5 Body Language Tricks To Kick Start Your Dance Competition

Sam's Photography

You stand in front of an audience, a panel of adjudicators hoping they will notice how confident and professional you are. Here is a list of the most important body language tips for your dance competition or a show.

1. All about that... Face

As dancers we spend a lot of time working on our bodies and movement but sometimes we forget the face. Ultimately, face attracts people's attention first. That's why you should make sure you practice facial expressions too. How?

Have a genuine smile. People love positive energy and everyone is drawn to this. Look around and the feel that you can perform and dance should already put a huge smile on your face. Fake smiles are easy to spot.
NEVER show sadness, anger or contempt. Only use negative emotions during your performance.
Identify 5 facial expressions and practice them in front of the mirror e.g. happy face, excited face, cheeky face, sad face, angry face.

2. The power stand

Once you have found your spot on a dance floor, you need to stand. It seems quite a hard task for many to stay still and be comfortable and confident. Stand straight, head up, shoulders down with toning in your arms. Knees relaxed. Practice your power stand in front of a mirror.

N.B. remember the face too

3. Laser eyes

Very often our eyes wonder around. This makes dancers look uncomfortable and unsure of themselves. Use direct gazing to your advantage. When you come onto a dance floor, have a clear point to look at i.e. your partner, someone in the audience. Oh yes and I must say that- NEVER look at the floor.

4. Confidence builder

To make an audience believe in the story you are creating, you need to believe in it first. If you doubt your dancing, everyone else will do too.

There are different ways to dancers to get their confidence boost, for me these are:

listening to music that gets me pumped and ready
watch an inspirational YouTube video
message my best friend for a few words of encuragement
hear from my dance partner that I am and look amazing

5. Finishing

As I said before, walking off the floor is still part of your performance. Make sure that you practice with your partner how you finish your dance i.e. turns into curtsy etc. Remember to keep smiling when you come off the floor as if that had been the best performance of your life (even though you may think it was a total disaster).

Use these tricks to prepare for your next competition or show. Of course, being aware of them is one thing, but practicing another. So make sure you spend a little bit of time playing with facial expressions, power stand, laser eyes, confidence and your finale. Presenting yourself as a confident and positive dancer will definitely get you much greater results.

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Photo Credits: Sam's Photography