreography and moves quick, come naturally to some, if they don’t use it and work harder to maintain that talent, they are going to get left behind in the dust while others, who constantly practice and work day and night, pass them up. I remember I was always known to be naturally flexible though I had never taken stretching classes before that, yet when most of my friends started taking technique classes that required that type of ability, they would stretch anytime they could and they had surpassed me and I felt that my limberness had gone to waste. But, once I found a love for styles like ballet, jazz, and contemporary, I fell into the routine of working everyday to further my abilities and

talents as many of my friends had before me like it was muscle memory. And within a few months I had developed so much more as a dancer because I was consistent with putting in all my effort and energy into growing as a performer. As a dancer it is necessary that you give your all because when you don’t you just stay where you’re at instead of learning more, accomplishing more, and setting even higher stakes for yourself. You get caught in a bubble because you’re capable of only doing so much. 

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2.) Facial expressions
In order to create a story and to portray what you’re trying to get across, without facial expressions that can’t happen. And what’s more important is that the feelings that you create with your look and face, is genuine and not overdone because when you’re over the top it takes away from the purpose of the piece. When I was in competition dance during my elementary and middle school years, I first started out only focusing on the dance moves themself and that was it. I never realized how important it was to feel how the music made me feel and to share what my choreographer had in mind for the dance. However, once I entered high school and I became a choreographer I finally acknowledged the significant change emotions made when trying to produce a story through dance; it completed my personal narrative. It is essential that you have facial expressions because without them the piece will just be a piece with dance moves that have no meaning and your message will not get across according to your plan.

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3.) Technicalities (musicality and dynamic)
The steps I mentioned previously to this one are important to attain, however understanding the technicalities of dance and implementing them into choreography and the way you perform is just as necessary. First, musicality can be defined as understanding where the movement is placed within the music. Going according to the basic counts of 8 is boring, but once you create different relationships between the music and the dance, the audience is more satisfied with how well the performers are able to use the smallest intricacies in the music and how synchronised they are because they all know when to do a specific dance move at a specific time. On the other hand, utilizing dynamic as a tool in style of dancing makes the performance more unique with it’s different textures and levels of energy and the height of movement. The saying that “ less is more” does apply in dance because it is referring to texture. With dynamic a dance isn’t monotone and changes how a dancer’s shape of movement is executed.
https://youtu.be/HOSmGnDN3xk
This link is a video of a group called the kinjaz who use musicality and dynamic very well in their choreography
4.) Individuality
The last step to becoming a better performer is understanding yourself as an artist and what your speciality is as a dancer. Without something unique or that sets you apart from the rest of the dance crowd, you won’t be chosen or noticed within the very competitive world of dance. A very good example of this is my friend and fellow dance team mate,Ethan. If he were to audition against other dancers he could use his talent of tutting to get the attention of those holding the auditions because he knows a style and has practiced it for quite some time that is very difficult to incorporate in improv, yet it’s

so entertaining. He is comfortable with what makes him different and is confident to showcase it when he needs to. If you don’t know yourself and what compliments you, it will show in your in your movement of uncertainty or lack of comfort.
https://youtu.be/_znIgo5xTaE
The link is of a dancer who may not dance the prettiest, but has a creepy yet intriguing style of dance that expresses her special form of art and it impresses the judges.