Tips and Tricks for Dance

~Conveying Emotion~

Ok, so you have the routine down, the excellent technique, but there is one problem. Whenever you try to do facial expressions, or 'facials', or you try to convey emotion, you end up rolling in the floor laughing. Don't lie about this, we've all been there at one point.

You have to admit to yourself that Maddie Ziegler has AMAZING emotion and facial expressions throughout all her dances, and so do many other performers, but when you attempt the 'Maddie face', you look like a constipated cow.

I know I have done a chapter in this before, but I wanted to address this again because I found some more tips on this.

~Ok, so why can't I do these facial expressions without looking foolish.~
• Basically, facials aren't facials unless you feel silly, and often when doing facials, we hold ourselves back because we're afraid of looking like a fool, and this makes everything look forced and harsh.

~So, how do I fix this?~
• listen to the music and get a feel of what type of facials would suit the lyrics and the movements, because you can't just throw random facials in wherever you feel like it. For example, if in a sad song, one verse is remembering a happy time, or there is a happier line in the middle, throw in a sad smile, look like you're trying to remember what the artist is.
• It's all about the eyes. If the song is about remembering the good times, constantly look like you're trying to remember happy days, like when you got your first goldfish at the school fete (idek anymore...). Basically, just relate the facials to what your face would be like in that situation in real life.
• Research the song. Find out what the song is about, and what message the artist is trying to show with the lyrics.
• If in doubt, just let it go (No, Elsa, go back to your ice castle.) Don't doubt yourself, use any facial expression you feel is necessary for the piece and don't hold back. Seriously, who cares if you look like a constipated cow? You are doing your best and that's all that matters.
•Body language matters too. If your teacher is choreographing a piece that you are supposed to act shy in, then act shy, but not too shy. Like, you still want to seem confident, but you want to get the story across. Keep your shoulders back at all times, unless told otherwise.
• Make it dramatic. Take a drama class if you need, because this will help. Remember, it doesn't matter if you're a competitive dancer or not, a singer or actor, you need to project right to the back of the room if you are performing for large crowds, so pretend like you are performing for someone on another planet or in another country or something (seriously idk). Just make sure your movements are larger than they need to be in class.
• acknowledge the audience, and other performers on stage, it makes you seem more confident.

~But I don't know how to acknowledge the audience/other dancers.~
• This is basically just eye contact with the audience, especially the judges and making eye contact, small gestures towards your team members. This may not be necessary with styles such as ballet or lyrical, but it all just depends on the theme and the choreography.

• Make sure you practice your facial expressions in the studio or whenever you are practicing so you become more used to using these expressions and they become more natural.

I hope this helped some of you guys! Thanks for reading. remember to vote and comment requests so I know what my next chapter should be. Also, feel free to send me a private message telling me any mistakes in my chapters (I'm not a professional, and I'm not perfect) or with any questions, or feel free to put them in the comments!

Love you all!
Xoxo, Emmy

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QOTC: What is your favourite solo that Maddie has done? (Can be any season)

AOTC: I actually really loved Fool me Once, just because I think she portrayed the character really well, and her emotions in this dance were stunning. Although I think Kendall also done this dance amazingly, Maddie overall displayed more emotion and it just seemed more natural when she done it (It was a 'Maddie' dance, though).