The results of the Body Language Experiment are in and are rather astounding!
I’m so excited to share with you the synopsis of what has happened to my 6 Body Language Experiment volunteers!
If you are new to this blog, let me give you a quick re-cap of what this experiment is all about:
In shoots, I often start my clients off with a conversation about what their facial and body language is saying to their intended audience. Recently, in a shoot with Ellison Dancer Gianna Caridi, we decided to do an experiment to see what would happen if we took these simple concepts into the dance studio. Of course, my intention was to find out if this affected peoples’ classes and rehearsals, and then to share the results with my clients and readers, giving you a ‘one up’ for your auditions. Every little bit helps right?!
What the Body Language Experiment asked for:
In the same class (or rehearsals, etc..), every day, for 2 weeks, the dancers shifted their weight over the balls of their feet and left their hands down by their side, open and ready to receive information.
After class, dancers recorded the following:
a) how well did the class go
b) did the teacher have a difference in his/her approach to the dancer
c) did the dancer got more or less attention/corrections
d) was the dancer’s overall progress over the two weeks affected by the changes in body language, and if so, how
Now, with a few scientists in my family, I’ll be the first one to admit that this is far from a perfect scientific study. We only had 6 volunteers, who dropped to 4 after the initial week. We didn’t have a control group, and there were very few parameters.
However, I think you’ll agree, when you hear what happened, that there is much more to this than most dancers realize!
Can changing your body language and how you use your body to communicate help you in your auditions and career? I wouldn’t doubt it.
Results of the Body Language Experiment
1)In general, all the dancers felt that many of their classes went better.
2)The dancers overwhelmingly felt that they received more attention.
3)The dancers seemed to be thrown into extra parts in rehearsals after others dropped out
4)A few of the dancers felt that they ‘felt more on their legs’ those days that they changed their body language to participate in the experiment.
If you are ready to pull this into your work in the studio, drop me a line.
Now is the time to implement all these small changes, make them become habits one day at a time because small shifts over time make big differences.
One month until auditions begin, don’t wait, start now!
Tagged: audition prep, auditions, Body Language Experiment, dance, Ellison Ballet, tips
