Belly dance, Hip-hop, Jazz, & Tap weekend classes: 7-21-24

Happy weekend, Dancers. Many of us are still working and training over the weekends, are we not? Its part of that dancer life. Eat, breathe, & dance! This weekend was no exception. We worked on a variety of dance genres and techniques. In our classes we worked on isolations, and strengthening those muscles that control each area of our bodies. We worked on footwork and transitions from one pose to another, or from one movement to another.

Sometimes doing so much can be exhausting, but then we remember how much dance is a part of us. How much we love to dance. Its good to remind ourselves of what drew us to dance and why we love to dance. It doesn't make you less of a dancer when you start to suffer from burnout. We demand a lot from our bodies and from ourselves. Whenever I feel overwhelmed in that way, I take a deep breath and remind myself that I am a dancer, and some days its challenging. So I try to do just a little bit on those days. Perhaps I feel like doing some ballet progressions at the barre. Maybe I'll make a deal with myself to lie on the floor and do some stretches. Some days I convince myself, "okay, Chrystie, lets just do some Isolations". I may even just be like, you know what, I'm just gonna sway around the room for a second. I'm going to hula hoop for 5 minutes. Typically I end up doing much more than I planned and I feel like I got some manner of practice and dancing in for the day.

I guess these thoughts bring us back to listening to our bodies. Rest if you need to rest, but don't stay away from your passion too long. As they say, "once a dancer, always a dancer!" So try to put some music on and move. Improvise. Do just a little bit every day. Keep dancing, Dancers!