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The Solo Practice Guide: A Review

It always drives me a little crazy when students neglect to practice in between classes. I know... They have kids at home, they work all hours, etc. - but it gets to me, because I KNOW they could be learning new stuff instead of reviewing the same material over and over.

As someone working on reaching dancers looking to supplement their lessons - or in some cases, don't learn at a studio at all - it was inevitable that I discover The Solo Practice Guide for Ballroom Dancing by Katie Flashner. Continue reading "The Solo Practice Guide: A Review"

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Dancing at Any Age, Part Two: Doing Classes with Class

Let's be honest: attending classes at a studio for a senior isn't as simple as just checking what's nearby. There's some important considerations - like how many stairs there are between you and the dance floor.

There's also the challenges of protecting your body during a lesson from partners who don't know better, as well as keeping up with the pace of the lesson. If you want your dance class to be an enjoyable experience, watch on! Continue reading "Dancing at Any Age, Part Two: Doing Classes with Class"

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The Home Schooled Dancer, Part Four: Supplementing Your Lessons

While instructional videos can't replace learning in person, it does grant us increased flexibility in improving on what we've learned before, or at least refreshing our memory. After all, you can't simply hit rewind on a lesson and play it back whenever you need a reminder.

Today I interviewed Candace, a student who dances and practices at studios, socials, at home, or even waiting for an elevator! Candace's occasional migrations south make this flexibility of learning especially important, as she recognizes how easy it is to forget what she's learned. Continue reading "The Home Schooled Dancer, Part Four: Supplementing Your Lessons"

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The Home-Schooled Dancer, Part Three: Practice Strategies

It's one thing to want to learn to dance, quite another to have the time and space necessary to practice. True, this is a BIG advantage of going to a dance studio, where the space is provided along with the lesson. But there's plenty of options for a creative home-schooled dancer as well.

When I was first learning dance as a teenager, my parents would pay for ONE group lesson a week, and sometimes the occasional private lesson, nothing more. And I couldn't use the studio space to practice in between classes.

So I, like many of you, had to make-do from home. Usually the only place that wouldn't put me in anyone's way was my own bedroom. The walls were about 10 ft. apart, less a shelving unit on one side - but you better believe I made the most of it!

Every night after completing my homework, I practiced, learning to take smaller steps, or even break some of the patterns into two pieces so I had room to complete them. It wasn't easy, but it was enough to prepare me for that next group class, or social.

Now that I think about it, I had plenty of other options, but they simply never occurred to me at the time. Since I can't rewind the clock, I'm including them here.

For more tips on making time for dance practice, check out my video on Positive Dance Habits. Continue reading "The Home-Schooled Dancer, Part Three: Practice Strategies"

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The Home Schooled Dancer, Part One: Benefits for the Office Worker

"I just don't have time to try dancing." "I'd like to, but where am I going to find money for lessons?" These kinds of objections are what inspired me to create Social Ballroom Dance - so the benefits of dancing could be available to everyone, not just those with money and the means.

In preparation for the site launch this December (more on that later), let's look at some ways dancing can improve our life, health, and productivity.

Continue reading "The Home Schooled Dancer, Part One: Benefits for the Office Worker"

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Motivation and Inspiration, Part Four: Positive Dance Habits

Raise your hand if you've ever set a resolution you didn't keep. What, you didn't? YOU'RE A LIAR.

Okay, what stopped you? Usually we get all fired up at the start of a new project, but over time, that positive energy, what I'm calling the 'honeymoon effect', wears off. And that's when we quit, because suddenly it stopped being fun, and became work instead.

That's why most people don't become the dancers they want to be. Of sure, they have plenty of reasons why it was a good idea to stop now, but ultimately, they rode the emotional high, and when it crashed, they crashed.

Of course, there are many who manage to keep that spark burning. These people pick a dance goal, and consistently work towards it until it's theirs. They may not like stepping outside of their comfort zone, but they've developed a determination to not give in to the excuses and self-sabotage.

This is what I'd like to talk to you about today: How to get out of your own way, so you can persistently apply yourself to ballroom dancing until you're the dancer you've always wanted to be. Continue reading "Motivation and Inspiration, Part Four: Positive Dance Habits"

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Dancing for Life, Part Four: Sustainable Dancing

One of my favourite things about ballroom dancing is that the better you understand it, the easier and more effortless it gets. And since effort - or at least uncontrolled, forced effort - can be damaging to our bodies, there's some serious health pluses as well.

I've talked a lot about keeping ourselves healthy, but not yet about how dancing BETTER means dancing LONGER into life. Let's explore how to improve our dancing and our body health - at the same time. Continue reading "Dancing for Life, Part Four: Sustainable Dancing"