Why Choreography Feels Harder When the Camera Comes Out - Blog 27

Besides giving a good resolution in videos, the camera can also actively trigger the well known performance pressure, among dancers. 

I have seen this happen with me too, a lot of times. Without the camera, I remember everything, with turns and textures with proper expressions. But the moment the camera comes out, I suddenly have so many things to take care of, other than my dance. Starting from doubts like "hope I am not looking too fat on camera", "am I in the middle of the frame" to "I hope I looked at the camera too while dancing, not just the mirror"; thousands of thoughts keep disrupting my brain. As a result, it becomes very normal to forget the choreography. 

The pressure of perfection usually instigates this fear. 

What further adds in to this fear is seeing how well other seasoned dancers are with the camera. They treat the camera like their buddy and for them it is their normal. And seeing them do so well on camera but knowing both me and those dancers have the same skill, while mine does not show on camera due to the constant consciousness, can be heartbreaking and demotivating at times. It almost feels like there are two versions of me. The one who dances freely in class and the one who suddenly shrinks in front of the lens. I tend to start wondering if I am actually as good as I think I am or if my confidence was just a bubble that bursts the moment the recording starts. 

What we do not realise is that these dancers have simply had more exposure to the camera. They have practiced the art of performing for it. They have repeated their mistakes and learned how to soften their awareness of being watched. It is not that they are better dancers. They are just more familiar with the feeling. And that familiarity makes them relaxed enough for their real skill to come through. The rest of us are still learning how to stop the camera from becoming a threat.

When the camera comes out, the mind jumps into a space where it tries to manage too many things at once. The body cannot prioritise dance because the brain is busy checking angles, worrying about expressions, and imagining how the clip will look if it gets posted. You start dancing for an imaginary audience instead of dancing for your craft. And the choreography that felt comfortable a second ago suddenly feels new and unfamiliar, simply because your attention has shifted from movement to self judgement.

Slowly you realise that the camera is not exposing your lack of skill. It is exposing your lack of ease. And the only way to build that ease is the same way you built your dance technique, through repetition. Each time you stand in front of a camera you teach your body to trust itself a little more. You learn to quiet the voice that keeps interrupting your flow. You learn to perform without trying to perform. And with time the camera stops feeling like a test and starts becoming just another part of the practice.

Shreya Roy Choudhury

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