June Showcase

The 5th of June turned out to be a bright, sunny day – for the most part! - and the day's brilliance was reflected in a showcase that shone with vastly improved performances by all participating artists - testament indeed to the fact that the showcases are doing what it says on the tin – well done, everyone!

This was also the first time we allowed some of the singers to use a microphone – specifically, those who were singing with backing tracks, because it's important to get the levels right for both the singer and the audience. (And a comfortable microphone technique is a whole subject in itself!) Acoustic perfomances, by comparison, have natural levels.

Elizabeth and Angelina also performed two songs from an alternative non-classical repertoire, to hopefully, inspire the notion of freedom in music – not to be too stuck in one genre, but to open your mind to the exploration other forms of music, too, which will allow you to further grow and develop as an artist. It may even help with understanding and performing better in your chosen genre of music.

If, however, you are completely at home in the genre you are working with, and have no desire whatsoever to look elsewhere, that of course, is your prerogative. We do not advocate the scattering of attention and talent just for the sake of it!

A number of performers had questions about what to do about excessive nerves. This seems to be a question that crops up time and again. So here are some thoughts to ponder and explore for yourselves.

1. The first thing to look at is what are you thinking that is making you nervous. Our thoughts are very powerful things and as human beings, unfortunately, for some reason, we tend to look at the negatives first. It may be that you have simply thought yourself into a frenzy of nerves, by thinking things like:

I'm not going to remember the lyrics

My voice is going to break on the high note

My fingers can't move fast enough over that passage

I'm going to run out of breath during that long phrase

My bowing sucks

Can you see how this type of thinking will make you feel really bad, even before you get on stage!

Instead, turn your thoughts around into positives, for example:

I'm so excited to perform this piece of music because I LOVE it

This is a great opportunity for me to find out how good I've become

I'm going to build instant rapport with my audience, share this great music with them, and allow them to enjoy it, too – how cool is that!

My performance is only a few minutes long – I'm going to be present in each one of those minutes and I'm going to have such fun

Can you see how different these kinds of thoughts make you feel?

2. The second thing you can do is to breathe – I cannot emphasise enough the important of deep, relaxing breathing before, during and after a performance – it makes the world of difference, not only to your performance, but also to your confidence!

If you don't know how to breathe deeply, go stand next to a wall to brace yourself, bend one leg, lift the other one up so your knee is against your chest, breathe and feel the breath go right into your groin area. Swap legs and do the same on the other side. Then stretch your arms above your head as though you want to touch the ceiling, bend to one side and breathe into the stretch, repeat on the other side. You will find that your body will be much more able to recognize deep, free breathing and therefore be able to be more relaxed.

3. If you find an area in your body that is tight, for example, your throat or your chest or your stomach, don't get cross with that part of your body or wish the tightness would go away, instead, close your eyes and focus on it. Breathe there and you will find it relaxing – it might even tell you what is wrong! Listen closely, it might tell you something like: “I care about you,” or “I'm just trying to keep you from making a mistake.”

Finally, don't forget to go stand on the stage (or walk around, or lie down – claim it for yourself!) before any performance – this will make it less weird when you get up there for your performance.

I trust these little tips are helpful, but do let us know if there's anything you would like help with.

We look forward to seeing you all again on 3 July!

May Showcase

Our May showcase was a little different from the first two, in that we were able to elaborate a little more on the Academy's other side, away from the showcases themselves.

Although, because of time constraints, we could offer only a short outlining of the most basic elements that make up good performance, we trust it was helpful and we welcome any comments or questions. Angelina presented three basic key points during the showcase:

1.The importance of supportive breathing – this is a subject not usually broached in a one-to-one situation, unless you are specifically studying a wind instrument, one of which is the voice. But relaxed breathing is of paramount importance to all performers in order to allow them to give a satisfying performance, not only for the artist themselves, but also for the audience. And the way to gain immediate supportive breathing, is to free your chest area from any tension, which can only be achieved through slightly relaxing the abdominal muscles on the in-breath - for optimum inspiration, air should enter through the mouth.

2.Stagecraft – as with all societal activities, there is a kind of stage etiquette to be adhered to when performing and thus, on a very basic level, it includes understanding that a performance starts as the artist walks towards the stage, before any performance has begun. It is customary to bow in acknowledgement of the audience's applause, then perform without distractions, i.e. fidgeting. It is also good if the young performer can stay within the music, even after their own performance has finished, then bow again before leaving the stage. But remember that your performance is not over until you have taken your seat again.

3.Performance – a satisfying performance for both artist and audience consist of more than merely playing or singing through your piece; performance ultimately, is communication and therefore, the more of yourself you put into a performance, the more you strive for a rapport with your audience, the more successful your performance will be. This will also allow your audience to come along with you on your journey through the music. That is why it is important to investigate fully your repertoire and not to discard pieces too soon, unless you have grown to dislike them intensely. With each performance, you will be peeling away another layer from the piece until you find the truth, the core, of the music, which, as you hone it and shine it, will provide you with immense joy and fulfilment. It is at this point that the music becomes your lifelong friend.

