Written by Christopher Opalka
Performance anxiety is a huge issue in the colorguard world. We spend so much of our time perfecting 4-8 minutes of a show for the audience and judges to see it once–and their feedback can often be a catalyst for further anxiety. Naturally, we want to showcase the best possible representation of our hard work! But have no fear–here at Simply Colorguard, we have compiled a list of tips to help you max out each performance and show up as your most confident self!
I. Trust Your Training
No matter how much time we spend rehearsing or reviewing our show in our heads, staff and instructors typically spend at least 3x that amount preparing. Your guard staff will have likely spent countless hours creating a well-thought-out technique program and some masterfully crafted show choreography. It may be difficult, but it is important that you trust the training you have been given by your staff. Use the tools that they give you to succeed!
II. Practice Outside of Rehearsal
The idea that rehearsal is where consistency comes from is a very common misconception in colorguard. Rehearsal is a time to learn new things, work on bettering your show as a group, and clean it (make everyone do the same things the same way). True progress and consistency comes from taking what you have learned at rehearsal and applying it to personal practice to grow. Record yourself, spin in front of a mirror, practice your performance quality, and do anything else you can to be prepared and show up to your next rehearsal ready to spin with your teammates.
III. Don’t Be a “Show Pony”
Listen–we all LOVE performing–that’s why we’re performers! However, the time to START performing is not at the show–it’s in rehearsal.
The term “show pony” refers to a performer that waits until they are in front of a judge or an audience to focus on putting their best foot forward. These types of performers often save their performance quality and effort for a performance, rather than putting effort into every rep in rehearsal. This tactic can lead to severe inconsistency on the floor. When we practice without energy and performance, it increases the chances of mistakes happening during a show like over rotating your tosses, speeding up or slowing down choreography, and other individual mistakes. Has your instructor ever said “Practice how you want to perform”? This is why! They are giving show-saving advice.
IV. Prepare Your “Look”
One of the best confidence boosters is looking as good as you feel at a show. However, if you do not practice your hair and make-up, this confidence booster can add stress to an already stressful show day! Ask your staff to send out the hair and make-up look well in advance so that you have time to get all the materials needed and practice. Make sure to take the time to practice several times before the first show day.
V. Develop a Pre-Performance Routine
A very common pre-show “ritual” is to listen to a song that makes you feel excited and confident before you start warmup/go into rotation at every show! Other rituals may look something like eating a hard candy, doing 10 jumping-jacks to warm-up, or even having a pre-show handshake with your best friend. Either way, it’s imperative that it makes you feel prepared for your show. This is yet another way to train your body to do the same thing every time. As we all know, consistency is key!
VI. Don’t Let Small Mistakes Get You Down!
So many performers in colorguard (including us!) are “perfectionists” — someone who sets extremely high standards for themselves. While high standards aren’t inherently a bad thing, setting TOO high of a standard can be detrimental to your performance. There will NEVER be a “perfect” show or performance, and the unfortunate reality is that drops happen–you will most likely mess up at some point in some way. This does not make you a bad performer… it just makes you human! What truly makes a good performer great is how they recover from these mistakes and keep moving! That’s why it’s important to count through your show, not just for yourself, but for your teammates as well. When you make a mistake in a show, listen for the counts from your fellow performers, get back in, and try to forget any mistake that just happened so you can continue the show with your best foot forward.
