You know the great tips that you get from good friends and great coaches? Here are a few of those simple, memorable and effective things that make an awesome difference:
1. When pointing your toes:
Think of pointing your toes down and to the outside, instead of just pointing. Add a toned thigh to keep your knee straight, and it will make a huge difference in how your foot and your entire leg looks.
2. When doing a spin
Think down and straight here too. Hips down and square, chest down not puffed, shoulders down, and upper body not bent in anyway. You will be stable and look effortless.
3. There are several techniques to prevent dizziness when spinning
Spotting, blinking, blurring your eyes – but in addition to all of these, you still need to just spin a lot. With frequent spinning, your brain will eventually suppress the feeling of dizziness and your balance overall will improve.
4. Deodorant works best when it is put on wet skin
Apply it fresh out of the shower before you dry off. If you are doing a mid-day touch up, apply hand-sanitizer under your arms before your deodorant. This does double duty by killing the germs that cause odor so the deodorant doesn’t have to mask it, and by adding that bit of initial wetness when you apply the deodorant, to help it work better.
5. Lift your chin so it stays parallel to the floor.
This will significantly lengthen the look of your neck, and help you to naturally keep your shoulders down. With this, you will instantly have more poise.
6. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, fully and slowly 20-30 times
Doing this before dancing will calm your nerves, and give your muscles added strength and flexibility by feeding them oxygen, and clearing out excess carbon dioxide.
7. Group classes and workshops that are a bit beyond your level
Will help you to improve quicker. To get the benefit, do not ask the instructor to slow things down for you. Expect frustration and a bit more work outside of the class, but the inspiration of a more advanced environment will pull you up much more quickly than one exactly at your level.
8. If you want a move to look sharper, focus on how you stop.
A quick clean stop looks faster, cleaner and sharper than anything you could do at the start or during a move.
9. To practice a body-wave stand with your back to a wall
There should be a small gap between the wall and your body. Then practice isolating each muscle group for the wave. Pull your shoulders back, then pull your chest back, then the abdomen back, then hips back then reverse the whole thing, and do it again and again. The wall will help you to become aware of which part of you body your are “waving” so the isolations will be more distinct.
10 .When you can’t go to the studio to practice, commit to spending exactly 10 minutes on your dancing
Wherever you might be. Practice a move or a point of technique that is the most difficult for you. The next time you are in the studio, those few 10 minute sessions will show a lot more in you overall improvement than you might think.
Author: Miss P [Celebrate DanceSport]
Cover Photography: Egorich.ca
Exclusively for Dance Comp Review