dance competition

Detect The Details – Reworking Technique In Class

July 23, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

"Jump" by Marco Sanchez. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes: cropped] — “Jump” by Marco Sanchez. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes: cropped]

Editor’s note: this series by Karen is targeted specifically to competition dancers and those that work with them, although certainly many others may benefit from the information within!

by Karen Musey

It is a great joy and privilege to be able to encourage and give feedback to each new generation of dancers. It is exciting to see the fantastic talent and passion on stage, and every dancer’s growth over this season definitely needs to be celebrated!

In this digital age, it is becoming the norm to see younger and younger children seeming to grasp difficult tricks/concepts/technique quickly. I think we sometimes forget that learning to be a dancer is, and always will be, a process that takes time and effort. It’s not a one size fits all experience or path.

During a judging season, a dancer who has heard the same corrections repeated multiple times can feel frustrated and defeated. This is a great time to check in with them. If they feel that they are accomplishing what is being asked but they are not achieving the desired result, what can you do to shift their understanding of how they are working through the movement?

It can be helpful for students to put on a “teacher” or “detective” lens and start looking for clues for what looks and feels right (or not). This will help them train their eye and their corrections will improve faster – and better yet – they will start to self correct.

Let’s go over a “classic correction” and discuss some ways you can encourage your students to interpret it in a new way: [Read more…]

Preparing For Dance Competition Season

March 7, 2016 by 4dancers

by Karen Musey

It’s the beginning of the 2016 competition season! Emotions are running high and everyone is itching to get the season underway. Help your studio’s competition season start smoothly with these tips:

Dress Rehearsal With Costuming

Judges see it every year – a dancer is performing well, and then their costume malfunctions onstage and their confidence is shaken. Always do at least one dress rehearsal in costume! Costumes don’t always move or behave in the way you expect them to. Sometimes fabric stretches more than anticipated, sometimes not enough. Checking this ahead of time will allow for adjustments to be made (sewing, double sided tape, etc!) and get rid of that awkward tugging onstage.

A benefit of this practice: while working with your costume in rehearsal, you might discover the costume moves in an interesting and unexpected way. Working with a costume in a compelling way really adds performance value to a piece. The more dancers treat their costumes as an extension of their work, the more strongly it shows up in their investment of character and artistic choices onstage.

Of course, always remember to pack a spare set of tights, a sewing kit, double sided tape, lots of hair pins and (an older pair of) shoes if available…even duct tape – you never know when it might be a lifesaver!

Prep Your Music

We’ve all been there – the dancers are in position, ready to strut their stuff and….music malfunction! Remind dancers to stay calm if this happens and to take a deep breath – they will be taken care of as quickly as possible. To help sidestep this scenario, make sure all music is burned properly, cued up, clearly marked and an extra copy is readily available.

Please be professional with cutting and editing music. Listen to the lyrics; do an online lyric search if necessary to clarify what is spoken and make appropriate cuts. Be highly cognizant of suggestive lyrics. Generally speaking, most competitions are family age-oriented and music choices should be reflective of that.

As technology progresses, studios are relying more and more on electronics. Backstage technicians are being handed more iPods and other music devices. It is not professional to expect the music technician to “fade” music at a specific moment if the time hasn’t been taken to cut it properly. Make their job easier with clear labeling, cuts and instructions – the dancers will thank you for it.

Look At The Stage

[Read more…]

Creating Momentum & Forward Progress Between Dance Competitions

May 11, 2015 by 4dancers

"Once Upon A December" by Tom Godber. Licensed under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — “Once Upon A December” by Tom Godber. Licensed under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

by Karen Musey

Each competition experience brings new highlights and challenges! How time is utilized in-between events is a big factor in determining how each dance studio and dancer excels at each event, and how they grow over the year.

Keeping choreography fresh and spirits high after drilling and performing the same material week after week for months at a time can be a challenge! As dancers find their groove within the choreography, sometimes they start to sit back when they feel that they’ve accomplished the task. Also, often the choreographer is no longer on hand to continue the development of the work. It is important to maintain the structure of the piece, as well as encouraging each dancer to continue to evolve their own interpretation and ideas of it.

The more dancers move out of a neutral approach to performing their piece, the more the piece will evolve and affect the audience. And PS – continually finding ways to improve, define and deepen the work is great preparation for understanding how to develop work as a professional dancer; it is also a great skill to develop for any job…

Deepening The Work

Play! – Once the piece is memorized and the muscle memory has set in, then the artist is free to explore! If you can experience your piece through different kinds of filters (just like Instagram!), you will discover new layers and depth within the choreography. For example – changing up how we work with resistance helps us to discover different kinds of qualities in a movement. Moving through peanut butter vs feeling like you are made of bubbles vs oozing like green slime all change the dancer’s interpretation of the same movement, which opens up new possibilities of expression.

If a piece has a light, carefree expression to it, try approaching the choreography from an opposite angle – tension, gravity, labored. After experiencing the opposite, turn the filter back in the reverse direction, to extreme lightness and fluidity – more than was experienced originally. You will find that the piece will naturally want to lean in a certain direction. Changing the intention will open up new ideas in how the choreographer was interpreting the music. Maybe adding more lightness creates more freedom. Maybe adding weight and stillness creates a stronger emotional impact in the choreography. Maybe the intention stays the same, but now the original movement has expanded in feeling and has more nuance and variation. Playing with an opposite intention against the original goals of the choreography can open up huge, new emotional spectrums in the piece. Finding unexpected pockets in movement for hope, sadness, sweetness, longing, and connection is wonderful to discover.

[Read more…]

Difficulty vs Execution – Which is More Important To A Judge?

March 20, 2015 by Karen Musey

"Flying High" by BdwayDiva1. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. — “Flying High” by BdwayDiva1. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

by Karen Musey

What matters more in a competitive piece – difficulty or execution?

I feel this quandary plagues a lot of competitive teams and dancers. A competing studio’s dancer executes a new “trick” successfully onstage and suddenly the bar of what is considering ranking in an age category jumps up. The pressure to stay current with the bar of excellence is then set, so obviously you need to start pushing yourself to do stuff you can’t do yet.

Really?
[Read more…]

Dance Competition: Thoughts From A Pro

November 17, 2014 by 4dancers

Today we have Drew Vamosi with us to talk about dance competitions. Drew is one of the people behind Leap! National Dance Competition, and we asked him to share some thoughts on what Leap! judges look for, as well as his tips for preparing to compete…

How important do you feel overall appearance is in terms of competition? Does what the dancer is wearing matter, or is a nice, neat presentation enough?

The dancer needs to wear a costume that fits the piece and the dancer’s body type. Often we see costumes that are not flattering on the dancer especially when weight is a factor. The dancer needs to feel confident and a costume that fits helps immensely!

What is the biggest mistake you see dancers making at your competitions? [Read more…]

Dress Rehearsal With Costuming

Prep Your Music

Look At The Stage

Deepening The Work

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