Began dancing in late September 05 - latin/rhythm mainly. Have my first showcase this weekend and looking for advice on how to deal with first performance jitters. Anyone have any rituals or words of wisdom for a newbie?

Dear njdancegirl

Congratulations to being brave enough to do your first showcase, a lot of people that have danced for years are too shy to get up in front of people and " shake their booties". My husband and I started dancing in Sept. 05 as well and just did our first Showcase last weekend. Everybody reacts differently to pressure and not knowing the type of person you are it is difficult to give advice. I do deep breathing to calm any jitters. And watch the other dancers to learn from. Since we danced almost last I had 3 hours to watch, think, and learn.
We had great fun and so will you!!

Here is my two cents...

I dance with my husband, so this may be somewhat subjective.... When we do a showcase, I hear the music, look into his eyes, and dance just for the love of it.... I dont think a lot about the steps, or the performance... Your audience has no idea if you did not dance your routine, missed a step, they just are with you... Just dance as you feel it.... You will be amazed how all the practice just falls into place

Good luck... Come back and tell us how good it feels.

Janet. That sounds romantic. Do you think your husband would mind if yiu danced with me and looked into my eyes. Regards

LOL
Hey, I loan my husband out all the time! The ladies at our dance studio love to dance with him!

Congratulations! I get pretty nervous before showcases and competitions. Here are some things that help me:
-- do a rehearsal of all my dances in my costume, hair, and make-up beforehand, so I know there won't be any "wardrobe malfunctions" and I know how to get the look I want without having to experiment the day of the performance
-- rehearse my dances in the order I'll do them at the event
-- don't expect perfection. Everybody makes mistakes, even top pros. The goal is not to make no mistakes, but to know how to not react to them visibly and how to recover from them fast. I do as many rehearsals as I can that go all the way through the dance no matter what happens, so I can practice recovering from mistakes.
-- try to remember it's a performance, not a test. The more you can enjoy dancing in the moment, the better it will look to those watching.
-- remember the audience is on your side. They know what to expect from a beginner and they want to see you do well. (By the way, you might find out whether it's customary for spectators to cheer at your studio's showcases. The first time someone yelled my name during a showcase, I was so startled I looked over at them and totally lost my place.)
-- I don't watch the other dancers before I dance. It does cut down on the fun of seeing your friends perform, but if I watch, I tend to start comparing myself with other dancers and get more nervous. That's just me, not eveyone feels that way.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

On valentines day we had a party at our studio.
As part of the program the owner called out students with their instructors to do on the spot performances. It wasn't really a showcase, just looking how everyone is comming along and to give some of us a first taste of dancing with people watching, clapping and cheering. It wasn't that bad. I started completly out of rythm on my second step so my partner/instructor had to correct me but after that I just concentrated on the size of the floor and what moves to do (and to keep my head turned the right way the dance being a walz). The crowd I only registered as the clapping when we did the various moves. I cant say I actually saw the people while I danced but I definitly felt them as being there to support me - friends.

And I am already completly stressing over my first real showcase in June.

Best of luck and let us know how it went.
And let me know how you dealt with the jitters, I will be needing advice when my time comes too

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the excellent posts! It was last night and the whole show was great - we all had such a good time.

I wasn't nervous until right before and then I was incredibly nervous - thought about fleeing! Missed a turn in the beginning and flubbed another (shaky legs, not b/c I didn't know the routine), but about halfway through I thought "I'm already out here, I might as well go for it." So I relaxed a bit and just had fun. We'll see if I feel the same way after seeing a videotape!

Wonderful! I am so glad you enjoyed it!

Congratulations, glad you enjoyed it! My husband and I are already looking forward to the next showcase.