Practice Like A Pro
So, you want to practice. But where do you start? This is a guide to help you make a perfect practice plan for you. Because it's not how long you work, but how effective it is.
Who?
Before you start, you need to decide if you want to work alone or with other dancers. Maybe you need to invite others over to practice because it's a group dance or you just want to motivate each other. Just remember, sometimes its fun to have friends to practice with, but everyone needs to be completely focused or it won't be an effective practice. Also, if you're going to practice with others, make sure they can be there the whole time.
What?
Next, you need to narrow your dancing down. Exactly what are you going to work on and make a plan around that.
- Stamina - Do your full dance twice through, and push it till the end. If you are with others, while they do their dance, continue doing drills while waiting. Just keep moving.
- Tricks - If there are certain moves you need improvement on, don't waste your time doing the whole step. Just drill those specific places and do them well every time.
- Posture - If you are working on posture, have someone video tape you dancing, from the waist up. Watch yourself after and drill the areas where your posture is off.
- Toes Out - Same as posture, but video the hips down.
When?
A lot of people have trouble finding time to practice. You should carve out a set time every day that you will have at least a half hour to practice. Do not repeatedly skip it. And if you need to miss a practice, reschedule it for a different time in the day. But make other's around you know when your practice time is so they won't intrude.
Where?
Try to find a space to suit your needs. If you want to drill rhythm, very little space is needed but it needs to be hard (versus on carpet). But if you're working on using the stage, you will need a much bigger space for your practice. At home, ask your parents for a piece of plywood to drill on. At school, maybe they can lend you the gym or stage to practice runs and movement. Just get an area set out for dancing.
Why?
Try to set a goal before each practice. Exactly why are you doing it? The best way to improve is knowing the reason for it. Write down your goal for the end of the month, year, for majors, etc. and put it in your practice space so you can be visually motivated.
Routine
Find and write down a practice routine that works for you. Put it in the space that you can practice so you can follow the set.
Example routine:
Example routine:
- Stretch
- Warm up shuffles / clicks to jig and hornpipe (and other drills)
- HP / Jig 3 steps
- HP / Jig 6 steps
- Set dance x2
- Warm up kicks / spins to slip jig and reel (and other drills)
- Slip Jig / Reel 3 steps
- Slip Jig / Reel 6 steps
- Cool down stretch
Last Minute Tips
You don't need Irish Dance music to practice, unless you're working on timing! Find fun music to stretch and drill to that keeps you pumped up. Especially for reel and hornpipe, most pop tunes have counts of 8 that you can dance to. So have fun!