He takes his bow before he performs (6)
I believe the answer is:
archer
'he takes his' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.
'bow before he performs' is the wordplay.
'bow' becomes 'arc' (both can mean a curve).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'performs' becomes 'r' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'arc'+'he'+'r'='ARCHER'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for archer that I've seen before include "User of bows and arrows" , "Small insect" , "One uses a bow and arrows" , "Arrow shooter" , "His weapon is the bow" .)