Performance Professionalism
Part 3
7 Elements for Great Performances
By Ma*Shuqa Mira Murjan
Photos by Carl F. Sermon Photography
That certain Je Ne Sais Quoi…
OK, raise your hand if you have watched a dancer’s performance and thought to yourself, “Hmm, she is beautiful, costume
gorgeous, moves nicely; but her dancing is missing that certain je ne sais quoi” – that special unique, individual flair that makes
a performance exciting. Thinking back on some dance performances, have you ever wondered how performances could be
improved? What elements would you add or subtract to make it feel fresh, more exciting, balanced, and new?
Viewing a dance performance and feeling “it was
very nice, but not complete” – is like completing
a puzzle that has a few missing pieces – it’s
beautiful but not as wonderful as it could be
if all the pieces were there and the picture was
complete. For the performance artist, looking
at our own performance on a video recording,
it can be hard to decipher the missing pieces
to the performance pizzazz puzzle. The missing
pieces are those elements in our performance
that may keep the audience from enjoying a
performance that looks and feels right.
Gameela - Originality
Listen and Look for Audience Response
Some elements of dance to consider when
reviewing our recorded performances with
an eye to enhancing our dancing include:
technique, musicality, rhythmic quality,
dynamic quality, staging, costuming, cultural
relevance, finger cymbal mastery, posture, and
personality. Listen for audience response to
your dancing and ask yourself, is the audience
responding? What visual cues and feedback
do you receive from your audience? What
worked in performance? Was the movement
quality appropriate for the music dynamics
July 2017
The Belly Dance Chronicles
21