Dancing through summer

As we move into September, it looks as though summer will soon be on its way out. For many dance teachers, the summer means they are able to have a well deserved break, and can finish those final admin tasks for their classes. However, by the time the end of August comes around it means it is almost time to welcome students back, who may or may not have been keeping up their dance practice over the summer.

For students and teachers alike, dance can be as mental as it is physical. You may find you need to mentally prepare for long nights at dance class, long weekends in rehearsal, and nights after dance doing homework for those still in school. Getting your mind right is important as it means you are able to focus and dedicate your all to dance by the time it comes around. You may want to think about what went well over the last dancing year, and what it might be good to work on. Collaborating with your teacher (or students!) can help focus on how to make the coming year even more successful.

Whilst it is important to enjoy and relax during the time you have left, you might also want to start preparing the body physically too. For teachers this might mean working more cardio into your daily routine to bring your fitness levels back up, and for dancers this might mean adding some time to your day for stretching the body out gently. You may have been lucky enough to attend a summer intensive or additional dance classes, so try and apply any advice or corrections you may have had during that time. Hopefully you will have been freshly inspired to work hard in the coming year.