THE FEAR FACTOR
by
Bert Balladine
Recently I was
invited to watch a show in which some of my friends and/or former
students participated. Since I arrived early, I had the opportunity to
sit in their dressing room and give them some pep talks. It should have
surprised me that some of the good and seasoned dancers still fee fear
and apprehension before a show - BUT - I have to admit that I share that
with them. The reason, of course, is that most of us do not perform
often enough and each time we do we have to go through the routine of
psyching ourselves up. Have I always been this way? Earlier in my career
when I would do several shows in one evening for months on end I did not
feel the slightest apprehension, except, perhaps, when a person
important to me was in the audience and I wanted to show off; otherwise
it was just a pleasant but repetitious duty.
"Stage fright" can be almost paralyzing to some and I have consoled and
encouraged and literally pushed some of my friends on stage who later
became "biggies" in our business. So what is one to do about "stage
fright"? How can one overcome it? Should one try? Would there be a loss
of performance quality if you didn't feel any tingle of uneasiness and
insecurity before going on? I think so. Having your nerves on edge can
turn on all of your senses and get your adrenalin pumping. Fear can open
your eyes wider and motivates you to exaggerate your smile. All of this
is then projected to the audience as stage presence.
Don't try to get rid of
your fear; recycle it as charisma.
©Copyright
2002 - The Caravan Magazine- All Rights Reserved.
|