Come and suffer It's not exactly a great starting recipe for success. I'd like you to come along, give up two days, spend several hundred pounds and p...
The sheer number of would-be joke writers within its walls tells you that it's relatively easy to fire out a few one liners in the safe environment of Twitter. But arguably Twitter's cosy bosom is no place to prepare yourself for the bear-pit of live performance. If a joke falls flat on Twitter it will simply get washed away in the ceaseless stream of the timeline. No one boos. No one gets up and walks out. The long, deathly silence which must haunt the dreams of every stand-up comedian is of no concern.
Estrella, which means star in Spanish, is the heir of a great dynasty of flamenco singers. However heavy the burden might be, she had no problem to evolve into a more restraint performance while keeping its purity. Highly influenced by jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald; a meticulously orchestrated exhibition of words, sounds, and movements.
If you or I get a cold we can sit at our desks, doped on Lemsip and trundle through our day's tasks unwatched, unnoticed, silently. That is a luxury not afforded a performer who must force their voice into spectacularly unnatural contortions, expending monumental amounts of energy in the process.
This week was the last dance rehearsal before I take to the main stage of the Lowry in Manchester, captivating an audience of 2,000 with my balletic grace and elegant style. Just kidding, it's actually an audience of 100 in the venue's smallest studio and I'll be dancing with an umbrella.
Stage fright comes from fear. It comes when the mild dose of adrenalin that you need to help you perform well, gets out of hand. Your body overreacts and goes into fight or flight from a perceived threat. You are 'only' performing but that performing in its most extreme form, can feel as if you are in extreme physical danger.
It may sound obvious, but one of the most important aspects of keeping stage fright at bay, is to know what you are performing, and to know it really well. Don't kid yourself that you can wing it. Most of the time, you can't and it is wise to assume you can't.
Dralion is a celebration of life and the four elements that maintain the natural order: air, water, fire and earth.
Brit Award winning producer Ethan Johns is respected worldwide for his musical touch and has a repertoire that includes Kings of Leon, Laura Marling a...
Endurance sports have exploded in popularity in recent years, and with the New Year once again upon us, we can look forward to further growth as a new contingent of enthusiasts aim to bypass the fads and make firm resolutions; to pound the pavements.
This summer we gasped as 7,500 volunteers performed simultaneously to create Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony. Meanwhile, behind the closed d...
My band, Kites, once had a slogan, which read 'All style; no substance'. At the time, this mantra was designed to be facetious. You see, I have unveiled contempt for performers who are so consumed by their own highfalutin that they forget to create a show for their audience.
They say that if you want to be achieve something and be like someone, then you need to start hanging out with like minded people.
The amount of data in the world is doubling every two years according to IDC. Social media, multi-media and location-based services are all contributing to the data explosion, continuously generating information about what and where people buy, their personal preferences and the brands and products they recommend to their friends.
One of the best parts of being a slow runner is that when I started taking part in races, I had an abundance of sexy lycra clad bottoms running in fro...
The secret to optimum performance is not to get faster, but in fact to get less slow, to do what you know you can do regardless of where or why or in front of who. Sporting greats are the ones who perform like it doesn't matter even when it REALLY does.
No question that the 2012 Formula One season is all about tire preservation. Like it or not, this has become an elusive combination of chassis set up and driver skill. Tactics and strategy play a huge role in the ability to put yourself in a position to win regardless if you are the fastest car on the grid or not.
Yesterday, I was rushing to a meeting at 6.30pm just off Leicester Square, in London.
The Edinburgh Fringe has been described as being like standing in a cold shower tearing up £20 notes. Now is the time when potential participants are asking themselves Should I really take a show up there in August? So, in a spirit of altruism and pomposity, I thought I'd give my personal opinion on Seven Things You Need to Know about performing at the Edinburgh Fringe...
This weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza has a lingering safety concern--the blistering and camber settings the teams choose are being closely monit...
