Thread: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

Can you become too dependant on the studio mirrors? Is this just a phase I have to work through? The instant feedback of the visual leads to many fine moves and playful accents as I project into that piece of glass...but I am the image and not the dancer. In front of an audience...those cool sculptural lines are forgotton, the arms that look so fluid and expressive are gone...maybe they are not gone, but since I dont see them...are they still there? I have a feeling that you are going to tell me to video myself. I do it for my privates...but not for myself. Big sissy, huh? Anybody have an opinion around here? ..l;,

I don't think there is anything wrong with dancing in front of the mirrors but I prefer a combo of with and without. I've found that when I practice without them my senses are a little more heightned as to if the move "feels" right. Of course during class I use the mirrors (although a good portion of the time I look away from myself) and then at home I have to rely on how it feels.

Ever fly a kite? Thats the sensation..I am in the object I see, not in myself.

watching video of myself performing has to be the most valuable feedback ever. granted, i had to have a glass of wine first. so many 'i look like that?' moments... not all bad just not how i pictured it in my head. yes, i am way too mirror dependent, and i think its hugely important to practice away from mirrors or any reflection.

totally get the kite analogy. when i see myself in the mirror, i don't NEED to feel the movement in my body. i'm focused outward at my reflection instead of inward on 'getting it in my body'.

I had a ballet teacher who would often flip us around, away from the mirror, for class. It was disturbing at first, but we got used to the idea.

I'm experimenting with NOT using mirrors with my intermediates. I'm trying to teach them Suhaila technique, and they're more worried about the VISUAL of what the move looks like than they are about using the appropriate muscles. Taking them away from the mirror seems to help them focus on how it FEELS rather than how they think it's supposed to look.

I've been lambasted before for saying I think mirrors have a PLACE in class, but I don't want students relying on them.

(I always laugh to see a group of students trying to do a choreography AWAY from the mirror for the first time. With mirrors, you get used to seeing yourself in space, in relation to everyone else. Without the mirrors, some students can't remember which is left and which is right! lol.)

Video yourself dancing in front of a mirror, and then video yourself without the mirror. It's weird how much difference there is in how you dance!

What is that Bruce Lee saying...if you point at the moon, it is not your finger that is the moon...

Here we go:
Don't think; feel. It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all the heavenly glory.

A little of everything helps me - viewing in the mirror helps me to see if I'm doing a new technique right then I look away and forget about it, just concentrate on my dancing. But videos are the best feedback - let's me know what I need to work on best. A little bit of everything but not too much of one thing. I hope this helps! ..g.:

I personally prefer not to use mirrors, but I usually switch. As someone recently told me when I posted about this on orientaldancer, how can I take away the students' number one method of self correction?

Still...I don't feel the mirror love. ..g.:

I TOTALLY get that!

I've started using the mirror to achieve the visual look I want - and then close my eyes and really try to *feel* where my hands, feet, head etc. is in relation to everything else, and to *feel* what muscles are working and what that position feels like, where the energy is, where my breath is. Then look again to make sure I'm holding the right position. Mirrors are good for "verification" of doing a move or body posture etc. I must look silly dancing in front of a mirror with my eyes closed, but it helps to bring myself back to myself and away from the image. If that makes sense.

Without the mirrors, some students can't remember which is left and which is right! lol.)

Thats not funny! (Ok, yes it is, but that is a touchy issue for this old dyslexic). As hard as I struggle against it...the camera needs to be my new best friend. My greatest fear is that I will hate what (who) I see - and it will make me too self consious to perform in the "self free zone" that I habitate now.

Originally Posted by Azhia

What is that Bruce Lee saying...if you point at the moon, it is not your finger that is the moon...

Here we go:
Don't think; feel. It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all the heavenly glory.

That's beautiful. I don't use mirrors - not because I have a self hate relationship with my reflection but because I would rather feel the movement than see if I'm doing it right -

I'm in the wishy washy camp. I think mirrors can be beneficial, but I also think a dancer can come to depend on them to the detriment of her ability to feel. Of course, it all depends on how you use them. Do you notice something then check it and make a mental note of how it's different? If so, then I think you're using them correctly. If you are sort of mindlessly dancing and noticing things that look good or don't but don't take the time to make it stick you aren't getting full use of the mirror. As clear and definitive as mud!

