Performance anxiety is a totally normal reaction leading into a Physie competition or performance. It can happen at any age and unfortunately, at any time!

What we need to understand about performing and competing is that we need a certain amount of anxiety or nervousness (we often call them “butterflies”) in order to have the adrenaline required to go out on to the floor and perform to the best of our ability.

It’s all a matter of being able to control our feelings and the “butterflies” so that we can use our adrenaline to our advantage!

Everyone is different and will be nervous for various reasons, but it is comforting to know that you’re not the only one feeling this way.

Now what are we going to do about it?

• Allow plenty of time to arrive at the competition and settle in.
• Have a routine that calms you.
• Pop in your headphones and listen to some music.
• If you want to be able to dance, you need to breathe. Take deep breaths!
• Practice positive self-talk.
• Take your emotions and use them in your routines to express yourself.
• Try not to focus on the audience and only concentrate on what you can control.
• Visualise your routines and mentally rehearse.
• Focus on your performance and not the outcome. Just do your thing!
• Children might like to have a toy or object that helps to comfort them.

Try to take advantage of each performance and competition that you are involved in and experiment with some of the techniques to see which ones work for you.

It will take persistence and time to develop the skills required to control your nerves but hopefully you see an improvement and feel a difference each time you take the floor.

Believe in yourself and go for it!