We again want to reiterate how important it is that you do not feel obliged to prepare something new for each showcase. It is much better to perform something until you feel you have completely mastered it, because in class or rehearsal, your experience of the same piece will be very different from that of a performance.

We also want to state again that the Academy offer artists the unique opportunity to learn for themselves how to perform, without the burden of competition or feedback – as a performer, you know when things went wrong and when they went well – you do not need anyone to tell you if you've made a mistake. But it is up to you to strive to do better next time. Of course, if you ever wish to discuss anything with us, please feel free to do so, or if you particularly want your teacher to hear you, please feel free to invite them to your performance.

Newsflash!

Artists who have performed consistently for six months, will achieve the opportunity to perform their own half-hour mini recital - if they so wish - so if you know that you will be coming up for your mini recital, please let us know a month in advance so that we may help you plan and put together your programme.

You may have noticed that there is no showcase in August, but in September, our showcase will be in the Art Centre next door, instead of in the Church, and at this time a few agents may also attend, so we feel it only fair to give you this much advance notice. We look forward to seeing you all again on 5 June 2010.

April Showcase

The Academy’s second Showcase on 10 April, was much more comfortable, not only because the heating had been located and effectively engaged, but the new venue and stage wasn’t so scary the second time round.

Because the 10th fell inside the Easter break, however, a number of artists were unable to be there, but all have reserved their rights to perform in the next Showcase on 1 May - we look forward enormously to welcoming them back. This gave us all the opportunity, however, to welcome some new faces, who made wonderful contributions to a great programme.

We want to take this opportunity to reiterate again how important it is not to wait until you feel you’re ‘perfect’ before performing in public. Of course, we aim to be the best we can be, but perfection is unattainable and you will only frustrate yourself and become very unhappy as a result. It is much better to start where you are, enjoy your performance, have fun with the audience, and aim to do better each time - the world’s most successful artists all had to start somewhere, and had to grow into the artists they are today - all it takes is courage.

Please, also remember that the Academy’s Showcases are not a competition - they are simply opportunities for you to learn, and to almost teach yourself about performance, which is something that can be learnt and mastered ONLY through the doing of it.

That is why we encourage all artists participating in the Showcases to perform pieces they have already worked on - perhaps something you are preparing for an exam, an audition or a competition. The opportunity is there for you to perform it as many times as you want, or until you feel ready for something else - please don’t think that you have to prepare something new especially for each Showcase, and please also don’t compare yourself to what other artists offer; their repertoire might already be much larger than yours.

TIPS FOR A SATISFYING PERFORMANCE:

- Get a good night’s rest the night before your performance

- Have a substantial breakfast!

- Go through your pieces a couple of times, noting any points you may particularly want to emphasise

- Dress comfortably

- Meditate on your performance

             - see yourself performing flawlessly, enjoying it, full of confidence, relaxed

             - see your audience engaged with you, smiling, enjoying your performance applauding enthusiastically when you have finished

- Arrive at the venue in good time, so you do not feel flustered

- Warm up your voice/body/fingers/instrument

- Take the time to simply stand on the stage so that it’s not weird when you have to get up there to perform

- When it’s your turn, remember to take your music with you, and walk to the stage with confidence; your performance starts from the moment you get up out of your seat and ends when you sit down again

- Bow and smile, to acknowledge the audience’s anticipation of your performance

- Have fun with your performance - allow the audience to enjoy it with you

- If you make a mistake, just continue your performance and continue to enjoy it - chances are no-one would have noticed or if they did, they won’t remember it once you show them you are not bothered by it yourself - it also gives them permission to continue enjoying your performance for themselves

- When you have finished, take your music, smile, stand in the middle of the stage and bow your thanks to the audience’s appreciation of your performance

March Showcase

We've had our very first Showcase for the brand new North London Performance Academy on Saturday, 6 March 2010 at the beautiful All Saints Church in Oakleigh Road North, London N20.

One of the Academy's main aims is to give students of all ages and abilities a framework and structured schedule to regularly perform material they have worked on. The point of learning any instrument, including the voice, is to share music with audiences - guaranteed, we all think about pieces differently when we intend to perform them.

The Showcase lasted for about one and a half hours, and we intend that future Showcases never be much longer than that - after all, our youngest pianist was six, the eldest performer, in their fifties - which is exactly the kind of variety and age-range the Academy had intended to achieve. The performances ranged from pianists, flutists, violinists, singers, to an actor and we even had a street dance performance! The styles of music presented stretched across the board from classical to pop, and the variety was clearly appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed by an enraptured audience.

Although Elizabeth and I each have extensive experience producing Showcases for our own students over the years, this is the first time that we've joined together to form an Academy, and we are most excited by the opportunities this will bring to our own, and other teachers' students. Thus we also approached other teachers, who put forward their students whom they felt would benefit from the kind of regular performances the Academy offers. Some teachers even came to perform themselves, as did Elizabeth and I, because we feel it is extremely important that students know they are being taught by people who are themselves performers, understand performance phsychology and stress, know stage craft, and can therefore genuinely help them.

All photos published here were taken by Mr John Killingback - thank you John!