Company Artist Mia Heathcote shares her approach to preparing for the stage —
It’s a funny thing when you get ready for a performance, and you go through those moments of just focussing on the task at hand, like preparing your pointe shoes, and being present in that activity… then suddenly you get that little heart jump! This is really happening, you’re going to be stepping onto the stage in a few hours, or even in a few moments.
That realisation can be such a surreal experience, but it’s when you have to take yourself back to the present moment - otherwise you can freak yourself out a little. I’ll think about how I know I’ve done as much work as I possibly can to prepare myself for the performance, and it’s now time to go out there and enjoy myself. The anticipation is always the hard part, but once you’re on stage and in the story, you’re fine, you’re at home.
Every time you dance on stage it will be different, Ballet is live art. When performing, there is no time to stop and think about how else you could have done something, It is a unique experience every single time and that is the beauty of this art form. It’s afterwards when you really feel that you did something special. Of course, not every performance can feel like that, but then you can’t have those special, fulfilling moments every time you dance!
Funnily enough, it’s usually the performances that I can’t ‘remember’ that are my best. Those fleeting moments where you’re so wrapped up in the story you can’t recall any specific steps or lifts or turns. But you do know that you felt something special, then you’ll hear the applause and know the audience felt that something too.