This made me feel a little silly, but . . .

I am scheduled to play my Beethoven movement on a student recital at the music school in a couple of weeks. At my lesson last night, my teacher had me practice walking to the piano and bowing, and then sitting down on the bench, waiting an appropriate amount of time, and raising my hands into position. Then I practiced standing up after playing and bowing again and walking away. She critiqued each of these actions and had me repeat them several times.

Now, as I told her, I've been performing for about 40 years, and I've done a lot of walking on and off stages in lots of places and bowing for lots of audiences. OTOH, I haven't done much of this as a pianist. I can't remember getting much instruction on stage deportment with any instrument, though I suppose I learned something by watching other people. In any case, at age 53 I have now had a lesson on it.

Even though I went home and described this to my husband, and he said, "Are you s****ing me?" and we laughed about it, it actually is useful to do something like this. In this case, because my lessons are in the same space where the recital will take place, it served as a mini dress rehearsal. Aside from understanding what you need to do (which, actually, I DO know after all these years), it gives your nerves a chance to experience by anticipation what they will be subjected to at the performance.

I do draw the line at wearing patent-leather mary janes and tying my hair back with a ribbon, however.