Thread: First Time Soloist

What do you expect from a first time soloist. I have my first hafla this weekend and I am so nervous. I don't want to look like a complete idiot. I have alot of level variations, isolations, movement around the stage(people will be on all sides) and some repetition but not tons. Am I set? Am I in trouble? I feel confident that it is a great first time choreography but than again I have been living with it like a mantra in my head for the past month and a half. Do you have any tips for a baby belly on her solo debut?

Yes, you need to relax, and smile and enjoy it!! Your first solo only happens once!!

Nilaja

Deep and slow there, big girl!

Your first solo exists for one reason, and one reason ONLY. To get you out on stage by yourself. That's it.

Anything else is just gravy.

Relax, and remember to breathe deep and slow!

First Belly Dance Solo!

agreed with all.

the audience will first and foremost respond to your emotion/facial expression. i've seen good dancers with boring or concentrated expression and its not good. but an OK dancer who looks like their having a blast is soooo much more fun to watch!

i suggest pretending you're performing while you practice your choreography. imagine people watching, imagine being stared at, imagine people clapping and cheering you on. also, practice away from mirrors.

oh, and you will make a mistake. i have never heard of a first time solo-er who didn't forget their choreography at some point. if you're focused on having fun while you dance, when you forget your next move no one will know!

good luck (but you don't need it )
em

Slow down, breath, smile and know that they are all rooting for you! If you dont fall down...you did good!

If you don't fall down and they clap when you're done, you did great! And this is the most likely scenario.

I remember my first solo too--well, why not, it was just last December. Breathing was my biggest problem, so be sure to do that!

You'll do fine, and when it's over, you'll be so high you won't come down for hours. At which point you'll start thinking about your *next* solo.

If you have practiced and can be calm during your performance, I'm sure it'll go well.

Accept the possibility that you may forget pieces of the choreography. If it happens, improvise until some point where you can get back on track. When this occurs in a solo, it is NOT a "mistake." It is a variation in the plan which you have every right to make. Experienced dancers do not do their solo choreographies exactly the same way every time. It's not required! You also don't have to keep doing "something" every second. If you need a moment, strike a dramatic pose or do any basic walk or traveling step in a very expressive way. Just do it like it's what you really mean to do and the audience will love it.

Often the most anxious moments will not be during the performance itself but just before. The time of the performance of the dancer who goes just before you can be a sort of crescendo of terror and then once you actually begin, it changes. If you're having a tough time while you wait, focus on the music of the dancer(s) that are on and dance or shimmy to it (just make sure you're where the audience can't see you). This will help you keep loosened up and help you breath.

The first solo is a BIG step but it is only one step on a road that can continue far ahead. Just to do it is a great accomplishment. Many, no I would really say most, beginning students will never make this step at all.

Congratulations!
Rosette

Originally Posted by emtink

agreed with all.


i suggest pretending you're performing while you practice your choreography. imagine people watching, imagine being stared at, imagine people clapping and cheering you on. also, practice away from mirrors.


em

She does practice like she's performing! I can vouch for it. My dear friend, you will be fabulous!

Originally Posted by zorba

Your first solo exists for one reason, and one reason ONLY. To get you out on stage by yourself. That's it.

Anything else is just gravy.

I concur with this completely! Well said, Zorba.

The most important thing is to have fun...or at least look like you are having fun. Is the audience going to know its your first solo?

If it's any help, there's an article on my web site regarding one's first-time performance. It's at Belly Dance Advice, Tips, How-To's

I know this is hard to do but don't stress out. You're doing it cause it's fun, right? So, if you're having fun and it shows, the audience will love it.

If you've practiced then the dance is in your body already. Just relax and try not to think too hard - the movements will come. :)

I did my first solo back in May and LOVED it!! The best thing is..no one can tell if you have made any mistakes as you are the only dancer! Smile and enjoy yourself!!! Once I had finished I wanted to do it again. In fact I am doing another solo this weekend :) Enjoy yourself and do let us know how you go :)

Originally Posted by Rosette

...can be a sort of crescendo of terror and then once you actually begin, it changes.

