10 ways to keep busy for stay-home dancers
Staying at home has made dancing so much harder, especially when there is no one else you can feed off energy from, dance together with or feel liberated by due to the physical constraints of a smaller dance area. Even though the Heightened Awareness Phase 2 is over, classes are still limited in size and it just doesn’t feel the same. The mind starts wandering for alternatives and we find ourselves drifting away from dance-related activities, even goals, due to boredom and a decrease in motivation…
Dancers, do NOT lose hope as we give you EXACTLY 10 ways to stay busy and beat-the-blues at home as we slowly ease back into dancing again at the cosy studio!
ATTEMPT TO REVIVE AN OLD CHOREOGRAPHY OF IMPORTANCE
The old choreography could be a particularly memorable one that brought much joy and excitement, or it could also be a challenging piece that you couldn’t execute properly when you first learnt it. Reattempting a choreography allows you to notice visible areas of improvements in your dance.
Most of us don’t have mirrors at home or at spaces where you dance outside so when we relearn and work on a past choreography, it pushes our body and mind to remember and execute the steps.
BONUS TIPS: Remember to tag the instructors (from LDC or ANY other dance studios!) who made the choreography on social media! It not only gives credit to the original choreographer, but also connects us in the online dance community as we journey together.
#LEGACYDANCECO #JOURNEYTOGETHER
2. CHOREOGRAPH YOUR OWN CO-EXIST ITEM IN YOUR PJS!
Curate your own “stay-home and party!” Spotify playlist that encourages your creativity as a dancer and producer and start dreaming up your own dance recital storyline and its dance pieces!
Visualising is a powerful tool for creatives. Let your imagination run wild and start conceptualising how your future dance item is going to be like. If you have multiple concepts in mind, WRITE THEM DOWN! You never know, you might actually bring them to life in the future.
BONUS TIPS: If you have never choreographed before, you can start by focusing on a chosen segment of a song. Listen to the same part over and over again and pick out the beats, melody or lyrics in the music that you want to use and fit in some movements. VOILA~ You’ve choreographed something! If you’re stuck with your movements, you can input some dance basics or adapt moves you’ve learned from previous choreographies. Use what you’ve been equipped with! Don’t be afraid to experiment with body angles that might feel weird; this way, you’ll be able to discover new movements!
“It is in our weirdness and awkwardness that beauty and identity blooms.” - Chelsea Mointero (LDC Instructor)
“It’s okay to make mistakes, rules the break” - Ryan Lim (LDC Instructor)
3. FREESTYLE WITH A CHOSEN BODY PART
Sometimes, restrictions produce better creativity.
Start from head to your shoulders, knees and toes! Groove to house music using just your head and face, or to funk music with just your torso. Watch American Got Talent’s Jonathan Timpanelli for inspiration and just for fun!
BONUS TIPS: Notice patterns of the song, such as when or at which count of the song does the bass or snare reoccur. Training your mental identification of musical patterns allows you to better your freestyle match your movements to each song!
“For me, I would listen to music I like listening to first. Connection with music should always come first. That’s why we dance because we crave for that connection.” - Locking Chris (LDC Instructor)
4. IMPROVE FLEXIBILITY & STRENGTH AT HOME
Working on flexibility and strength is just as important as learning dance techniques or choreographies for dancers. It equips us with the necessary body awareness and understanding needed to improve the overall execution of our movement.
Instead of waiting for motivation to arrive, allow the body and mind to move daily on a consistent basis, even if it is just for 30 minutes. This ensures an increase of oxygen flow and energy production. It also releases endorphins that keep you feeling happy and this creates a “Can Do!” attitude which carries you throughout the day for other activities!
Calisthenic workouts are a quick and convenient way of working out whenever and wherever with no equipment needed! ‘The effects of a calisthenics training intervention on posture, strength and body composition’, by scientists from the Sport and Exercise Sciences research unit at the University of Palermo, Italy, found that calisthenics training is an “effective training solution to improve posture, strength and body composition without the use of any major training equipment”.
Calisthenics exercises for dancers include Push-ups, Pull-ups, Plank, Squats & Side Lunges.
To improve flexibility, stretching is essential for dancers as it reduces the chances of injury and encourages self-care. Beneficial stretches inspired by Yoga include Downward Facing Dog, Cobra Stretch, Child’s Pose & Pigeon Pose.
“Everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it.”. – Michael Phelps
5. RELAX BY WATCHING A MOMENT WITH LEGACY ON YOUTUBE
Did you know that Legacy has our own Youtube Channel?
Get to know us more and be entertained by watching our dance instructors play games that are guaranteed to make you laugh. Realise that dance instructors are social creatures just like you and me, approachable, crazy and are often not as scary as they might appear in class.
Watch the entire playlist of A Moment of Legacy (a current total of 7 episodes) and stay tuned for more exciting content! Content ranges from our “stay fit challenge”, to our “try not to laugh challenge”, to guessing which instructors are lying or telling the truth through fun games, witnessing how a song choice could be choreographed in different manners by different instructors..and many more! All guaranteed to keep you entertained while staying home!
