Dancing Essentials: The Dance Team

essentials

September Specials

(Updated: 09.01.03)

Who is a part of your dance team?  You, your partner, and your teacher?  Anyone else?

Most professional athletes have a huge team of professionals at their disposal.  They have a coach who helps motivate, instruct, train and inspire them.  They have personal fitness trainers, nutritionists, therapists and sports psychologists to keep the athletes' bodies and minds in prime condition.  They also have agents to organize their trips, publicize the team and arrange events.  These people, usually headed by the coach, all work together to make sure that the athletes can perform to the fullest of their capabilities. 

In the world of DanceSport, however, things are a bit different.  As there is no government funding, it is impossible to employ all these people to be a part of your team.  In many instances, you have to take it upon yourself to do it all.  You have to be the 'coach'-directing your learning, planning your practices and deciding which events you will go to, the 'fitness trainer'-keeping you in shape, the 'nutritionist'-making sure you're eating right, the 'sports psychologist'-making sure that you are in the right mind-set for each competition, the 'travel agent'-booking your flights, accommodations and entry to each competition, the 'make-up artist' and 'hair dresser'-making sure that you've got the right look. 

You should definitely consult your coach and/or other professionals that you may know of.  However, much of the overall planning needs to be done on your own.  Most professional dance instructors are just that:   instructors.  They instruct you on how to dance.  They don't have the time in a 45-60 minute lesson to work on your stamina, teach you how to stretch properly, plan your practice sessions or introduce you to supplementary training, such as pilates, yoga, jazz or ballet.

It's up to you to design your own training program, and this is how you can do it!  Learn more about all the different aspects of being a good athlete and/or dancer, and decide on what you want to apply, and what you don't.   Here you will find some ideas and suggestions...

m a k e   y o u r   d r e a m s  a   r e a l i t y