When the casting sheet goes up, there’s one role that few students are excited to see their names next to: understudy. “We cast understudies all the time. And every time, there will be some kind of disappointment,” says Malu Rivera-Peoples, founder of Westlake School for the Performing Arts in California.
Getting asked to understudy not only makes students feel like a last-choice pick, but it can also be a uniquely challenging task to wrap their heads around. “Being an understudy is definitely more difficult than being a second or a third cast because, psychologically, you don’t have any idea if you are going to perform that role in front of the audience,” says Ivaylo Alexiev, assistant principal of Boston Ballet School.
Helping students navigate this responsibility—and encouraging them to put in just as much effort as if they were first cast—can require some strategic work on your part as a teacher. Here’s how you can prepare your students to be successful understudies, no matter whether they end up onstage or not.
Explain the Importance of Understudying
Students are more likely to take understudying seriously—and feel proud of it—if they realize that it’s not just an annoying homework assignment, but an essential part of putting on a performance. “It’s part of the gig,” says John Harnage, a dancer with Paul Taylor Dance Company since 2018. Without understudies, the show wouldn’t be able to go on anytime a cast member got sick or injured. And Harnage points out that if you do get to perform, you’ll want to have prepared properly. “At the end of the day, you would rather take the time to learn something you’ll never have to do than suddenly get thrown into something and wish you had put in that time,” he says.
Alexiev also likes to explain to students that being a good understudy is an essential skill to learn if they want to one day go into this business professionally. “Every one of us in our dancing career had to go through an understudy process as a professional,” he says.
Emphasize the Challenge of the Task at Hand
It’s tempting to see understudying as a less prestigious role since all the work typically happens behind the scenes. But it can actually be far more difficult to pull off successfully, since dancers often have to learn the choreography and spacing without ever getting to perform it full-out in rehearsal. And the challenge can be multiplied if you’re a corps de ballet understudy, Alexiev adds. “You have to be able to jump in at any spot of the corps if the time comes,” he says.
To help students succeed, Alexiev has them observe every single rehearsal and mark on the side whenever possible. Then, he suggests they practice full-out in front of the mirror on their own time to really get the feeling of the choreography and musicality in their bodies. Harnage also recommends dancers film videos of rehearsals so they can review them later. This can be particularly helpful for corps understudies to get an understanding of the overall formations onstage so that they’ll have a better sense of where they need to be, no matter what track they’re thrown into.
Have Students Focus on the Process
Although productions are usually all about gearing up for the final performance, when it comes to understudies Alexiev puts the emphasis on the process and the learning opportunity at hand. And Rivera-Peoples says: “Being an understudy is a privilege, actually, to learn something that you have not been cast for.”
Even as a professional, Harnage says that all the time he’s spent understudying has given him a deeper understanding of Taylor’s choreography, which he’s been able to bring to other roles. “I feel like I’m learning more of Paul’s world and Paul’s work,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to just know more and study, and absorb it into my pantheon of physical knowledge.”
Give Them a Chance to Get Onstage, If Possible
Since roles in productions like Nutcracker come around year after year, Rivera-Peoples likes to point out to dancers that being an understudy increases their chances of performing the role the next time. In the past, she’s also had understudies do so well in rehearsal that she’s made space to put them onstage in the current performance. “[Westlake is] not a professional company—all our productions are part of the training program,” she explains. “We wouldn’t hold a dancer back if she’s showing proficiency and she’s showing readiness.”
At the same time, Rivera-Peoples also warns students of the consequences of not giving it their all as understudies. “If you don’t take it seriously, then you don’t get to do it at all, even if we need you,” she says, explaining that she’s better off putting in another conscientious student than an underprepared understudy who hasn’t done the work they were cast to do.
Share the Possibilities That Come With Understudying
More than anything, Alexiev also has students focus on the opportunities offered by understudying. “At the end of the day, being a good understudy gives a very good impression to any rehearsal director, choreographer, or ballet master—take that as an opportunity to show you are reliable,” he says. “A lot of now-professional dancers have established themselves through understudying.” When a dancer shows they can be ready to perform with very little rehearsal, he says, doors can open to other roles and even promotions.
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