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.
Transcript:
Hi folks! My name is Ian Crewe. I'm an instructor at the Joy of Dance Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and the creator of Social Ballroom Dance: Where you can learn your dance, at your place, on your schedule.
We covered last week the different types of videos that you could use to improve on your dancing from the comfort of your home or wherever you are. But now two challenges present themselves: First of all, how do we find the space in our homes for it, and how do we find time in our schedule?
Let's start with the first one, because it tends to be the more common of the two.
There's a number of different ballroom dance techniques that you don't need any space at all to practice. For example, you can work on your posture, your Cuban motion, your rise and fall; these different activities require no space at all. All you need really is a chair in front of you or maybe a balcony railing for a little bit of balance and stability.
Then there are other dance moves which move around a little bit, but not too much. For example, most Latin or rhythm style dances, they don't take up more than say 2 to 3 square feet if you're stepping smaller - good practice for getting used to those crowded nightclubs!
And if you have a hallway or another long straightaway at your house, you can practice your smooth and standard movements that use a lot of forward and back movement.
Don't be shy about moving some furniture if you need a little more space. One student of mine simply shifts her dining room table over, and she's ready to go. And basements are another often overlooked area where there might be more space to practice.
If you find it's tough finding enough space inside your house, you can always check out your patio, your balcony, or your garage to see if there is available space there.
But if you really need to find more space to practice, there are some options outside of your house which might work just as well. These are just a few of them: Gymnasiums, church basements, dojos, fitness centres, meeting rooms near your workplace, community centres, smaller event halls, town squares, concert halls, classrooms, friend's houses, anywhere where there is an open space and someone who is willing to rent it out (phew!)
Now, the good news is that often people rent them out for peanuts, or nothing at all if this space is not normally used for rental purposes. And with so many potential options, odds are that you can find something within walking distance.
Now, I know if you're thinking: "Ian, this is all well and good, but how am I gonna find time in my work schedule to work on all this?"
Well, first of all, remember you don't need to set a block, or like an hour block of your time aside like this is a private lesson at a studio. If you only get in 10 minutes a day, you're still practicing more per week than you would in a single private lesson. And it's gonna be a lot fresher in your head, getting that constant exposure.
Schedule it in advance, like you would with the private lesson, and when the timer goes, practice hard! Get the most out of your time. After all, you wouldn't get as much out of your gym practice if you took five-minute breaks between every set. Make the most of your time, and that will allow you to improve the quickest.
Now, there are some techniques that you can do well while doing other things. For example, you might practice your Cuban motion while you're washing dishes, or brushing your teeth. This is not ideal, because whenever you're multitasking you can't be fully present for either activity, but it is a good way to just keep it fresh in your body, so that you can pay more attention to it at a later time.
And if you need the reminder, some people use clothing or dance shoes or other props to help them stay consistent with their practicing - for example, one student I know used to put her dance shoes in her entrance hallway.
And if you get yourself excited about why you danced in the first place, those reasons can help generate creative solutions on how to make more room for your practice in your life, both physically in your home, and in your schedule.
If you need more ideas on fitting dance into your schedule, you can check out my video: I've included a link above on positive dance habits, so hopefully you can find some other useful material there.
And next week we're going to interview another student on how she finds time for her lessons or her practicing, even when she doesn't have time to make it into the studio.
But that's all there is for today! I hope you enjoyed this. If you had any questions or comments please message me on my Facebook fan page: Ballroom Dancers Anonymous, or you can email me at ian@socialballroom.dance - again that's ian@socialballroom.dance. Have yourself a great week, and until next time, happy dancing!