Post Performance Blues

[Danny]

Hi All,

 

I was curious if anyone out there feels down or depressed after a performance. I've been dancing for about three years now and have done several student recitals and small roles here and there for local studios. I usually feel pretty good afterwards, proud, and look forward to a few days break. But last weekend I had a performance where my role was relatively larger, Prince Ivan in Stravinsky's Firebird. Everything went well and I had a great time. However, I find myself moping around missing everything about the past six months of rehearsal and preparation. Not something I expected to feel. I started dancing at the age of 25 and never performed as a child or in adolescence so this is all very new to me. Please share any insight or similar experiences. Thanks.

[Dick]

Hi Danny,

 

This is a feeling I know to well; not from ballet however because I have been in to few performances up to now (3) to feel the pride and full excitment of a good performance (to nervous). But in opera where I have been in some 25 different productions over the past 8 years. There have been very few of them where I have not felt a "down" in energy or some sort of depression when closing a production. Of course, this was worse when the summer release came and I had to wait until september to start feeling the exaltation and excitment of preparing a role and performing it. Because this was my form of medecine to cure post-performance blues: get into a new production and start working on it ASAP.

 

Dick