6. TREAT YOURSELF TO A STAY-HOME MASSAGE
Dancers are always rushing around, attending class after class, without taking time off to practice self-care. Rejuvenate allows dancers to connect with themselves and their bodies which encourages healing. While outside sports massages by professionals reduce stress and tensions built by tight muscles effectively, they are often expensive to go frequently. Get yourself massage tools like foam rollers and theraguns which are a cheaper, more sustainable and are practical alternatives for dancers! Self-massage tools that are wallet-friendly (less than $40) could include Massage Balls, Massage Stick and Foam Rollers from DECATHLON as a complete personal self-massage set, or as a wellness gift to someone!
BONUS TIPS:
Some ‘do’s and ‘don'ts of self-massage extracted from Kerry Shea (Certified Advanced Pilates & Ballet teacher):
Do choose the right tool. A ball is used for more specific restrictions and a foam roller for more general work on the muscles.
Don’t push too hard. Start with a softer foam roller or ball to make rolling tolerable. If the foam roller is too painful for you, you may cover it with a towel to soften the impact.
Don’t roll on bone or across a joint. For example, if you’re rolling your quad, make sure to stay on the bulk of the muscle rather than rolling down onto your knee joint.
Don’t linger too long on a spot that isn’t ready to let go. If you’re not feeling the tissue release and the pain subside underneath the foam roller after about 15 or 20 seconds, roll away from that spot. Maybe work some of the tissue around it, which might then allow that spot to soften up. If you’re sitting on a spot for 45 seconds to a minute, you’re just going to end up with tight, bruised, irritated tissue.
Drink water after rolling. This helps to keep your muscles tissues hydrated.
7. RELOOK AT YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
Now that we are halfway through the year, are you still on track with your own personal resolutions? Are you slowly but surely growing into the person you aspire to be by the end of 2021?
BONUS TIPS:
1. List down your goals that have not yet been fulfilled.
2. Choose 1 - 3 goals among the list to put your focus as priorities.
Reschedule time aside with daily or weekly actionable steps to achieving them! - Jiajun Chan (LDC Director)
8. ATTEMPT AUTHENTIC EXPRESSION & MOVEMENTS WITH YOUR BODY
Similar to freestyle, free movement allows your body to move however it wants to, based on the song choice and feeling it has at the given moment without judgements.
Consistent practice of such expression allows dancers to experience tremendous breakthroughs as they learn to dance not to impress, but express - which is often hard to do with many people watching in a physical studio.
Dance is a performing art, but also a personal expression. Being stuck at home can bring forth new movements and encourage creativity. Feeling at home in your body is crucial to identity and true expression. We all love dancing in studios along with others but dancing for yourself can bring peace and clarity as you literally allow your body to express all that it feels! Dance becomes more than just an impressive skill, but also an avenue for healing and breakthroughs.
BONUS TIPS: You could try using simple meditation exercises that bring mindfulness and a clearer head space before moving. Spend some time exploring the universe that exists within instead of constantly rushing through the world around.
“We were created to create! You are beautiful and a work of art so don’t be afraid to explore all there is to you! Spend time in your mind and in your body and allow acceptance to be your framework to dance. When it’s just you, there is nothing to convince, curate or conceal”. - Chelsea Mointero (LDC Instructor)
9. COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL ARTISTS
If you have a random idea for a creative project, connect with the myriad of creatives we have here in Singapore! We have a talented pool of photographers, videographers, makeup artists, visual artists, and so many more right here in this little red dot! Take this opportunity to collaborate with other creatives. It doesn’t have to be something huge, just something meaningful.
BONUS TIPS: Keep in mind your own budget too. If you are keeping it wallet-friendly, you might consider taking this time to look out for your friends or connections who have passion for the arts and would not mind working together to build their own portfolios as well.
10. STAY CONNECTED WITH THE HELP OF TECHNOLOGY
While it might be tempting to take this time to isolate yourself from the world, there is power in community and relationships. Do not underestimate the power of a text or just a simple ‘Hey! Just want to check in with you!’ to maintain your connections with people while not being able to physically meet up. Other than Google as the go-to search engine, Zoom Calls has also become one of our best friends to connect with the world to communicate quickly and efficiently!
BONUS TIPS: We are having our very own ONLINE flagship dance programme try-out this coming 27th June! Bless you, technology.
It is a FREE online tryout to understand more about our premier dance programme, The Legacy Experience, with experienced instructors to guide you through to learn about body awareness and to pick up dance vocabulary, to grow all the way from non-dancers to experienced dancers! While this is only for new and budding dancers, feel free to share the joy of dancing with others who might be interested in picking up dancing!
Keeping ourselves busy as dancers, even though we may be temporarily hanging out less frequently at studios and more by ourselves, could be as simple as the ten different ways.
At the end of it, whether you are reattempting past choreographs or creating new ones; looking through past goals and resetting them for the remaining half of the year; sharing with other non-dancers about your passion for dance and the programme we offer…know that any progress is still inevitably a form of progress!