Using Beta-blockers to Control Stage Fright: A Dancer’s Dilemma

Abstract

Performing artists face numerous challenges, of which few may be more threatening to a meaningful career than performance anxiety. Stage fright, as this anxiety is commonly known, involves an internal conflict between the need to display one’s artistry publicly and the concurrent fear of proving inadequate and ultimately suffering public rejection. Typically presenting as a fear of humiliation in situations involving scrutiny by others, this phobia is frequently associated with behavioral, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine activation, and can manifest itself in a variety of physical discomforts. A body of research demonstrates successful alleviation of orchestral musicians’ stage fright through use of such blocking agents. No comparable data have been collected among dance artists of any kind, however, and given certain effects of b-blockade on exercise metabolism, targeted investigations assessing both safety and efficacy in this population are needed.