Talks about preparation for performance

After my last blog I wanted to develop my ideas on preparation for performance further. I decided to share my thoughts with my Sister and gain some ideas and information from her on the subject. My Sister is a professional dancer and now dance teacher. She danced on board cruise liners for seven years for Carnival cruise lines as well doing many other short term contracts for other companies. She has now transitioned into teaching dance full time at various schools, teaching both children and adults.

I first started by discussing with her the professional rehearsal environment she was used to and she covered a wide range of points. When we spoke about preparation some of the things she mentioned were:

• Learning the choreography
• Auditioning for roles
• Setting spacing
• Practicing with props/costume/lights/sounds
• Safety briefings - e.g. piro demonstration 
• Cleaning choreography 
• Rehearsing swing roles

When I looked back at the list something that stood out to me is that there is no mention of practicing technique or performance skills. This is something that is already expected of the dancers as they are professional and  have been chosen for the job. You are given the basics of choreography and spacing and then you  are expected to make it a memorable experience for the audience.

We then moved on to talk about her teaching work and how she prepares her students for a performance. We focused on her younger students as she is currently preparing them for a showcase in February. When we spoke about her preparing them for a performance some of the points she covered were:

• Practicing steps from the choreography in exercises during class
• Recapping choreography before adding more
• Practice with costume/props
• At least one rehearsal in the space they will be performing in
• Spending at least 4 months rehearsing as only get 45 minutes a week
• Encouraging the students to practice outside of class

These points show that with children you must give them more tools in order to create a performance. They must be given the knowledge of technique to complete choreography. They need time and opportunity to practice. 

I found it very interesting to talk to my sister as we have had similar careers so far but still very different experiences. I feel that in future research I do for my inquiry she will be a good candidate to interview as she has experience in both a professional rehearsal environment but also in teaching children.