#80: Fix Your Focus Face: The Expression Secret That Makes You Stand Out

In this episode of Dance Colleges and Careers, Brittany breaks down one of the most common — and unnoticed — habits holding dancers back: the “focus face.” You know the one — the “uhhh” face, the blank stare, the tight jaw. She shares why this expression (or lack thereof) sends the wrong message to your teachers, judges, and even future employers, and how to replace it with energy, intention, and purpose. From classroom body language to audition etiquette, Brittany shows how your face can open doors — on stage and in real life.

Transcript

Brittany Noltimier (00:00)

You know the face you make when you're trying to focus really hard and you're like, hmmm, or yeah, or ummm, that one.

Yeah, that's the face I kept seeing at a convention this weekend I was teaching at.

And here's the thing, nobody wants to see it. Not your teachers, not the judges, not your boss, not the audience.

and not your future college interviewer.

That ⁓ face, while we know it's our focus face, it tells the person on the other side that we're uninterested or we're bored.

even if you're not. Hello there and welcome back to Dance Colleges and Careers. I'm your host, Brittany Noltimier and this is the show where we talk about all things dance, colleges, and careers. That's right. was just working at this convention, which I absolutely love. I got to teach musical theater, which is my favorite style to teach. ⁓ In case you're wondering, what are your favorite styles? I love to teach musical theater, stylized jazz, and those are my top two.

but I also love teaching ballet at conventions because I love to teach people how to love ballet and tap. Yeah, that's what I love. I was teaching at this convention and while it was musical theater, I'm trying to get them to learn how to tell the story, to use their face, even they're in class, which I know is really difficult, not gonna happen all of a sudden, but it's a little bit easier to get kids to do that in a convention setting than in the actual classroom.

You know, when we're at the convention, we are trying to stand out. are, we have our competitive selves forward. We are not just standing out in our classroom, but among all these other studios. And we're trying to, you know, make an impact on the T on these new teachers coming in to teach us at our regular studio. might care about it. We might want to do it, but we're in our regular day habits.

So it's a lot harder to make a change with our regular at-home teacher because we're like, ⁓ they know us, they know we'll put it on when we go to the stage. Or I don't wanna do this with my classmates, I'm too embarrassed in front of them. But when it comes to being in front of a whole bigger pool of people, you might be more willing. You might be more willing to take a chance. And that's what I was seeing this weekend.

So one of the messages I tried to push forward is that we have to start using our face right away. And this is what we talk about in the Fame Academy. But again, I know it's so much easier said than done. So we're just gonna really hone in and talk about why it's important today. Okay? Because think about it, what is your focus space? What is that face you do when you're learning? A lot of times for most of us, we put a lot of tension into the mouth, into the jaw.

and into the eyes. it's rather than ⁓ engaging with our music at all or with our teacher or those around us, we are internal thinking about making improvements. And this is all very good. This is very good, but expression wise, if you're working on improving your expression, it's kind of counterintuitive. And so what I'm trying to get you to do is not go to every class with the biggest smile in the world, not

going across the floor like this, cheesy as can be because you're like, well, that's embarrassing. Yeah, it is because that's overdoing it. But what I'm trying to get you to do is make just a little teeny tiny change in the way you take class. And what that is, is your focus face needs to relax. Yes, your focus face needs to relax. So if we are always looking at our teacher like this, it's the same thing as our body language. ⁓

In my dance classes and I hope in yours, we're not allowed, I've never been allowed to stand with my arms crossed because it's bad body language if we're like this. It makes you look uninterested. It makes you look like you don't care. And it makes you look like you're bored. And I know that's not true because again, you would not be listening to this podcast if any of that was true, but that is the perception of it. That is how we are seen.

from our teacher if we have this bad body language with the arms crossed and the focus face. We're going to call it the focus face or the ⁓ face. Yes. Like you, H H H H H H. Okay. So even though like this might just be comfortable to rest our arms here or it's comfortable to rest our hands on our hips, but it's not perceived well. And that's why it's not allowed in dance class. And that's another reason why I love dance.

Why I love dance for you, why I loved it for me, because that lesson alone is so important. When somebody's talking to you, you don't stand back looking at them with your arms crossed because it's rude. That's what dance is teaching us. Yes, that body language in dance class is rude. It's rude elsewhere too. Nobody likes to see that. Again, not meaning that you actually are being rude or standoffish, but that's how it's perceived.

So when we are in class and we're always using that focus face, your teachers are looking to get energy back from you. They are, we are. I promise we are because we want you to learn. We want you to have fun. We want you to get better. We want you to become more intelligent. We want you to become more respectful. Yes, this is our goal for you. So if we are giving you class and we say,

Do you guys understand that? And you're like this with a blank stare.

We're not mind readers. Yeah, we're not mind readers. And so I don't, I don't mean to go the whole other spectrum where it's like, yeah, and we are rude and loud and the teacher can't like has to continuously tell you to stop talking, but just a little tiny interaction by, by telling the teacher where you're at, you know, there have been many times when students have been embarrassed. I don't want to say we need to do it again, cause I have no idea what the

what I'm doing. But so if I'll turn around and be like, does that make sense? Or do we need to do it again? People could give me like a thumbs down and like a shake head of the no like, no, please. And that's ⁓ funny, you know, like that's a human reaction. And I can sympathize with that. I'm like, we're struggling. I probably let's go back and do it again so that we don't have to struggle. And maybe the whole class isn't struggling, maybe just that one student is, but they're the one who spoke up.

