Body language and the performer

     My brother sent me a video the other day that was extremely intriguing.  This inspiring TED talk was given by scientist Amy Cuddy and entitled "Your body language shapes who you are."   In the video, Cuddy shows us that our own body language shapes not only what others think of us -- but also how we view ourselves.  She presented case studies, exploring how spread-out, "large" postures release hormones that lower our stress levels and increase our assertiveness levels, whereas smaller postures create the opposite effect.

     As a performer, I have always known that posture impacts not only the audience's perception of us on a surface level, but our own ability to use our bodies to their fullest capacity while making music.  To this end, musicians often study Alexander technique or take classes in Pilates, both of which focus on building certain muscle groups, as well as on promoting body alignment.

     However, there is another issue affecting confidence which musicians, myself included, regularly encounter and that is performance anxiety.  This is something most artists do not wish to share publicly with their audience; however, the honest truth is that performers often go to huge ends in order to cope with this potentially volatile and disastrous monster. Unfortunately, these coping mechanisms at their worst (which the media so enjoys hyping up) include substance abuse.  On a more positive level, much research has been done on learning to control, or relax the mind in order to increase performance levels in artists as well as athletes.   Cuddy's science will also have many applications in this area, because she demonstrates that one can alter hormones before the big event or performance (in her case study, this major event is actually a highly stressful job interview).  Envision a violinist standing backstage for a few minutes, hands on hips, feet spread out and firmly planted, as a means by which to decrease stress levels before a major audition or debut.  I absolutely intend to experiment with this myself and with my students!  In addition, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this, as well as any other applications you have tried whether you are an artist or work in another field, so please feel free to post in the comment section!

     Here is the complete talk:  http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html?source=email#.UeYe7wzh_9P.email