How to Remain In Shape Over The Summer Holidays

Summer vacation is finally here! Some dancers are in summer intensives, others are at the beach, but what do you do when all that is over and you have to start preparing yourself or your regular dance classes in September?

If you're attending a summer intensive, this shouldn't be much of a problem for you, because you'll be dancing all day anyway. However, make sure that you're still stretching and working on your strengthening your muscles on the days that you're not taking class. You definitely don't have to train every day, but I'd say that working on technique at least 4 days a week will defintely help keep you in shape for the coming year. The most important thing to remember when you're at a summer intensive, is to roll out oyur muscles and do as much as you can to help your muscles recover faster. This can include rolling out your muscles, stretching after your classes and eating appropriately.

If you're not dancing at a summer intensive, try to do some things in your own time. As I said early, training 4 days a week would be a good idea - even if it's only 1 hour each time. This way you're making sure that you keep the muscle memory and that you'll still be quick on your feet when your regular classes start again. The easiest way to do this is to see if there's a studio in your area that offers open classes in the summer. For example, my studio offers 3 classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for those who are interested to keep their technique up parr. If you're on holiday and can't find a studio in your area, give yourself a class in your hotelroom or find a gym. You could do the barre exercises that you do in class, and try out a couple new moves that you usually wouldn't do in class.

You could also put on some music and improvise, to keep your body moving and to see what you can come up with without the extra pressure from your dance teachers.

Summer vacation is also a great time to experiment with new crosstraining activities. You could take classes at yoga or pilates studios, go to the gym, ride a bike, go swimming, any activity that will keep you moving. The most important thing to work on, I'd say would be flexibility. Make sure you stretch at least every other day if you can, and stretch your whole body - don't ignore your arms and back. (We'll be posting an advised stretching routine soon!)

Last but not least, have fun! By no means do you have to do this. It's simply a recommendation for those of you who want to take dance more seriously but don't know where to get started. Don't be upset or disappointed with yourself if you miss a day if scheduled training - it's summer(!) have fun and create as many new memories as possible.

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