I just love, love, LOVE that! "Crescendo of terror" indeed! And yes, absolutely - "once you actually begin, it changes.".

I've helped so many dance sisters before their first solo - and have SEEN that "crescendo of terror" many times. That's when I tell them "Deep and slow, big girl, deep and slow!". It helps. I wish someone had told ME that before my first solo - or before my first (troupe) performance which was even worse for me. My wife says I was literally babbling, I believe her.

Have a run through in what you will wear on the night.

If you get nervous easily, make sure you have your entrance bit practically on autopilot.

When I first started doing solos, the beginning was always where I had the highest risk of messing up because I would shake horribly - almost to where it was visible to everyone - and knowing how I planned to enter helped so much until I became more confident.

smile! and look at your audience. dance for them. you're going to love it!

practise without mirror. if you're too used to a mirror you might feel insecure when you can't see yourself.

think about how you're going to leave the stage. are you going to bow? blow kisses? the first time i performed it was at my friend's wedding. i wasn't nervous at all during the dance. it was like a dream and during the dance i thought to myself i must remember every moment of this dream. and then when i finished (turkish drop at the end), i suddenly panicked, because i never thought about what to do afterward. and then when i walked out of the hotel ballroom, everyone kept cheering and i could feel they were still staring at me and i wish they wouldn't. you see, when i was dancing i wish everyone look at me, and after i finished i thought i wasn't special anymore i just wanted to hide. so now i include leaving the stage as part of the choreography!

good luck and have fun!

oh and do some self-talk... i learnt this from my basketball coach long time ago. you look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself (i do only in my head because too weird talking aloud to self) 'i look fabulous! my friends all think i'm gorgeous. my teacher thinks i'm ready. i've been practising hard. everyone loves to see me dance. i'm going to enjoy it so much. my costume is sensational'.... i think these are all true for you. you just need a confidence boost!

and if your friends are going to support you, ask them to separate and stand in different section so you can look for them and look at them if you are really nervous. and remind them they must smile at you! i had this friend who came and watch me one time and she was frowning and frowning at me i was so nervous and thought if she couldn't smile at me (her friend!) i must be really bad!. afterward she told me she didn't think her frowning would affect me and she frowned because she had to stand for long time!

One thing that helped me immensely before my first solo was enlisting my family as a practice audience, asking them to be as obnoxiously distracting as possible, to see if my body could make it through the song no matter where my brain went. (My children were following me around doing the "I'm not touching you" game while my mother in law would randomly shout out for beer...then my husband grabbed his bongos and started playing a completely different beat! ..l;,)

The other thing that helped me was something Kimahri said in class (which I still focus on before every performance): "The audience wants to love you."

Everyone...okay, almost everyone...watching is on your side. They admire your courage for being out there, and they want to support you.

Oh...I also made a deal with my friend. If I stopped with a "deer in the headlights" look, she would stand up, yell "Wooh!" and flash like a Mardi Gras reveller. It was good to know someone had my back!

Thank you everyone for the great advice! This is my three year anniversary with dancing and my birthday is next week. I really felt like now or never!

If you have been doing a lot of group performances this may not apply, but my very first belly dance was a solo. I practiced and practiced....I think it was alright, but it was like a dream up there.....no idea what really happened.

What I wasn't prepared for is how nervous I got before hand, even though I have been on stage since I was 12 (not belly dancing though). My mouth dried so badly that that smiling was a *real* challenge. Started choking when I got off stage. I would recommend to anyone going into their "first" to bring a strong gum and something to put on their teeth (vasiline) just in case! Cause if you can do nothing else on stage, you want to be able to smile! These will help. Haven't had that same problem since, but now I usually chew gum....just in case

Good luck..g.:

In addition to having enlisted my family and friends as a practice audience ( I performed my first solo in February at a Red Hat Society Convention), make sure to practice in full costume. That way any possible "wardrobe malfunctions" can be fixed (i.e., your hip belt starts sliding down, your top slides up, etc.). This helped me a lot. Also, breathe. If you are breathing, you cannot hold in fear.

