Why Rehearsals/Practices should be valued and respected?

Rehearsals or practices are often underestimated. Not everyone believes rehearsal to be a necessary and fundamental practice, vital to the development of their artistic abilities or as preparation for performances. It’s absurd to acknowledge when I read, that when an artist recently told that they thought they were “Fresh” and “significantly better” with less preparation.

Well, in artform, for example: beginning dancer wanted to become a prime dancer in a dance Co. and perform a complex Bharatanatyam Recital with minimal rehearsal. Aa singer or an orchestra that didn’t rehearse before performing a concert. What about a football team that didn’t require its players to rigorously practice before the Super Bowl or a basketball team that only met a few minutes before their games and considered that their practice?

This emphasizes that achieving proficiency in any skill or craft especially those demanding high levels of expertise, is universally acknowledged to necessitate extensive practice. The more complex and challenging the task, the greater the need for thorough rehearsal. The fundamental idea is that mastery in any field is closely tied to the dedication and effort invested in honing one’s abilities through consistent and disciplined practice. This principle holds true across various disciplines, including the artistry of dynamic dance performance, where continuous rehearsal plays a pivotal role in attaining excellence.

Olympic gold record holder Michael Phelps and tennis superstar Serena Williams have both stated that their success wasn’t due to them being innately more skilled than others, but rather their will to commit themselves to the maximum practice required to excel. It’s well reported that when training for the Olympics, Phelps was swimming six hours a day, six days a week.

Well, then How much time are you putting into your rehearsals? In many ways, your chosen career path is very similar to swinging a racket at Wimbledon, belting out a song at the Hollywood Bowl, or dancing in a perfect symmetrical kick line at Radio City Music Hall.

So, where's the disconnect regarding the need for practice and rehearsal? The difference is that in art form realm, it has disguised virtuosity ----- it’s not as apparent to an audience when a performance hits a bad note or misstep because even at its most excellent, the polishing of the craft is somewhat invisible. To the untrained eye, it seems like artists are just being themselves, and naturally it’s coming up, regardless of the tremendous practice and rehearsal required to achieve what may look like effortless simplicity.

But rehearsal for artist is the most essential and powerful predictor of someone's potential and without it, there’s no skill or performance that can be fully realized or consistent. The very name of the first improvisation exercise in the Meisner Technique (Acting) is called “repetition.”

It’s no different for Olympic athletes, opera stars, classical dancers, singers, classical pianists, or actors. Anything great requires focus, commitment, private practice, and rehearsal. Read somewhere, as an old joke says: an absent-minded maestro was racing up New York’s 7th Avenue to a rehearsal when a stranger stopped him. “Pardon me,” he said, “can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Yes,” answered the maestro breathlessly. “Practice!”

So, art practitioners, it’s time for all of us to get religious about rehearsals/practices!