Acting For Dancers is about sharing what I wish every dancer could have:
The acting background I had when I started my career... specific to solo dance work. By the end of the AFD series, you'll have a full toolbox of acting techniques to apply to your dancing, with feedback recommendations specific to you that you can continue to develop.
WHY "ACTING FOR DANCERS"?
Dance movements by themselves are just physical exercise.
To go beyond your own body to truly reach an audience, acting skills can help get you there. That's the expression.
Many dancers work on the choreography and the technique first, without "acting it"...and then try to add breathing and feeling later. NOPE!!!
It's more effective to integrate acting and breathwork techniques into the dance movements, both for the success of the movements and the success of the performer. Actually, for the success of the whole performance.
You shouldn't settle for being just a dancer with movements, if you really want to move people.
ACTING FOR DANCERS includes...
- mental and physical work to be fully present onstage from the beginning (not just after the audience warms up to you)
- online vs. in-person audience connection techniques (including how to work with the camera so you don't look like a shy robot)
- applied meditation for performance
- Breathwork for Performance techniques
- character/persona exercises
- juicy, yummy sensory work
- Recorded video trainings for lifetime access
-This program is strong preparation for my other series
#1) SAFE SPACE ONSTAGE
In this program, we'll be addressing ways to feel safer "putting yourself out there"... whether it's in front of a camera (recording or for livestream) or in any in-person performance situation, no matter the setting. I'll be leading candid discussion of what it means to be "onstage" and how to deal with the obstacles that come up, so you can get into your "zone" reliably. Can you show up and perform even when stressed or preoccupied? This program will give you tools to do that.
- Meditation and mindfulness practice for "real-life" and onstage applications
- Visualizations and breathwork to create a feeling of protection and agency for yourself in performance
- Building confidence with the tricky transition from offstage to onstage
- Development of routines and practice to improve your focus for performance
#2) SENSORY CELEBRATION FOR DANCERS
Working with the five senses enhances our performances SO MUCH. It connects our physical experience, and memories of our experience, to our performance. And it connects our physical experience to the physical memories of audience members, enhancing our connection with them, and therefore making our work more relevant to them.
In this series, we'll use "method" and physical acting techniques to get in touch with the feelings we want to share... making our dance more meaningful to us and to our audiences.
- Work with objects (props) and environments that elicit sensory connection (we'll be making some fun videos here!)
- “Sense memory” - tapping into our physical memories and applying them even when the object is not present
- Musical connection - Application of sensory techniques and sense memory work to melody and rhythm for improvisation and choreography
#3) CHARACTER IN PERFORMANCE
Even if we are performing "as ourselves," we are stepping into a role the moment we go onstage (whether online in front of a camera, or in-person). And who says we have to stick to just one role over the course of one dance? It brings us freedom, to explore different characters, as in-built parts of ourselves or as personas quite different from how we usually present ourselves.
- Exploring the characters within our own personality and ways of being
- Different acting approaches to character-building
- Working with archetypes and famous figures
- Applying character work to musical moments in a piece
- Bonus: Inspiration from Ayurveda and other analysis methods to help identify your own constitutional and personality type: You can apply this in physicalizing characters in a way that is still balanced for your baseline body and personality
#4) ONSTAGE RELATIONSHIPS BUILT IN THE AIR
What I mean by this is creating relationships even if you are dancing solo, to enhance how much the audience cares about your performance. (And those relationships don't need to be only with the audience, though that will be included in this program.) Eye contact with an audience can sometimes feel scary, but you have more options for confident eye gaze onstage than you may realize. It doesn't always have to be the audience members you are looking at! In some cases you will want to connect eye to eye with an audience member, but other times (or even for a whole performance), you can tap into imaginary relationships with imaginary characters in your narrative. It may sound funny, but if you have seen me perform, I use this technique in nearly every performance. This is a brand-new workshop that builds on the Character in Performance work.
- Learn how to create imaginary characters for your own character to interact with (I can't wait for the video clips on these!!!)
- Build that dialogue through your reactions, making this other "person" real for yourself in that moment
- Enlist audience members to be characters in your narrative, to make them feel more relevant to your performance.
- Learn to direct your eye gaze and place your imaginary friends (or enemies!) around your performance space (whether online or through a webcam)
PS: all of this is in your own head! You don't have to get anyone else up on stage for it to work.
If you are interested in the next ACTING FOR DANCERS, here is how you can get on the WAITLIST.
Click Here to Join the Waitlist: