Competition season

Competition Season

The fun and exciting season of dance is just around the corner. This is the time to show off the talent you and your dance team have been working hard for. There is a lot of preparation to go into eisteddfods, hours of practicing and hours behind the scenes getting costumes spic and spam for the spot light. 

One thing that is commonly left to the last minute is make-up preparation. Ordinary daily make-up is not going to cut it for the hours wearing it on stage. A dancer's make-up wants to be longer lasting and noticeable. It is well worth it for the competition season to invest in the right quality make-up to eliminate time touching up. When building your make-up kit, you'll want to look for 
           BOLD & BRIGHT  

colours. Also double up on mascara, eyeliners or even lipstick. You'll be surprised how much mascara you go through. 

Dancing for hours all day, all weekend at these competitions can be tiring and exhausting for little bodies. The costumes and dance routines are important but not nearly as important as your health and nutrition. A big breakfast full of protein and fruit will help fuel your muscles for the day ahead. Remembering to keep up the hydration with water through out day. Snacks can be tricky, as you don't want to be feeling heavy for the next dance. Bananas & apples or carrot sticks can help keep you full as well as nuts and popcorn. Your body has worked all day and what better way to finish off the day with one of mums delicious dinner recipes. 

Hope to see you all ready and full of energy for the competition season. 

Happy Dancing Xx

Turn Out

Turn Out

So one thing you need to remember is that it's not going to happen straight away. It will take time and regular practice for your turn out to improve. If only we could wave a magic wand and have amazing hip rotation like Svetlana Zakharova. ➝

Here are a few exercises you can do at home to help improve your turnout.

Warm up:

Warming up your hip/bottom/thigh muscle first is a must! Gently swing your legs forwards, backwards and sideways to increase blood flood to these areas.
Hug your knee to your chest and hold for 8 counts, repeat opening up your turnout by pulling your knee towards your shoulder.

Butterfly Stretch: 
Sit with your legs bent and so the soles of your feet should be facing each other. Make sure you keep your back straight and your head up too. 

Prone Butterfly Stretch:
Lie flat on your tummy and draw your knee up, keeping your feet together and attempting to get your feet to touch the ground. The shape made should be similar to the exercise above.

Back Straddle Split:
Lay on your back with your legs up in the air at 90 degrees, feet turned out and toes pointed. With resistance, lower your legs out to the side,  into a straddle split and then draw your legs back up into a closed position 90 degree position. Repeat.

Cool down:
Stretching out those hip muscles is again very important. You've just worked and stretched them and they need to recover. Repeat the 'Warm Up' exercises.

Holidays are coming...

It's ok, holidays are coming...

Ok so term 2 is nearly over and I bet all you dancers are getting pretty sore, tired and ready for a break. Your bodies might be under a bit of pressure from intensive dancing in preparation for upcoming exams and eisteddfods, so you need to make sure you looking after body in every possible way.

As your feet are doing a lot of work, when you come home from dancing of a night massage your feet and give them a good rest. Here is a link for tips and trick about foot care. http://showtimedancewear.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/dancers-feet.html

Now all those back bend and walk over can make your back cramp a little, So to release some tension in your back do a few of these stretches found in the following link. http://showtimedancewear.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/sore-back-after-class-you-need-to-make.html

Fueling your body is very important so in this link you will find how to make a Super Smoothie, which is great for a ‘pick me up’ when you’re on the go. http://showtimedancewear.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/super-smoothies.html

Last of all make sure you are getting a good night sleep! Studies show that a good night's sleep improves learning, helps you pay attention, make decisions, be creative and that when your body does most of its recovery and repair. 

Sore Back Relief

Sore back?

After class you need to make sure you stretch out your back especially from all the back bends and walkovers you do. Below you will find a few stretches that you can do at the end of your lesson. 

Hug Your Knees - Lie on your back. Grab your knees, pull them toward your chest and breathe. Slowly push your lower back into the floor. Repeat this a several times.

Side Knee Drop - Lie on your back. Grab your knees, pull them toward your chest and breathe, Hold onto your knees with one hand/arm and extend the other arm onto the floor. Gently drop your knees to the opposite side. Breathe and switch sides. Repeat several times.

Traditional Toe Touch - Keeping your knees straight roll down and touch your toes. If touching your toes is now too easy wrap your arms around your legs and bring your chest to your knees. Then release and roll back up through your spin. Repeat several times.

A little trick to relax your body, lay on your back, bend your knees and feet flat on the ground. Make sure feet are apart so you can rest your knees against each other. Wrap your arms around your neck until your hands are resting on the ground. Lay in this position for as long as you want maybe even put on some relaxing music as you do this. 

Excising: Stretching and Warming Up

Eisteddfods

http://dance.about.com/od/stepsandmoves/ss/Splits_5.htm

Now that eisteddfods are just around the corner, it is so important that you are warming up and stretching properly before you dance so that you don’t hurt yourself. Warming up and stretching are two different things. Warming up is about increasing the blood flow around your body and increasing the temperature in your muscles. Stretching is pushing your muscles to their limits so you can stretch them even further. It is so important that you warm your muscles up BEFORE you start stretching them.

We all know how difficult it is to warm up and stretch in eisteddfods where the walls and floors are covered in bags and even the chairs are covered in bags. So how do you properly warm up in the tiny spaces? Easy, clear enough floor space to be able to stand in first position and tendu – then do your plies and ‘bar exercises’ in the ‘Centre’. After that, jump up and down, star jumps if, there is room, to get your blood flowing! When you’re all warmed up, start your stretching using your friends as a temporary wall.

Because we can’t access the wall for all the bags, balancing on your friend is the next best thing. Link arms and do leg mounts, hold each other’s shoulders to do your grande battlements. If floor space permits, lie on your back and have your friends pull your leg up towards your head in a split. There are many things you can do in the limited space, just make sure you are warming up FIRST then stretching! Good Luck with the eisteddfods.

Stretch! (Tips for parents)

Stretching for improvement!

Practicing and stretching at home is so important for a budding young dancer! Once a week in class does the basics; your child learns the basics and correct techniques, but to maintain and gain these abilities they must practice at home. Since the classes for a lot of young dancers only happen once or twice a week, it’s a good idea to encourage your child to go through the steps for memory’s sake as well as stretching to help keep their flexibility from week to week as this builds muscle memory. Take it from someone who has been able to achieve the splits one week, only to be disappointed the next week when I’ve not been able to do it again. Consistent and continual striving for flexibility will gain the best results. Dance is a sport, and just like any other, they get to be the best by training constantly.  There are many ways to help your child, firstly by just reminding your child to practice. At this stage, even just going over the exercises without music will help their mind and muscle memory. Secondly, YouTube! YouTube tutorials are a great way to find new stretches and exercises. The third tip is to physically help you child stretch. Maybe you could even stretch WITH your child to help encourage them; get them to teach you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Ic4dOwrWA is a great starting point!