You might be good at many steps using them correctly and gracefully, but, for some reason, your dance does not attract attention of audience as much as you would wish. Therefore, it is important to present competently your dancing skills. Choreographers, i.e. dance instructors, are working out this ability in corresponding educational institutions. At lessons in dancing studio, you will learn certain motions, some connections, or at best improvisations. However, use of these combinations alone means gaining too little from your lessons. Ability to present gracefully the skills gained in the dancing studio could be developed based on the knowledge of principle mechanisms known to every choreographer, yet left beyond the scope of your training course.
If you are preparing a certain dance beforehand, define duration of the dance first. If there is no plot in it, or any activities with objects, and other show elements, better make it short – 2 minutes. The half is more than the whole. Better if audience wants continuation, than gets tired from you and attention slips off. A dance can be extended without loosing attention of audience by plot, changes in clothing (not just removal, but also its transformation, or transformation of an attribute into the part of clothing, e.g. using a shawl). As you take an attribute in hand, you evoke new wave of interest to performance. In this case, it is more logical to use the attribute in the second part of a dance, than in the first one. It’s also good if you take out the attribute unexpectedly. Don’t be afraid of non-standard and unconventional ways of using the attribute. We often do not realize what we see, if we see it constantly; our attention pulls out elements of action before our eyes selectively. We expect that a fan is used for fanning; therefore, this movement passes by without being noticed. But if you look at yourself into it as a mirror, and then use it as a powder puff, you will gain attention of audience. Don’t be afraid of experimenting. There’s probably only one case, when it is not applicable – if you perform folk dance in absolute adequacy to canons.
There’s a popular opinion that an attribute should not be taken in hand before a pupil achieves high levels of dancing skills. I do not agree. Handling an attribute teaches being attentive, and develops hands unlike anything else. Use of an attribute evokes additional interest of audience and even the pupil him-/herself to a dance. And when you present your dance, an attribute distracts to some extent from your possible technical faults. I do not imply you would dance worse with an attribute. Here’s analogy with a female body. No matter how much you improve it, if you know its particularities you use patterns aligning it with some conception of yours or with generally accepted one. And all those tricks with patterns, color, stripes etc. are effective. Whatever many experts would say, tricks are really effective. At that, their objective is noble – aesthetic pleasure of audience from your dance!
Music choice for a dance is one third of success. Consider possible tastes of audience. Better choose some non-monotonous music. Changes in music, just like changes in a dance, are capable of retrieving attention, which tends to slip away. Try not to use trite music. Do not follow suit of those who do it. Music that attracts attention and isn’t too famous is your right choice.