As a new praise dancer, I found myself in this position many times. I would attend rehearsals, practice over and over, and be pretty confident that I knew the steps. Then when I got on stage along with everyone else and the dance began, some place or the other - I would blank out, turn the wrong direction, raise the wrong hand, the list goes on. Then to make matters worse, I would hurriedly try to get back in line, making it even more obvious that I flopped!!

Even when I became more experienced, these moments happened now and again. So here are a few tips to prevent this mishap, and properly handle it if it happens.

1. Practice, Practice, Practice: Knowing the dance before you get on stage does not guarantee a perfect presentation, but there is no substitute for practice. You need to understand yourself and know how long it takes you to learn a new dance. Your friend may grasp a full dance in only one rehearsal, but it may take you longer. Be honest with yourself and put in extra time at home if you need to.
2. Practice Without Music: One way to know if you have totally grasped a dance is to do it from start to finish with no music! Try it. Rely completely on your memory and see if there are certain sections where you blank out or mis-step. Then work on memorizing those better.
3. Manage Your Anxiety: Just like "Speakers Anxiety", dancers experience anxiety just before presenting to a live audience. You see the lights, crowd, and stage - and you begin to get fearful, flurries in your stomach, sweaty palms, faster heartbeat, etc. If you've had small doubts about how well you know the dance, they become multiplied as you mount the stage.
   As a praise dancer, you have to learn to manage your anxiety. It has been said that a little bit of anxiety helps you perform better - but you have to learn to convert a good portion of it to confidence and self control.
   Before mounting the stage, you can start by reminding yourself of scripture that boosts confidence such as Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (NKJV); 2 Tim 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (NKJV) - or any others you know.
   Also, Say a prayer asking God to help you relax and focus on bringing Him glory.
   Remember that the audience is not there to judge you but to receive a message that you are carrying. So let go of the apprehension, and deliver the message.

What if it still happens?

If you still find yourself missing steps while praise dancing, resist the urge to condemn yourself or think you're just not good enough. Becoming a skilled dancer takes practice, and you can do all things through Christ. In the heat of the moment, remember these tips -

1. Gracefully recover and return to position. Blend in with everyone on the next step, and don't reveal on your face (or your body language) that you just "messed up". Half the audience did not notice the error but they may notice if you look flustered and upset.
   Also, focusing on the error may lead you to miss even more steps!
2. Maintain a positive attitude. I used to get off stage and mentally recount every step I missed and wonder how many people noticed. Then I would get even more upset!
   Even though the goal is for you to get better, mistakes sometimes minister. That little error of yours, though not part of the dance, is what someone out there saw, that told them that even though they have messed up in life, they can get back up, get back in line, and Jesus would still love them the same.

How have you handled this issue? Comments below.

In creating your worship dance routine, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Your Goal: As much as you may want to totally showcase your dance skills and latest steps, remember why you are doing this dance. Are you doing it to convey God's message to the people, or do you simply want to create the coolest new dance? You may hurry to choose option 1, but I cannot tell you how many times I have strayed away from the goal of the dance, to instead focus on how many really "cool" steps I put in it. Dancing is fun and praise dance especially should not be boring, but you must always keep your goal foremost on your mind when creating a new worship dance.
2. The Message: Depending on how you came about this ministration, there must be a message. Have you been invited to a function with a certain theme? Are you creating dances for your own show? Your song and dance should contribute to the overall message. Same goes for Sunday worship. Your Pastor may already have told you to present a dance that will align with his sermon. This serves to drive the point home with the audience.
   For example, if the message is forgiveness, then of course you want to choose a song and create a dance that depicts that.
3. The Song or Music: The song or music you choose must fit the message. If you have a song that readily comes to mind, then great. Otherwise, you may have to search on itunes (or other music website), or maybe even enlist everyone in your worship dance team to help compile a list of possible songs. Then you want to listen to them and ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance in choosing a suitable one.
4.  The Concept: Your worship dance concept simply refers to the "story" that your dance is telling. Once you have established your message, you need to visualize how you will flesh it out. Note that dance is much like drama, and in fact is drama with rhythm. You can choose to simply follow the lyrics of a song, and create steps to match the words, or you can create a drama that may not be lyrical but conveys the message of the dance. I have seen some wonderful blending of both techniques to create really unforgettable dances.
   Your concept helps you paint a picture of what your stage scene will look like, and even helps choose your praise dance attire or costumes. If you're going the drama route, your worship dance concept can have a full fledged description that includes lighting, stage props and the overall ambience of the venue. Of course if some of those things are beyond your control, then your concept should only contain the very basics. These include - the characters (everyone on stage) and their roles (what they'll be doing).
   So for instance, if your message is "forgiveness", and you choose a song along those lines, then your concept could be to simply create steps to the words of the song OR create a drama with characters such as Jesus, satan, and several "lost" people from different walks of life. 
5. Your Praise Dance Attire or Costume: If you've followed the steps above, then you probably already know what you'll be wearing on stage. The drama I described may end up having everyone wearing something different. Other concepts may involve everyone wearing the same attire. Whatever the choice, make sure the clothing adequately fits the scene, and helps to convey the overall message of the worship dance.
   Of course, you want to make sure that the clothing is decent and will not distract people from the message.
6. The Choreography: Lastly, you have to create your worship dance. Again, depending on the song and the concept, your work may already be cut out for you. If your concept is lyrical, then simply listen to the song and use steps that depict what is being said. There are certain phrases and expressions that are widely understood in Christiandom, and Pastor Lynn's Expresssive Worship DVD explains some of them.
   If your concept is more of a drama, then you have to build on the roles and the cues. A popular example of a drama is the Lifehouse Everything Skit.

This list may not be all inclusive, but it gives you a good idea of what goes into creating a worship dance. If you have any good points to add, please comment below.

Blessings!