Good luck, and enjoy yourself!

Edna

Never having done a solo myself (but feeling that this might be the year), I want to say that the advice here (and on Shira's web site, which I have often passed along to my friends who started dancing after me) is very much appreciated, especially these two quotes!

Accept the possibility that you may forget pieces of the choreography. If it happens, improvise until some point where you can get back on track. When this occurs in a solo, it is NOT a "mistake." It is a variation in the plan which you have every right to make. Experienced dancers do not do their solo choreographies exactly the same way every time. It's not required! You also don't have to keep doing "something" every second. If you need a moment, strike a dramatic pose or do any basic walk or traveling step in a very expressive way. Just do it like it's what you really mean to do and the audience will love it.

This is profound. I hadn't thought about the fact that a solo dancer has the right and the perogative to dance however she has to. You may not be dancing "as planned" but if you're still expressing the music and entertaining the audience, you have done nothing wrong! Thanks for this insight!

One thing that helped me immensely before my first solo was enlisting my family as a practice audience, asking them to be as obnoxiously distracting as possible, to see if my body could make it through the song no matter where my brain went. (My children were following me around doing the "I'm not touching you" game while my mother in law would randomly shout out for beer...then my husband grabbed his bongos and started playing a completely different beat! )

The other thing that helped me was something Kimahri said in class (which I still focus on before every performance): "The audience wants to love you."

I nearly laughed out loud here at my desk when I read about this chaotic rehearsal with all the distractions! I could just picture it! Ha!

My own troupe director likes to do this in class before a performance - practicing with obnoxious distractions (she'd have me stand at the front her junior troupe and frown, talk on my cell phone, shake my head...), practicing techinical malfunctions (the cd skips or dies altogether - what do you do?...), practicing costume malfunctions (how do you exit the stage quickly and discreetly?), and so on. Just knowing you've worked these kinds of bugs out gives you lots of confidence to step on the stage, knowing you're ready for anything.

Originally Posted by veritate

My own troupe director likes to do this in class before a performance - practicing with obnoxious distractions (she'd have me stand at the front her junior troupe and frown, talk on my cell phone, shake my head...), practicing techinical malfunctions (the cd skips or dies altogether - what do you do?...), practicing costume malfunctions (how do you exit the stage quickly and discreetly?), and so on. Just knowing you've worked these kinds of bugs out gives you lots of confidence to step on the stage, knowing you're ready for anything.

How wonderful to have a supportive teacher. In three years my teacher has never even done a student show. I have danced in her troupe however in group numbers. She didn't even tell her students in the class I was doing this. The lack of support is saddening but my friends and family are fantastic and other troup members who know are very excited and supportive. Thank you very much Shadylady and najilaraks.

Plus all of you are fabulous. I am so glad I found Bhuz.

How wonderful to have a supportive teacher. In three years my teacher has never even done a student show. I have danced in her troupe however in group numbers. She didn't even tell her students in the class I was doing this. The lack of support is saddening but my friends and family are fantastic and other troup members who know are very excited and supportive. Thank you very much Shadylady and najilaraks.

Yup! You've got to seek support wherever you can, and revel in it. They'll nurture you and you can insipire them through your dance.

They already love you, so go out there and love them right back!

Break a leg!

Oh, lady!

You sound like you have a plan, and you are going to be fabulous!

Breathe, smile, and give it all you got! And get someone to take you so we can see you dance, too!

Have a wonderful time!

Deborah

Originally Posted by zorba

Deep and slow there, big girl!
First Belly Dance Solo!

Doesn't this belong in the pahllic cane thread? ,r:;

What do I expect from a first time soloist? A dancer who is nervous but is excited to be there. I have had more joy at watching someone bursting with nervous energy and pride than I had watching a pro with a smile plastered on her face and a vacant look in her eyes. I was so skeert to do a solo that I had to do baby steps and do someone else's choreography that I already knew the first time out. It was scary enough that I was out there alone - no way was I also going to decide the movements! Bravo for taking that on. I'm sure you'll have a great time!