How to Grow as a Dancer Over Christmas Break!

DanceSport Carolina will be closed for holiday vacation beginning Friday, December 23; and re-opening again for the new year on Tuesday, January 4 (with the Southern Paradise Ball - Ballroom and Latin Dance Competition less than 4months away!). While we all appreciate the time to step back and enjoy time with our families and friends (and trays of delicious sugar cookies!), as dancers, a week and a half is a LOONG time to be away from the floor!

When it comes to practicing, it is important to remember that practice doesn't necessarily make perfect, it just makes permanent! What you are practicing has to be correct! There are quite a few things you can do to keep your feet (and body!) in shape over Christmas break, starting with your final week of classes. Use your final private lesson with your teacher to take notes and video what you have been working on. Ask them to video themselves marking through the figures, routines, and technique exercises that you have been working on. That video will allow you to literally "bring your dance teacher home with you" over your break! You might not have to skip your weekly private dance lesson after all! Robert, Bradley, Tony or any of our staff can give you a review/practice session right in your living room!

In addition to practicing, time off give you a chance to set goals for yourself for the coming year! Think about what you have done, the dance events you have attended, and progress you have made this past year and write-out a goal plan for yourself for 2011. Be specific! You will be your teacher's favorite student for sure if you come back from break with a list of goals to tackle and accomplish in the new year!

In addition to being physical process and journey, dancing is a mental and emotional journey as well! Vacation gives you a chance to pull out photos, competition/showcase videos, lesson/practice videos, even costumes from the past and appreciate the incredible journey you have taken. Seeing what you have done will both light an incredible fire and passion inside of you for the coming year, but will fill you with a wonderful(and well deserved!) sense of pride and accomplishment for all you have accomplished. Don't forget non-dance photos from both before and after DSC! Notice a few inches missing from your waist? Wearing a bit more mascara and lip gloss these days or dressing with a bit more pizazz? Standing a bit taller? It's incredible! Learning to dance is a life-changing experience with each and every step and you want to enjoy every moment. Use an hour that would normally be one of your private or group dance lessons and make a scrapbook of your journey!

If you spend the holiday break practicing your dancing, setting goals for the new year, and celebrating the journey you've taken and dancer you have become, not only will you grow as a ballroom and latin dancer, but you will return to DSC with the same excitement, passion, and FIRE that we are all sure to return with! Until then...

Merry Christmas! Any may God bless you with a year of love, laughter, and DANCING!