Adding integrity and authenticity to your performance pieces.

So you’ve stretched every night, you’ve been to extra conditioning classes, you’ve rehearsed your routines over and over and your costume has more diamantes on it than Cartier at Christmas…we’re nearly back to live competitions and performances and I often get asked as a top dance coach and also a judge what makes a dancer stand out from the crowd.

For everyone this answer will be different as we all know that dance is subjective to personal choice, however for me the there are two answers integrity and authenticity.

Integrity can be defined as aligning your actions with what you know to be excellent. There is no space for anything other than excellence if you dance with integrity – and I’ve never met a competitive dancer who doesn’t strive for excellence.

Authenticity means not false or copied; genuine; real and this can make a huge difference to a dancers performance when they feel a honest connection to what they’re doing.

I work with a lot of lyrical and contemporary dancers who tell a story throughout their pieces. If each movement has intention behind the way it is done, the reason it is placed within the choreography and how it relates to the music then the dancer automatically moves with a honest and authentic approach, for me that takes them to another level. When a person is creatively authentic in front of you then you automatically feel encapsulated by their performance, sometimes this also distracts from technical issues because as an audience member you are connected to the performer.

It is sometimes really difficult as choreographers and teachers to act with integrity and authenticity when it comes to creating competition dance pieces. We begin to know what goes down well with certain judges and which moves get the highest points and it is sometimes very difficult not to ‘play to win’ even if the content or theme doesn’t go with our personal likes and beliefs. If you are not acting authentically in the creative process then you are not a creative, you are purely someone who is ticking the boxes to win a trophy and I can honestly assure you that is not where your best work will come.

Integrity and authenticity on top of technique, alignment, musicality, grooming and performance is what takes a dancer to those top levels for me.

So I have a couple of questions that I think are important to ask yourself in order to create dance pieces with integrity and authenticity;

• Have you decided to use this theme, music or movements because you’ve seen it somewhere on the internet? Likelihood is if you just recreate it, someone else will have also seen what you’ve seen!

• Are you asking a dancer to perform a theme or a piece of music they have no life experience of? I’d love to think that a 13 year old cant authentically portray heartbreak.

• Are you creating because you want to or because you feel like you have to?

The creative process should always be an enjoyable one and I promise that if you throw your whole self at a piece then it’s honesty will shine through. Other judges and teachers might prefer to see pieces with clean lines or upbeat music but always remember that individual preference is always apparent in dance competitions. I always find that my students who perhaps don’t place but have performed true to themselves are happy with what they’ve achieved by sharing an honest performance, they then know they’ve done their absolute best and don’t worry about the outcome.

I really look forward to seeing your performances at live competitions soon!