After you’ve made a commitment and scheduled your first dance competition, don’t let nerves get the best of you on your big day. Fred Astaire Dance Studios offers tips to help ballroom dancers conquer the competition!
Fred Astaire Dance Studios focuses on helping individuals and couples learn to dance in a kind, warm and fun environment to help improve your social life, as well as your physical and mental health. Once our students get a taste of ballroom dancing, many go on to sign up for dance competitions to provide themselves with a goal and appeal to their competitive spirit. Fred Astaire’s National Dance Competitions are held annually at resort venues in vacation destinations across the country. These events offer students a chance to showcase their skills and compete alongside dancers from across the country at their level. This year, Fred Astaire Dance Studios is planning to hold competitions in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Orlando, Florida.
As competition day draws near, it’s important to plan for the big day to make sure you are ready to shine.
Practice makes perfect. Learning the choreography for a dance competition takes patience and practice. It’s important for partners to be able to perform together with accuracy. Practicing builds stamina and improves breathing, which will impress judges and improve your performance at the competition.
Warm up. Getting your muscles ready to perform increases your heart rate and blood flow to improve your dancing. It will also help prevent injuries to muscles and loosens your joints, which will enhance your number, according to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, California.
Get the crowd energized. The success of any performance depends on the energy and excitement of the crowd. Make sure to keep them engaged in your routine through your facial expressions and music choices. Make eye contact and acknowledge the judges, but perform for the entire audience. Their energy will help fuel your performance and keep you relaxed.
Don’t dwell on a mistake. During any performance, a mistake can happen. When you make a misstep, try not to alter your face expression, laugh, or roll your eyes. It’s likely the audience doesn’t even know you did anything wrong, they’re just enjoying the show. Try not to dwell on the misstep to keep your performance going smoothly and minimize further mistakes.
Have fun! Dancing is fun! Dance competitions are a great way to improve your dance skills, but never forget that performing should be a joy. Take time to settle your nerves and remember to take pleasure in your performance during the competition.
As you prepare for the big day, Fred Astaire Dance Studios has some clips from competitions where dancers applied their skills and were ready to wow the judges.
In this clip from the Fred Astaire Regional Dance Competition in 2018, dancers perform the cha-cha for judges.
Alfonso Ribero, former star of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and his partner scored top marks following their energetic performance to “It’s Not Unusual,” by Tom Jones.
Lexie and Bryan leave their inhibitions off stage in a lively performance for the panel of judges on “Britain’s Got Talent,” a television variety competition show. The pair dance to “Dear Future Husband” and impress the judges with their enthusiasm and skill.
Here’s some reassurance that everyone makes mistakes at some point during their dancing career. Check out these infamous bloopers from the popular television dance show, “Dancing With the Stars.”
If you are up for the challenge, contact your local Fred Astaire Dance Studios to schedule a lesson to get you ready for competition.
