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| Ballet Buff Model: Elliana F. 2017 Photo Shoot |
Pre-Competition Tips:
1) Practice - While it should go without saying, whatever dances you're doing for a competition, you must practice it/ them EVERY DAY. While those who may be competing in local competitions with group dances can get away with practicing just at their respective weekly class with their peers, (although most competition schools I've been to that win big and consistently still push for more) daily practice of dances while preparing for national, international and solo/ duet/ pas de duex, etc. pieces, is essential. If you count on just a weekly class or private lesson to sustain a competitive level, don't be too surprised if you don't place as well as you may have hoped. You may not always feel like it or be busy with a hundred other things, but whenever you make a justification not to practice, just remember that when you're back stage about to go before the judges: do you want to be wishing you had practiced more, or be confident that you have done everything you could possibly do to be prepared and be at your best?
2) Dress Rehearsals - Just like with recitals and performances, you want to run your own personal dress rehearsals for competitions. This is important to make sure your costume moves well and comfortably with the choreography, ensure head pieces are secure, props don't go awry and if you are using special make-up, how long it takes to put on and ensure it doesn't sweat off.
3) Travel Arrangements - If you are traveling a long distance to competitions, always make travel arrangements well in advance, by a few months to even 6 months ahead. Especially with larger competitions and hotel arrangements, those types of events can fill a city and it's accommodations quickly. Another way to go that can sometimes be a more economical option, is if your competition is in a high tourist city, such as Orlando, many vacation homes are available all the time for rent. They usually cost more a night than an economic hotel (around $200 per night) but have about 3-4 bedrooms so multiple dancers could feasibly stay in one home rental and save money. Plus there is a kitchen (and sometimes other amenities, such as pools and hot tubs!) to help save on the cost of eating out for every meal.
At The Competition/ Day Of/ Packing for Competition:
1) Murphy's Law - Most seasoned dancers know that when it comes to performances, auditions and competitions, Murphy's Law: What can go wrong, will go wrong ~ is always in effect. Therefore it is imperative to bring a back up of everything. Most of us know to pack back up of things like shoes, tights, hair and make-up accessories but that's because we may be used to whatever our school/ studio has going on at it's performances. Other things to make part of your back-up system for a competition should also include costume repair sew kits (extra ribbons, rhinestones, flesh colored elastic, etc.). Another is to bring some rosin, just a small piece. Although most places will use marley/ matlay flooring, the bottom line is you just never know how slick the flooring/ stage might be (due to newness, cleaning, lack of cleaning properly, etc.). You also want to always bring back ups of your music. You never know if something won't play well or gets missed in the sound director's huge pile of music. And one that is commonly missed: always bring copies of your registration forms and receipts of your entry fees and other documents that prove you did everything to participate in the competition. It only takes one person, dealing with hundreds to thousands of documents to misplace yours, or make a data entry error on the registration list and possibly keep you from participating. It doesn't happen often but why take the chance?
2) Resume/ Marketing Collateral - You never know who might be scouting at a competition, especially ones like YAGP or Grand Prix de Lausanne, where many winners go on to receive professional contracts. Always take up Resumes, Professional Photos and other collateral (Digital Portfolio and business cards to your Social Media resume info) in the event a choreographer, director or judge wants to keep in touch, see more of your repertoire or genres and possibly wants to work with you in the future and/ or invite you to audition for a summer intensive, internship or the company.
3) Food & Hydration - I was terrible when it came to competitions: I would eat nothing all day, sip a little water and then gorge myself on 1/2 lb double cheeseburger, milkshake and fries afterward. Probably the most unhealthy way to go about competition day. Nowadays, we know a lot more about how to properly fuel our bodies to keep energy high but not have full bellies to try and dance on. I recommend things like oatmeal, yogurt, protein bars and shakes to keep your energy levels up and avoid insulin spikes (which will result in a blood sugar, and therefore energy nose dive). Stay well hydrated up until about 1-2 hours before you dance (continue to sip water as needed, especially if you are warming up and practicing) but that should reduce the chances of having a full bladder by the time you are waiting back stage.
4) Warm Up Properly - Sometimes we get so pumped and excited at competition we don't feel the need to take ourselves through a proper warm up, such as barre. And I agree that with the adrenaline going, it's hard to slow down and do things like plies and rond de jambes. But you should force yourself to do this to make sure you don't incur an injury while competing. Also be careful about practicing beforehand. I can't count how many times I saw fellow competitors practicing on bad surfaces like carpet and hard tile and ending up injuring themselves right before they were supposed to go on.
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| Elliana F. rehearsing for 2016 YAGP |
5) Don't Be Mean to Your Support Group - It's easy for everyone to have nerves, excessive energy due to adrenaline and excitement/ stress during competitions. As a result, our support system (be that moms, dads, siblings, coaches, etc.) all tend to be extra helpful, which can sometimes be a little annoying. But they usually are giving helpful advice, even if it's something you already know or a reminder to pack something you already packed. Don't snap at them or act like a diva who can do it all without any help.
