- Paul Taylor
There are many preparations a dancer takes to make their
performance on stage. All the backstage action is what results in the look,
stretch and overall dance that the dancer presents. It differs by dancer, but I
have a continuous routine that I stick to at every competition, and
performance. With that here are the steps I take in order to take the stage,
from the moment I wake up to get ready for my solo.
First I have to feel fresh, no makeup, no hair, freshly
showered and calm. I then proceed to putting my hair up loosely, starting my
makeup. The usual; foundation, powder, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara,
eyebrow gel and then lipstick with gloss.
Once I have finished my makeup I begin on my hair. At my studio
we put our hair in a bun, with side braid leading to it. So, I begin by parting
my hair and braiding it down toward my hair, and then backwards toward the
direction of desired ponytail placement. Then I hair tie the rest of my hair
with the braid inside of it on the spot I am going to build by bun. As a method
to my madness I do this with all my fly aways, and baby hair everywhere,
because I then take both gel and hairspray. It helps to ten take out the
ponytail and get all the extra, little hairs up and attached, so there is
nothing poking out. After everything is up, I secure it with a ponytail yet
again in the place where I’m going to build your bun. Now I should have a
ponytail, to make the ponytail into a bun, I use a snap bracelet bun maker, straightening
out my hair, rolling it up to the top of the hair tie and then snapping it to
hook in the back. I next fasten the hair towards the back, and use bobby pins
to secure it in place. From here I am left with a perfect, solid, tight bun.
After hair and makeup, I put on my costume. Pretty straight
forward, hair piece, costume, jewelry and dance shoes.
Now I’m already in terms of my looks. The next concern is
stretching. I do pretty basic, everyday dancer stretches, on the ground left,
right, needles, splits, calf raises, back bends, and any turn combinations. I
keep stretching until I feel confident that my body is ready to tackle a dance
without pain, or restriction. After my body is ready and stretched, and I have
done some of the major tricks in my dance, I run through it several times with
the music. At first I just park it to hear my timing. The second time to the
music I do everything full out, of course sometimes there is limited room and
carpeted flooring, but I do my best. The third time I practice with the music I
mark through most, but do all of my turns and some of my more challenging
skills, or any bumps I had from either of the first two. Sometimes I do it more
that, but I always do a minimum of three times.
Once I feel confident, I take to the stage. This routine
makes me feel very good at my performance, and contributes immensely to how I
perform and feel. I would widely encourage to any dancers seeking a routine to
prep themselves.
~Julia Brewer
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