I also think switching class orientation is a good thing. People do get so used to seeing it only one way that they can't visualize themselves moving as a team. They only see themselves moving relative the the room.

I KNOW I'm way too depedent on mirrors right now! I'm a beginner and have my first student recital tomorrow night and in our studio the mirrors are on both long walls so we can always see ourselves AND at home my livingroom where I practice the wall is totally mirrored as well. The first time we practiced our dance not facing into a mirror felt so weird! as the performance draws closer and closer I'm realizing HOW MUCH I depend on the constant feedback I get from the mirrors to make constant corrections in my movements and posture and all that and have been really trying to force myself to practice facing some other way where I can't rely on that!

I do both. I like having the mirror in class so that I can see if the move looks right, then feel what the move feels like. I don't have a mirror at home big enough to matter if I want to move around so then I have to reference the memory of the feeling.

I totally get what you are going through. It is easy to get hooked on the mirror cause there is instant feedback and for me, I can pretend that I am a different person, not me, I am the girl in the mirror.

It's funny. When I first made my students rehearse a choreography away from the mirrors, they hated it/me. Now they often ask me a few weeks before a performance, "When are we going to start rehearsing it away from the mirrors?" They are eager to get past the "mirror" phase to the "real" phase which will prepare them for the actual performance.

I also find that when my dance partner and I struggle with something, we often do much better facing away from the mirrors. There's a real difference between dancing with ourselves (i.e. our reflections) and dancing with each other minus the mirrors--it's almost like removing our individual "selves" (i.e. "egos") and becoming two halves of one brain.

I find videos of my performances helpful but I don't attach too much significance to them. They fail to capture the moments of "connection" I have with my audience. In my last one, for example, I see that at one point early in the song I'm leaning over a bit and flicking my veil in front--not exactly a pretty pose! Then I remembered that there was a little girl sitting on the floor (out of the camera's range) who smiled from ear to ear when I did that move looking straight at her, down at her level. The camera totally missed the magic of that moment and I could care less if my butt was sticking out and looking awkward if that little girl enjoyed the attention and might even remember the night when the belly dancer looked at her. :o)

One of the times to get away from the mirror, at least half of the time, is veil. Who doesn't, without realizing it, cheat finding edges and correcting veil mishaps and tangles with a smile when in front of a mirror?

Jaded...for you...

I know that pic was for Jaded, but I looked at it. Awesome!

YOU LOOKED!!!!! Oh.....

Anala - what a darling picture! Thank you for sharing.

i have to agree with jaded, camera's are no good in capturing those special little moments...and they really do make you self consious.

[QUOTE=anala;213169]Can you become too dependant on the studio mirrors? Is this just a phase I have to work through? The instant feedback of the visual leads to many fine moves and playful accents as I project into that piece of glass...but I am the image and not the dancer. In front of an audience...those cool sculptural lines are forgotton, the arms that look so fluid and expressive are gone...maybe they are not gone, but since I dont see them...are they still there? QUOTE]

I've often wondered about this myself ........... everything seems to dissipate as soon as I don't get that instant feedback .... Since I rarely listen to my own advice for solo work, I won't be a hypocrite and recommend anything on that front ....

But for troupe work, I'll teach the choreography facing the mirrors -- when it's nailed down, polished, and all the little quirky stuff is snipped off and trimmed away, then a week or two before the performance -- NO MORE MIRRORS. Everyone faces the wall and uses peripheral vision for spacing, cue checks, etc. and visualizes the wall as an audience from that point on. You also get a better fix on "stage right, stage left," as it will be come showtime. One year, I cut out a ton of pictures of faces from magazines, pasted them all onto a clear sheet and taped it to the wall -- the effect was fascinating -- so many good things happened: The girls were more relaxed -- they had faces to focus on -- some were funny, some looked disinterested, some bored, some encouraging --- I tried to find something representative of whatever you'd find staring back at you from the audience ....... IT WORKS!!!
Now, why don't I use that technique for solos? Hmmmmmmm ......