Like said above, I have to go to the bathroom really bad, like an act before I go on! I get nervous and excited, and I tend to jump around a lot. lol

I had a phase in fourth grade when I would get so nervous i'd throw up before we left the house. but I outgrew that.

Its a weird mix of YAY GET ME ON THE STAGE!!!! or what happens if i mess up? And AWWW!!! I don't want to dance!!! (That one is only if I don't feel good.) But when I get on the stage it all melts away.

If it's just a recital, I'm usually not nervous, I'm just excited and relaxed and go out and enjoy myself.

If it's a competition, I'm usually a little bit nervous because there's more pressure to not screw up and remember everything. But I've never been more than a little nervous before a performance.

~*~Punkgirl~*~

Long live punk rocK

when I was little I had no nerves at all... but now I get really nervous

Some butterflies beforehand but not really nervous. More like excitement.

hi!
I only get a little nervous right before I go onstage. But once I start my dance I am fine again

joanne123

I get extremely nervous, not usually showing any outward signs, but to the point where I imagine I'm going to completely forget my routine and ruin it for my team. But, after one performance, my nerves go away and I'm completely ready for the next dance [:.

I get really nervous if it's solos, just because I'm the only one on stage so like all eyes are on me, and if I make a mistake it'll be pretty apparent.
I get a little nervous before group performances, just because I worry about the other girls. They aren't the best dancers out there, and sometimes they'll get off count, and screw up, and it's just embarassing.

btw, I haven't been to a competition, most of mine was about like recitals and such.

I get kinda nervous... but I'm just soooo excited, I wanna get that show on the road!! =]

I don't get nervous until we're backstage and due to go on next. And even then it's good nerves. Once I get onto the stage I'm fine. I always have butterflies but again, the good kind

The only two times I ever got really uneasy-like nervous was the first time I ever danced pointe on stage (natural for anyone though) and last year's Christmas recital when half the class, NOT including me didn't know most of one dance and I was worried for their sake. For like, six hours prior to the curtian going up I was really nervous.

I was reading this thread and found that I replied 2 years ago and I didn't even remember! My opinion's changed since then, so I may as well reply again

How nervous I get depends on how I expect the performance to go. If I know I know my part really well and I know everyone else does, then I only get a little jittery, or even no nerves at all. But if maybe we've been rushed to get the stuff learnt and we're not all 100% confident with it i.e something's likely to go wrong, I get very nervous. Even if I know that I know what I'm doing, if something might go wrong or I'm not comfortable with what I'm doing, I freak out!

I get veryy nervous. But it usually goes away once I start dancing, and then I get nervous when awards come.

it depends where im performing. and also whos watching me..if i see someone i know in my audience then i get really nervous!! id rather wait to eye someone i know..it helps me concentrate on just my performance(:

I don't get nervous until AFTER...really weird but yeah, my brain is a procrastinator

I usually only get nervous because I'm excited. I always make sure that I have everything ready for my performance a day or two before, b/c I'm always nervous that I'll forget something. Once I'm onstage I take a few deep breaths to shake off the nerves and I'm ready to dance

Kayla

I have a friend who gets so nervous around recital time that during lengthy rehearsals and the actual show, she has to use the restroom repeatedly!

Ugh, I envy everyone who does not get nervous before shows/ recitals! I get very very nervous on opening night! Even if I were just going onstage to do tendus I would find myself extremely jittery backstage. Luckily, I have great friends that never hesitate to ease (or at least attempt to ease) my nerves.

I find that after my very first piece I am no longer as nervous, I become more excited. However, nerves are a good thing, to an extent!

I'm very curious to know what other dancers do when they are nervous before a big performance? I really need to develop some sort of regiment or ritual that can help me relax and hearing other peoples ideas can help me make one.

Love & Rockets,
Dancer Girl

I don't feel nervous before at all, but once I actually get on stage, it's like my legs turned to rubber. The rest is fine, I remember the choreography and everything, but I never dance my best at performances because I can't balance/turn/walk because my legs have turned to rubber. So annoying! Guess I just have to perform more!

I get nervous about everything but my dance nerves are the most manageable ones I get, I think it comes of having done it pretty much all my life

I have a moment two seconds before I have to go on when I feel like I've completely forgotten EVERYTHING I'm supposed to be doing. But it never lasts.

I get really nervous! I sweat a lot and get my muscles get tight :S I'm getting better though- talking to other girls in the line-up area before I compete on stage helps loosen me up!

I'm very curious to know what other dancers do when they are nervous before a big performance? I really need to develop some sort of regiment or ritual that can help me relax and hearing other peoples ideas can help me make one.

I can't watch the show, and I chew gum. I don't know why not watching me helps, but it does. I love shows, and competitions and all of that, but I seriously can't watch - so when we're backstage, I position myself toward the front of the group, with my back to the stage.

And then the gum chewing is so that I have something constant, that's burning off all that nervous energy. If I tried to practice, I'd just psych myself out, not to mention wear myself out, so I chew gum. It's not to physically exerting, but it burns off energy just the same.

I get nervous the first time I perform with a new group. Which makes dance recitals a little tricky, because EVERY time is the first time. But we have rehersals, so last year, rehersals seemed to take care of that for me. By the time we got to the show, I was a cool cat.

Local performances and competitions I get a little nervous yet it's excitement, too. As for recitals I get nervous two days before then when the day comes all the nerves are gone, just pure excitement.

I've never been nervous before a competition, or recital. Always calm and prepared. My first recital, all the other little girls were nervous, and I wasn't. I wanted to be like them, haha, and I started pretending like I was scared, and I really freaked my mother out. Although I don't get nervous, or scared, I'm sure there are reasons why people get nervous, and ways to eliminate the nervousness as well.