Stage presence is what draws your eye to a specific dancer. It is how a dancer projects themselves and connects with the audience, making them feel something. For some dancers, stage presence comes naturally and they may have no trouble expressing themselves. For others, it is difficult to exude a presence while on stage. An audience wants to watch a dancer who shines, stands upright, and projects confidence.
These 5 tips will help you to gain that confidence and perform beyond what you think you are capable of.
Being Present
The very first step to improving stage presence is, of course, presence in class! Regularly attending classes, especially classes before a performance, helps you to better retain and perfect the choreography you are taught. It is extremely difficult to focus on stage presence when you are trying to remember what step comes next! This kind of confusion causes dancers to look around at others and find out what they are supposed to be doing. It is obvious to the audience when a dancer is not confident in the choreography.
To prevent this from happening, attend every class you are able to. Being present in a performance is easier once you’ve rehearsed enough to let your mind and body focus on something other than steps. When you do that, you have the ability to fully connect with the audience and share your own style with them.
2. Dancing vs. Going Through the Motions
The difference between dancing and going through the motions is the performance. The second you step on stage, you need to command all eyes to be on you. The audience won’t be watching the dancer who is simply doing the choreography and nothing else. They will be watching the dancer who adds personal flavor and flair to movements, and commits to a character by emoting through the face and body. Being confident enough to own big movements helps significantly in “being” the music and whatever character or idea you represent.
3. Be Bold- Be YOU!
One of the key parts to stage presence is boldness! This means making the absolute most of every step and transition. Shy moves do not entertain the audience. Sometimes, these timid movements are not seen from farther away. In order to make sure even the last person sitting in the back row can see you perform, be sure to broaden your movements and take up as much space as possible. The further away you project, the bigger your presence, and the more everyone will absorb your performance.
Standing out is the best way to have a memorable performance. Of course, dancing as a group is most important. Don’t stray too far from the choreography, but have fun with the movements and share your own style with the audience!
4. How Interested Are You?
A simple question to ask yourself when questioning your stage presence is, “How interested are you in what you’re doing?” Your own enjoyment of dancing is a significant part of how you are perceived on stage. This translates to all types of dance, from upbeat and fun to slow and serious. One of the easiest ways to stay engaged and interested mentally and physically in a performance is to keep track of your focus. If you are intent on entertaining the audience or telling a story, you naturally have a clear and strong focus. When you start to think about the steps too much, your eyes tend to wander. This can make you seem unengaged or not confident, when in reality you’re just thinking hard about your performance!
5. Willingness to Feel Anything
One of the hardest parts about stepping on stage is the fear, anxiousness, and nervousness that comes before the performance. Dancers are afraid of missing a step, being off-count, or falling all the time. Overcoming these emotions is an extremely difficult task to accomplish. To combat these fears, try to focus on being willing to mess up. Even the most infamous dancers in the world have made mistakes. Your true confidence lies in that willingness to feel silly or embarrassed.
If you are open to the idea that you might nail the choreography, or totally mess it up, the audience will be able to feel that security and openness. It is important to lean into your performance quality and commit yourself even if you aren’t confident. True confidence doesn’t come from how confidently you can land a skill, it comes from embarrassing every possible feeling that could occur in your performance!
BONUS! Practice Makes Progress
Just like any skill, having confidence and presence on stage takes practice in order to get better and more comfortable at it. This can be taken literally by dancing in front of audiences whenever you can. For example, dancing in parades, at nursing homes, at community performances, or even in front of fellow dancers in the studio. Other "performing" can help as well! Things like making a presentation in class, reading out loud at church, or being in plays can help you grow your confidence of presenting in front of people that can help with your dancing as well. All in all-- get out there and perform whoever the audience may be!