How can I make the most out of summer without dance?
How can I make the most out of summer? That’s the question I asked myself after my first year of pre-professional ballet training. I remember being excited for the holidays as I could finally spend some time at home with my family, but my main goal was to get physically and mentally ready for the upcoming year.
With all the extra free time, summer is a great occasion to grow and progress so that you can go back to the studio and feel stronger than before. Even if you don’t have the chance to leave for a summer intensive, like me at the time, there is still so much you can do to significantly improve your dancing. In this post, I will be sharing with you what helped me to fully take advantage of every summer break.
Discover new ways of moving your body
Since most of us will probably be taking a break from dancing, why not use this time to move our bodies differently? Whether it is going on hikes in nature, swimming, signing up for a Pilates class or being creative and making up your own workout, there are infinite ways to keep yourself active in summertime.
Getting your body used to various ways of training will benefit your dancing by strengthening weak areas, improving your coordination and stamina as well as helping you know your body better.
My favorite summer activities are swimming and taking ballet barres in the pool, going to the gym to lift weights and do HIIT workouts (no, you won’t get bulky) and putting together Pilates routines based on what I want to work on.
Other ideas include:
Yoga: there are many styles of Yoga and each of them has a specific focus. Some include more strength exercises, some are more focused on mobility and some others are based on mental practice. Find what works best for you and keep up with it
rope jumping: ideal to improve your stamina, building strength and stability in your lower body, improving coordination and much more. Rope jumping is super fun to do too!
martial arts: they have much more in common with dancing than you think. I used to do Karate as a kid and I can tell how much it helped me with my dance training. Give it a try and see if that helps you as well
Improve your musicality
Musicality is one of the many important skills a dancer should develop: it matters just as much as your technique. I will always remember one of my favorite teachers’ (Roland Vogel) words: “The secret to improving your dancing and overcoming technical difficulties lies in the music. Listen to the music and your dance will be better”.
Even if you consider yourself a rather musical dancer already, there is still a lot that you can learn by taking a couple of music classes. If you don’t have the chance to sign up for a course, try looking up some resources on the internet. There is enough high quality free material you can immerse yourself into as well as many online music teachers who offer live classes.
This summer I am having fun learning a couple of simple songs on the piano. I never had formal training, but I learned how to read easy partitions at school and that’s enough for what I currently want to do. I am already noticing some differences in ballet class: it’s easier to change dynamics and perform some combinations I used to find very hard.
Become a versatile dancer
Take up a new style and enjoy dancing your heart out! Now more than ever, companies of all kinds require dancers to be extremely versatile: ballet, contemporary, neoclassical, character, tap… the more you know, the better. You will always be a step ahead if you are familiar with different dance styles.
If you can sign up for a course or a class, that’s awesome! If you can’t, look for online live classes or even video tutorials. You can follow them in your own time, at your own pace and still get a glimpse of what the style is all about.
Here’s a fun story. I remember how some summers ago I was committed to learning how to dance like Michael Jackson. I agree, it was a bit unrealistic, but I had so much fun memorizing his choreography from the famous Thriller video. It taught me how to pick up choreography from a video, how to isolate and coordinate movements as well as how to play with music’s beats.
Boost your ballet knowledge
The great Natalia Makarova once said: “You cannot dance an arabesque in ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘Nutcracker’ the same way”.
The only way to learn how to make an arabesque for each ballet is to study. Research the origins of ballet, find out how each of the great masterpieces was born as well as who choreographed it and for whom. Read about the style, the music, the costumes. Watch tons of ballet videos to see how each artist interpreted the roles and discover your preferences.
My first ballet teacher taught me the importance of having a culture. She taught me that in order to maximize my chances of becoming a professional, I should be very curious. She often encouraged me and all the other students to research famous dancers of the past, popular ballets, character dances’ origins and so on. This practice helped me understand ballet in a deeper way, it developed my personal taste and made me a wiser person overall.
This is all I have for you today. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this post and that you got some ideas out of it. What are you going to do in the upcoming months? How are you keeping yourself busy this summer? Let me know in the comments below.
Sources:
Natalia Makarova’s quote (28/06/2021)
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/natalia_makarova_484904