They're the one who spoke up. So I'm happy to help them because they're like, when they give me that thumbs down on the shake of the head, no, that means help me. Help me. I need help. Yeah. And I am happy to do that because that's what we're there for. That's we're the teacher. So. ⁓ So that's one thing is that your focus face is how you communicate to your teacher. If you are always stoic.

and you never do anything. We're just mind reading. And then I know that we're probably working on our technique, but it's holding you back in your expression. ⁓ So the goal is for you to just make a tiny switch. If we're always like this with a striped face, just try to switch it up a little bit.

start to recognize what your expression is doing while you're thinking, while your teacher is talking, while they're giving you a combination. When they turn around and say, you understand that, then it's your chance to go, a soft smile and a shake of the head, yes. Yeah, that's all it takes. And that right there is a shift of expression from here to here, to acknowledgement. And that's helpful for your teacher. It is.

weekend while I was teaching at the convention, I came in with lesson one saying, I want you to use your expression today because we know how important that is. So if I'm starting a combination saying, I want to see your expression and you're in class trying to stand out, what do you think is the one thing you should be trying to do? The one thing I asked for expression, every teacher is going to give you dance steps.

Every teacher is going to give you like a new combination. That's what they were doing all day, going from combination to combination. And each teacher asks for something a little bit different. What I wanted was expression. So the way to stand out immediately is to take that, what the teacher says and actually do it. Yes. So you can understand why it can be frustrating as a teacher if I'm literally giving you the answers, right? It's like I'm a teacher in school.

and I'm setting down the answer sheet right next to you and you still go, what's the answer for number one? No, I set the answer sheet right there in front of you. I said, I need to see expression today. I'm trying to help you become storytellers, become actors, because I was there teaching musical theater. We really go into depth about, do we only use our expression in musical theater or you just came from lyrical class, were you using it then too?

They were using it then too, and they were feeling it and loving it because, I mean, let's be real, it's so fun to show that like soft emotional side when we're doing lyrical, right? And so I could see the class loving that, loving that expression. And I almost think that we get in our heads when we come to musical theater, because we're like, only those people are good at expression. So they're all gonna do that, and I'm just gonna pick up the combination. But that's not how it is. That's not how it is at all.

If you can do expression in lyrical, you can do expression in musical theater. And like I said, I gave you the answers. I said, I want to see expression. That's first and foremost what I want to see. That's what's going to make you stand out. And then also that'll make you stand out in every class. It really will. That is what I put out there and what I want to see, but everybody wants to have a human connection. If I look out at you and I smile at you and you smile back at me, that makes me feel good.

That makes me feel good. And then I'll say, what's your name? And then now our human connection has gone one step deeper. And then if you say, Samantha, I'm like, what? Come on. I'm trying to get to know you, you know, like this is not the time to be shy. Tell me your name, Samantha. ⁓ great. Now I can remember that. can't remember Samantha. I can't remember it. If you're not willing to step up and say your name, if you're not willing to take this human connection to the next level.

Right? So first we smile, then I say, what's your name? And you have to say your name, not loud and proud every single time because you want to be remembered, right? Do you want to be remembered as redhead girl? Sometimes, I mean, hey, whatever identity yet works, but it's even better if they remember your name. I was working on this convention and I'll go back and I'll be at these competitions throughout the season. And if I see somebody whose name I know, I'll be like, Samantha.

It's so good to see you. What number are you? can't wait to see your solo. Like how great is that? This masterclass teacher who taught me in October now wants to see my solo that I've been working on all year. And you know what? I should think about what did she really want me to do in my class? Use my expression, use my storytelling, tell a story because she said it was really important and hey, she works here. So maybe she knows what she's talking about. that's where we want to get to.

That's where we want to be. So that when I see you in the spring, that's when I can go, yes, you did it. That's great. That's exactly what I'm looking for. That's exactly what the judges are looking for. Believe me. I've been a judge for least 12 years and we take all of our breaks together. We all visit and chat. And this thing that will surprise you is that all judges basically want to see the same things.

They do every once in a while. There'll be a wild card who just prefers one thing over something different. But the majority of judges are looking for the same thing. They're looking for clean technique, good memory to be entertained storytelling. They're looking for the total package. Yep. That's being real. I know it's, it's tricky. It's hard. We're working on getting there, but the first step on getting there it's to fix your face, to fix your focus face.

and to learn where your tension is when you're learning and to put it into your core rather than into your jaw.

So replace the ⁓ face or the focus face with purpose.

Let your expression say, I'm here, I'm confident, and I care.

And if you're giving that to your teacher, they're going to give that back to you and more.

So if you're looking to get ahead in anything, dance, school, business, relationships, family with your parents.

It starts with being intentional with what your face says.

People respond to energy, not just effort.

So you can be working your hardest, if your face looks checked out...

opportunities might just pass you by.

So this week, practice awareness, practice that UHHHH face, practice the body language, practice awareness in what our focus face is doing.

Replace it with a choice, a breath, a soft smile, a nod of the chin, smell of the flower,

A look of focus that still says, I'm in it.

because your facials are your first impression on the stage and in real life.

If your dancer is struggling with expression and trying to overcome that fear of starting to use their expression, We have our bootcamp, the expression lab, the fame academy.

I encourage you to go check that out and I'll help them replace their UHHH face or their focus face with something that will actually help them get ahead.

Thanks so much for joining me today on Dance Colleges and Careers. If you stuck around, I have a free gift for you on my website. So go to www.brittanynoltimier.com/80. That's just 80, the number of this you can find your bonus there. So thank you so much for being here. Until I see you next time, be brave, tell your story, and own the stage.