How To Ensure A Platinum In Your Future
Competition season 2008 has come to a close, and the 2009 season is firing up! Students and teachers all across the country are in the studio preparing routines for the coming season. Battles for titles, jackets and qualifying scores for nationals are upon us. Music is being selected, choreographers enlisted, costumes designed and rehearsal times are being set. Here are some tips on how to make your next performance a winning one. Be it a group number, duo, trio or solo, every studio wants to do well, and each student wants the best possible result. Of course the elite prize is a platinum!
As an international adjudicator I am exposed year in and year out to the trends, the standards, the level of difficulty per age group and of course all of the “show” factors. I see these across the United States and at competitions abroad. There is a process to achieving successful results. The initial element should be selecting the genres you are going to compete in — show off your strengths in categories that you are proficient in.
Music moves the audience, music moves the dancers and music moves the choreographer. The final product moves the audience. The point here is that no matter what type of emotions are evoked, to move an audience in any way is to succeed as a performance. Select your music based on what inspires you to dance, rather than simply because it is a hit song. Make your selection a powerful one. You will engage your audience (and the judges) at the first note of the track.
Costuming is the element that will make or break a judge’s first impression of your piece. The costuming must flatter the students. Remember to be tasteful in your approach and to take the extra effort to make catalogue costumes fit individual students once they have arrived at the studio, perhaps enlisting the assistance of a seamstress to make alterations. There is no way, with the millions of body shapes out there, that a “one size fits all” really does fit all. For example, if straps are too long, the students find it distracting to dance and uncomfortable, and the audience can’t take their eyes off the problem, even if the dance is nothing short of amazing. The same goes for hats and accessories. Be sure that you have pinned down or sewn all costuming and accessories securely. A hat flying off in the middle of a dance is completely distracting for everyone — not to mention a hairpiece! Professionalism is key.
A 2.5-minute routine is just like a job interview. First impressions count. You don’t have the opportunity to save yourself later with a conversation about how much you trained for today’s performance. You only have those 2.5 minutes of expression through your body and your overall appearance to make your impression. Students, ensure that you take pride in your appearance. Simple things like all having the same colored tights on, deciding whether to tuck in laces on shoes as a standard amongst the group and using hairspray to slick back stray hairs and bangs are all signs of pride and professionalism. A uniform appearance for group work demonstrates solidarity and effort on the part of the performers.
Extravaganza awards at Spotlight Dance Cup Nationals in Anaheim, CA
Photo courtesy of propix.com
Training is paramount. We can talk all day long about how many sequins and bows a student has on her costume, however, the message is technique. Adjudicator Shawn Mahoney, previously a principal with both Twyla Tharp’s company THARP! and Boston Ballet Company, says that training is all about the 3R’s. “Requirement, responsibility and reliability. Technique is a requirement. You must be responsible for strengthening, preserving and maintaining your technique. Regard it as your best friend, always reliable. Technique is a dancer’s backbone.”
Without it we are covering up our flaws with bandages of costuming and props. With it, you can dance on stage wearing a plain black leotard and tights and perform in silence, yet bring the audience to a standing ovation. Whatever you are seeking in life, do it with gusto rather than just to get by. There are judges at competition, but you are the most important judge of your own work. Ask yourself, “How does my work rate today compared to how it fared at the last competition or in the studio of late?” You must measure your own quality realistically.
Ballet training is key. If you have good ballet training at your studio and it is enforced as a pre-requisite for competition students, you will see results soar. Teachers, get creative and make it exciting. Share with your students the magic of the great ballets, the wizardry of the choreography and expose them to the theatre. Deliver ballet to your students as an art form, rather than simply an hour and a half that they have to get through begrudgingly each week. Competition students should be taking multiple classes of ballet per week and striving for perfection technically. This is the only way. There are no short cuts. Encourage master classes when available with great teachers in all genres. This develops the dancers, builds team rapport, inspires you as the studio director and keeps your teachers up to date with training and styles.
The choreography is the meat of your piece, moving both the performers and the audience. Studio directors, please know when it is your bag to choreograph numbers and when to enlist the help of your faculty and outside professionals to expose your students to cutting edge styles. This is a good rule of thumb and will help develop a well-rounded studio with a high caliber being taught in all disciplines. Let’s face it, your work is your best advertisement, and competition is your weekly showcase.
Choreographically, be sure to highlight students’ strengths and hide their weaknesses. Take fouette turns, for example. These are very common in many performances, especially at the crescendo of a lyrical or jazz piece. They are not for everyone to perform — if your students are not highly capable of executing them, leave them out of the dance, but continue to practice them in the studio. Sometimes teachers feel it necessary to include certain movements in their routines that they see other competitors executing well and receiving high scores for at competition. Trying to emulate them in your routines to solicit a good result will be to your detriment if these moves are not performance-ready. A well put together number performed with oomph will easily win out over a sloppy one aiming for a high level of difficulty. Unique concepts and styles are also more creative, refreshing and well-received.
Include ebbs and flows, levels, fast and slow movement, accenting, wise utilization of the stage, pattern and direction, and a piece should demonstrate a beginning, middle and conclusion. Regarding group work, the piece could incorporate ensemble work that is really tight and together with break-out moments where certain dancers are highlighted, exposing elements of appropriate movement that show off their talents. Choreography is limitless and therefore so exciting. The technique is your alphabet and the choreography is your story. Good choreography paves the way for your story to be told emotionally.
“When you're performing on stage you allow your audience to journey into a fantasy world and escape their everyday lives. What a wonderful gift!” says Nadia Komazec, who currently plays Meg in the world tour of “The Phantom of the Opera.” Slapping on a weak smile and hoping for the best just won’t do. Your job as the performer is to take your audience on a journey through your performance. This is relevant for soloists and ensemble dancers. In a group setting, everyone’s energy and projection on stage is imperative. The judges can see you even if you aren’t center front. Their eyes are peeled.
Teamwork speaks volumes for a studio. Duos, trios, small and large groups and of course line and production numbers take a good deal of rehearsal to tighten up. If a score is tied between two numbers at a competition, the more “together” and therefore more professional item will usually win out. Judge Rhonda Kauffman-Malkin is a long standing Rockette and therefore knows what precision is all about. "Teachers need to take more rehearsal time to clean their routines and get all of their dancers on the same page. Cleaning takes a lot of patience and good communication skills on the part of the instructor."
Competitors and teachers, be aware that the judges are always rooting for you to do your best. Go for it! Working on all of these elements to develop your routines will have you on your way to success at competition.
Take note of the feedback you get from your judges over the season. This is important and extremely useful information for you to heed in your quest for platinum status success.
At the end of the day, platinum is a state of mind. Always strive for excellence.