Classes have ended. Ke Dezemba. Your studio doesn’t open again until mid-January.
Now what?
Well, if you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready.
Take a look at our guide below for some suggestions on how to stay active, mobile, and keep up your dance stamina – thus avoiding the dreaded ‘first week back at class’ feeling of mildly passing away.
Go to Open Classes
This might seem like a no-brainer to some, yet many us get very comfortable in our regular studio – being surrounded by familiar faces, music, and teaching methods.
Learning to dance in a space which is new to you is incredibly beneficial. It’s exceptionally good preparation for when you have that audition in a venue you’ve never visited before. It’s a chance to learn new ways of thinking and moving. Maybe you just need to hear a correction, or a piece of technique explained in different words for it to finally click in your body.
It’s also a chance to meet new people. If you’re someone who’s profession is part of the creative economy or you’re a student wanting to turn dance into your job, meeting everyone else who is out there will greatly increase your chances of finding work.
Download an Exercise App
If you’re jetting off to a remote island or simply staying at home for the festive season and taking some you-time, it doesn’t mean you can’t still get in a good workout.
Many apps are available – for free – which carry extensive workout plans which you can follow along with. Lots also come with encouraging voice guides to get you through the tough bits. Training isolated muscle groups and pathways of motion is one of the best ways to address weaknesses in parts of your technique.
Many comprehensive PBT-like and dance movement-based apps are also making an appearance. These useful apps bring you the best of both worlds; weighted/resistance training, cardio, pathways of movement, and balancing – all combined with dance vocabulary to create strong and functional dance foundations.
Ever done pencheé while holding a 10kg weight? It’s hectic, but when you take away the weights and start executing the movements in class, the difference is almost unbelievable.
Start Scrolling
Yes, we’re giving you permission to spend hours on social media.
Not for memes though – save that for when you’re sitting on the toilet or hiding from your annoying cousins at the family gathering. We mean; start scrolling through all those fantastic accounts with 1-minute simple exercises which will boost your technique and strength. There are so many lovely creators out there who are sharing their own tools to success FOR FREE.
Hint: You can tell it’s a goodie if the creator shows you the exercise and then how it relates to dance movement by SUCCESSFULLY executing the vocabulary the remedial exercise is supposed to help you with.
Find Your Inner Choreographer
Discover your own body.
Now is the perfect time to play with movement and to find out what lines and pathways best show you off as a dancer. So often, we’re glued to syllabus and set repertoire, or we only ever experience the choreographic style of one teacher.
You’ll find that once you tap in to style of movement that makes you look and feel good, you can easily explore for hours on end.
Of course, there are many other ways one can keep themselves at their peak during a holiday. We’d love to read your suggestions and comments below!
