So for me it’s the day before a performance. This time tomorrow all of the months of planning, hard work, sweating and bruises will be over – but luckily I’ll still be able to keep the strength and new moves! It’s 11pm and I’m trying to keep myself off of the pole and going through my routine ‘just one more time.’

I always think that if I don’t know it by now, I won’t by tomorrow – luckily I’ve gone over and over it so I think it’s permanently in my system.

The day before a performance, be it a competition, charity show, in house show case or filming, it can be a difficult day to get through. You’ll want to go over and over your routine and obsess over it, but that might not always be the best plan. So here’s how I spent my day!

What To Do

Rehearse

Depending on how much you have already rehearsed, I’d try and have a little rehearsal in the morning. You don’t want to over do it and end up aching, sore or injured for your performance though. Mentally I think it does help going through it – you can remind yourself that you did it perfectly before and you can do it again.

The key here is to never end on a bad run. If you go through it and it goes wrong, try again and get it right. You never want to leave thinking that you can’t do your routine. Hopefully you’ve rehearsed enough by now to know the ins and outs of it, so this rehearsal should go quite well 🙂

Make sure you have a run through in full costume – hair and make up too – you never know what can put you off. If you leave your costume to the last minute, make sure you have a back up! I have a beautiful custom made pole dress and discovered that as I invert the skirt covers my stomach grip – not good… so onto costume number 2 I went… (and ended up with costume number 3!)

Run it as it will be on the day. Imagine where the audience is and show them good angles of your tricks. Have at least one run through exactly as it will be on the night – no stops or readjustments. If you slip, keep going. Filming can really help to find good angles and show you what works. Film from as early on in the rehearsal process as you can!

Always leave the pole studio on a high 🙂

Pack

Pack everything the day before so you don’t need to stress! Here are some of the things I have packed:

Pole (if you have to take one!), costume (and a back up!) including hair and make-up bits, clothes to keep you warm over the costume, music (and a back up copy) pole cloths, cleaner, camera – and ask someone to film, enough food and drink to get you through the day and something to keep you entertained and forget about nerves – book, music player? I also take chargers as I live off my phone and iPod when I’m back stage. You’ll need directions and any maps, train times etc. Also take pole grip if you use it.

Location

Always make sure you know where you’re going, and how long it will take you to get there. This can be the most stressful part of the day and you want it to be fun! So plan in advance and leave lots more time than you need.

Relax

This might sound silly but what’s done is done. You’re probably not going to learn a new move over night and be confident enough to put it into a routine. So try to eat well, keep well hydrated (not with alcohol 😉 ) and have a nice chilled out day. You’ve probably been training loads up until this point, so make sure you get some ‘you’ time.

Get Ready

Try to get as ready as you can the day before. As well as packing your bag and knowing where you are going, you need to make yourself ready.

For me, I wash and straighten my hair the day before so there’s less to do and less hair products to touch on the day. I paint my nails as well.

This might sound silly but I get a little stressed if the house is messy or needs a clean so this actually helps me to relax – just don’t tell that to my partner! After a holiday I like coming home to a clean, tidy house where the hoovering has been doing, sheets are washed and changed, bins have been emptied… you get the idea. I apply this to performances as well, where I know I just want to relax the day after (and teach of course!) So the more I do now, the more I can relax after.

Victory Celebration

Regardless of how your performance went, plan your victory celebration, and by this I mean plan something nice to do the evening of the performance or day after. My neighbours have just told me they have spare cherry and chocolate brownie for me tomorrow night (again, don’t tell me partner or he will eat it while I’m on the pole!) I then have to teach and will be off to the gym – and by gym, I of course mean jacuzzi in the gym 😀

No matter what happens on the day, it’s so important to have fun and enjoy it. It goes so quickly! No matter how your performance goes you should be proud. You have done a lot to get to this point and it’s so amazing and brave to get up in front of both friends and strangers. Well done you! 😀