In case you didn’t already know…IT’S COMPETITION SEASON!!!!! Which also happens to be my favorite time of year. I absolutely love seeing dancers perform choreography after countless hours of rehearsals and training. The endorphins, the emotion, the energy, the artistry…I LOVE ALL OF IT. It dawned on me recently, however, that we focus so much thinking about how to make the dances BIGGER and BETTER than before, that we never talk about the other details, the little things we can actually STOP doing in order to be better.
That’s right. There are some things that absolutely don’t need to happen for a dance to succeed. In fact there are a few things that we worry so much about ADDING that if we actually stop doing those things and CUT these things out, you would be more successful.
When I was little and would worry or overthink things and make things more complicated than they needed to be, which I always did because I was born a worrier, my mom would tell me to remember to K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid. Harsh I know haha but she wasn’t calling me stupid at all and she was right. Adding too much and making things too complex was dumb. Keeping things simple is SMART. It was a reminder to not fuss with adding too much and overthinking things but that simplicity is KEY and often the smartest decision. I feel the same way about dance. K.I.S.S.
So, here are a few things you should consider CUTTING OUT or that you should stop doing in order to help you score higher this season or just appeal to your audience more if competing isn’t your thing…
Turn sequences. As my dear friend Abba says, “Dance is not like figure skating. You don’t get points for attempting a technical element.” In fact, you actually lose points. Turn sequences are not a requirement for competition dance, for any dance for that matter, and if they aren’t perfect they will hurt your technique score faster than you can finish a double pirouette. On the flip side, if turning is something you do very well technically then, by all means, put it in and show us what a fabulous turner you are. But, if that’s not you…CUT IT OUT.
Extensions. Not everyone is flexible. If you are, great! If you aren’t, don’t show the judges your lack of flexibility while trying to execute something you actually can’t do. If a beautiful tilt isn’t your jam, then show us a degagé that is to die for!
Stop wearing only one shoe. Wear 2 shoes or no shoes. By only wearing one shoe you are walking on stage and showing the judges immediately that you can only turn on one side. You are immediately showing us what you CAN’T do. Either cut out that one shoe or put both on.
Hair up. If you have hair longer than your shoulders, stop wearing your hair down. Hair is distracting. Your hair didn’t spend hours working on the choreo and more hours in ballet. Show us your lines and pull your long hair back so we aren’t distracted away from your beautiful movement by tons of hair flying around. Unless you have some serious Hair-o-graphy wear it pulled back some how. You may love your long flowing locks of hair but you aren’t getting judged on your hair and it can make you look messy.
Stretches. Heel stretches, splits, needles…I’m talking about a stretch you hold for longer than 4 seconds. No judge wants to see you hold a stretch on stage. Dance, don’t stretch. Stretch before you hit the stage and show us more style, more DANCING! If you top off a quad with a leg catch turn into a middle split then ball change yourself up into a perfect needle, well then that’s a different story. But if you are holding a stretch on stage while your music is jamming along then consider more dancing less stretching.
In the end, all your audience and the judges want to see is the absolute best that you and the dancers can do. They don’t need to see tricks and flips and turns galore if that’s not something you do well. Show them simple, clean, connection to your music and it will win every time. Do what YOU do best.
K. I. S. S.
Liz