Chances are good you didn't pay for any of your lessons, privates, costumes, entry fees, shoes, etc. personally, so being rude to those who are simply supporting you the best way they know how to, is not only so disrespectful from a personal perspective, it is also incredibly unprofessional. From a business perspective, your support system is essentially your sponsors/ donors, and you should treat them as such. If someone paying me to dance asks me 10 times if I packed my tiara, I will always politely say yes, and thanks for the reminder because they're bank rolling me. I personally will not work with someone who is disrespectful to their support group/ moms and dads, because I know they are divas and will eventually treat me or other people I try to network them with in an unprofessional manner. Accept that it is a stressful and excitable time, and accept graciously those who are trying to help you. You all have the same goal.
Chances are good you didn't pay for any of your lessons, privates, costumes, entry fees, shoes, etc. personally, so being rude to those who are simply supporting you the best way they know how to, is not only so disrespectful from a personal perspective, it is also incredibly unprofessional. From a business perspective, your support system is essentially your sponsors/ donors, and you should treat them as such. If someone paying me to dance asks me 10 times if I packed my tiara, I will always politely say yes, and thanks for the reminder because they're bank rolling me. I personally will not work with someone who is disrespectful to their support group/ moms and dads, because I know they are divas and will eventually treat me or other people I try to network them with in an unprofessional manner. Accept that it is a stressful and excitable time, and accept graciously those who are trying to help you. You all have the same goal.
Back Stage:
1) Maintain Etiquette - Always exercise good etiquette and a professional decorum when it comes to competitions. Not just with your support group, but also competition staff and fellow competitors. If practicing, be mindful of who is around you. There is nothing more annoying and amateurish than a dancer who acts like she/ he is the only one in the universe. Don't run into fellow competitors or competition staff running around trying to get the stage ready. Use stage time for checking out turns on a new surface or spacing but beyond that, running your dance full out with 50 other dancers on stage is unlikely to do you much good.
I personally don't subscribe to the over-niceties of wishing my fellow competitors good luck (honestly when dancers did that, no matter how well meaning they might have been, it always felt less than genuine). Unless it's someone you know well or have run into at previous things like other competitions or auditions. That being said though, I was always very respectful of other dancers (if someone did offer me a merde, I'd reciprocate). And I was always helpful. Meaning if someone ran their tights and didn't bring a back up, I'd offer up one of my back ups. It never bothered me to help someone out because I knew I was prepared and ready to compete and didn't need to win based off the misfortune of another competitor, and in fact, I wanted them at their best as well. That's how I knew my win was valid. So always be polite, considerate and a fair competitor but don't be fake and know that it's okay to maintain some distance. Despite what some people coach to their dancers, it's not necessary to act like everyone's new bestie to be considered a polite competitor.
2) Watch Your Nerves - Going back to being really excited and the rushing of adrenaline, do what you can to keep your nerves calm. You want to be careful about letting your nerves take over. Shakiness and excessive force in your steps can cause mistakes or worse, injuries. Avoid things like caffeine for starters and sugary foods for the day. Meditate, pray, take deep breaths, listen to calming music and so on; whatever works for you but you'll want to keep calm in order to maintain performance control.
3) Have Fun and Let Go - Last but not least, when you're back stage and they call your name, that's the time to let it all go and just enjoy your performance. Trust that you have done all you can do to practice, to prepare and to be a fair competitor, so that no matter what the outcome, you did your best and can be proud of your conduct. As you compete more, at some point or perhaps a few times, you will mess up monumentally. It's just statistical fact. You'll slip, or fall out of turns or even blank out on choreography. It happens and if it does, just keep going. You may not win first place, but the experience of messing something up and finishing anyway will be more important than a *trophy.
And since I no longer compete, I can genuinely say:
Merde and Best Wishes to all competitors this competition season!
*Perspective: My first competition I won 4th place and I was 8 years old. I remember being so upset and embarrassed when my mother proudly told people that I got 4th place. I cried and thought I should have done so much better.
I probably won a total of about 80-90 first place trophies total during my competition years, and even more ribbons, medals, etc. Guess where they all are now? The garbage. In the long run, trophies don't mean anything. And if you travel and move around a lot, they are a pain to keep. What really matters is what you learn from the experience of competing. And beyond that, if you are a truly serious dancer looking to make a career at some point, the only thing that really matters, is getting a paid job; not the number of trophies you have on a shelf or in the garage. Competing can be a great experience, but always keep perspective and don't get upset over it if you don't come home with a $10 piece of metal (if you're lucky) or plastic, painted gold.
I know that's easier said than done, so if you do get upset or are disappointed at the results of your competition season, lick your wounds for a day or two and then get right back into the studio with what you learned from the experience, work hard and move forward.
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