“Welcome to The World of The Performing Arts! We’re so excited that you are joining us! It’s really cool because you get to create, connect with other people, travel, and express yourself freely! But also you mightttt definitely face rejection, negative critique, emotional abuse, self-doubt, depression, anxiety, body image issues, etc. Just to name a few. Anyways, welcome!”
Don’t you wish joining the arts came with that disclaimer 😂 ? Being a performing artist is an inexplainable and magical thing. However, because art is subjective and we just love to judge every little imperfection that we have, it can be a destructive path if we’re not careful and confident in our art.
I’ve been a performer for my entire life and have gone through the many different stages of being an artist multiple times. Something that I’ve learned is that I am always at my lowest when I put my worth into things that I can’t control. Allow me to explain.
Auditions
A lot of times, we tell ourselves that we’re not good enough if we don’t get a spot on a team after an audition.We create this narrative that if only we were better at x, or if we were skinnier, or if we had nailed that turn, we’d have made it. The results feed into our worth as performers.
Here’s the thing–maybe those things are true, but there’s also a huge possibility that they aren’t! The results of an audition are completely out of your hands. So why let someone else’s decision dictate how you feel about yourself?
I like to approach auditions as if they are workshops–an opportunity to grow. I go in there, learn some stuff, do my thing, and leave! If I get the role and/or make the team, great! If I don’t there will be other opportunities and my identity as an artist is not tied to how Joe Schmo perceives my work–so who cares?
Release the outcome. You be will be happier.
Performances
When I say performances, I don’t mean you not catching your equipment because you never practice (you can control that, after all). I mean whether or not your team advances to finals or wins a medal that day or gets the score that you think you deserve. Who places in a competition and final scores include SO many factors beyond skill and design such as:
- The judges preferences
- Their previous exposure and involvement in the activity
- How their day is going
- Who else is competing that day
- Number of competitors
- How the judges perceive your show
- Sadly, any sort of bias they may have
All of these things are completely outside of yourself and your program. So again, why get down on yourself because Mr. Schmo over here likes to watch pretty flow-y shows more than he like intense hard-hitting shows? Give yourself a break! You don’t deserve that.
Basically, Colorguard is Art and Art is Subjective
The beauty of it is that it means something and it resonates differently with everyone.When something like this is presented to a diverse audience, not everyone is going to like it. It has nothing to do with you as an artist.
Placing your worth into something so subjective is the fastest way to lose your passion. I promise.
So push yourself to be the best artist you can be, whether that’s through performance, design, choreography, or other. Because guess what? Your ideas could be completely trash to some, and life-changing for others. Thats the magic in it. That’s what makes art, art.
