Practicing | website

Practicing 101

You earn your trophies at practice. You just pick them up at the competition.

Create a routine.

Ex: School year: go to school, come home, do your homework, eat supper, practice dance--every night

Ex: Summer: wake-up, eat breakfast, practice, go on with your day.

Put on fun music and practice to it! It is more fun to practice to different music that has a good beat than to practice to bagpipes all the time! When there is a competition or upcoming performance, that when you turn on the bagpipe music and practice to that-at least a week or two before the event.

Practice with a friend who also dances! This doesn't need to be every day/every time you practice. Once a week is good! This helps you stay accountable, you can clarify things with each other, watch each other for errors or corrections you've been working on etc.

Practicing needs to be the same as dance class. Conditioning/Strengthening

Stretch

Warm-up dance (an easy national dance)

Technique work

A Highland or two to the music

STRETCH at the end! (just as important as before you dance!)

Don't know what to practice????

Do what we did in class!

I (Kaitlyn) tend to do things with dance classes that can easily be done at home as well. Because there is only one of you when you practice (or two), you will spend more time on that thing we did in class.

If I tell you that you need to practice, it probably means that whatever it is whether it is a dance or movement needs a lot of work. If you don't know how to improve what I told you to practice, always ask me! I will help! It is my job!

Perform for stuffies or dolls or bears or even your family members. Pretend you have an audience, or judges, watching you and critiquing you.

Practice RIGHT not WRONG. How you practice begins to become muscle memory--what your muscles are used to doing over a period of time. If you are silly or not working hard or are doing things incorrectly/not putting effort in when you practice, I'd rather you not practice. You will be making your dancing worse in this case, not better.

Make sure you are dancing on a proper surface. Tile, concrete, pavement, are not good for your legs. You will probably get injured.

How Long!?

Primary dancers (under 7 years old): 5-10 minutes 4-5 times a week

Beginner dancers (Highland 1 & 2 & 3 students [7 years+]): 10-15 minutes 4-5 times a week

Novice/Intermediate dancers: 20-30 minutes 5 times a week

Non-Competitive Premier dancers: 30 minutes 5 times a week

Competitive Premier dancers: 45 minutes 5-6 times a week