The power of thought (continued)
Stage Fright
Stage fright is a consequence of not managing the adrenalin and is a learned response resulting from a sequence of bad experiences. These reinforce the perception of fear at the prospect of performing. The limbic system, in the middle section of the brain, controls memory, self-image and values and influences our decision-making. Strong emotional signals such as anxiety or anger disrupt these signals to a point where thinking is impaired and the result is the 'freezing' of stage fright. The challenge is to keep negative emotions in check and maintain a positive outlook. Opportunities to perform successfully before supportive audiences will build confidence before students are exposed to open competition.
Metaphors
Metaphors have been used by dance teachers throughout the centuries to convey to students the essence of the quality of a particular movement. Vera Volkova's vivid images were so apt that her students are still using them with their students. 'You're wearing the Tsar's jewels and you want the whole audience to see them, so the chest must be very open,' was one of hers. I loved her description about a pebble with its ripples extending after it was dropped in the midst of port de bras opening arms to second position.
Visualistion
Visualisation methods were used by Jacobson in 1929 when he showed that thinking intensely about a certain movement activated the neurons that control the muscles involved in that movement. An article titled 'Your Brain: how to use it' edited by Dorothy Wade in The Sunday Times Magazine on January 25, 2007 commented, 'When expert dancers... watch videos of moves they are trained to perform, the frontal and parietal areas of their brains [the regions that deal with planning and logic] are active, as if they are performing the move themselves. But when they view unfamiliar moves, they are not. Experts, it seems have their skills hard-wired in their brains in a way that amateurs do not.' The cerebellum retains the coordination of the dance movement sequences we have performed storing them to recall when necessary. Visualising the movement in the mind's eye trains the nervous system to reinforce networking connections. Misha Botting, (2006) advocates mentally rehearsing the steps of your class or performance, at their normal speed and in slow motion. Conjure the visual image of yourself dancing it perfectly and completely identify yourself with that image. When the step is confidently mastered mentally it builds confidence.
Rejection
Rejection is the uppermost feeling when young dancers have to leave their vocational school before completing the full course of training. This may be because of injury that would make further ballet training unwise or more often because physical development through adolescence makes a career in ballet itself unlikely. Julia Buckroyd, (2000) explains '...the loss of a career that has not yet even begun can be as painful as the ending of a career for an established dancer.' What is lost is not only an idealised version of the future, but also the solidarity of an established group of friends at school. Inevitably there will be sadness, tearfulness and disappointment, but it is important that there should be no loss of self-esteem, or sense of failure when such circumstances are out of the individual's control. Friends, family members and teachers need to rally round to give support and encouragement at this difficult time. Professional counselling may help and vocational schools and Dance UK can advise. All students who leave vocational schools when it is not their choice to do so, will progress to careers for which they are better suited, be it in a related art form, in academia or using another strong interest. Hurtful though it undoubtedly is at the time, always it is truly in the student's long-term best interest. Dancers must think always of safety-net alternative career options.
To all aspiring dancers I offer John Adair's 2003, precept, 'There is no failure except no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no insurmountable barrier except our own inherent weakness of purpose.'
Mary Goodhew
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First published in
Dancing Times, March 2007, reproduced with the kind permission of all involved.
