Guess what? You don’t have to spend hours training outside of dance class in order to improve. Really. You don’t. In fact, you could do more harm than good if you are overdoing it. If you are getting sick often, having recurring injuries, feeling excessively tired and/or lacking in motivation, chances are that you are overtraining. In training to improve … Read More
TURNOUT – Are you doing it correctly?
What ARE these pictures? These are your six – yes, SIX – muscles responsible for external rotation of the leg, i.e. TURNOUT. These six external rotator muscles are found deep within your bum under your gluteal muscles on each side (which means each of you actually has TWELVE). These muscles connect your sacrum, hip and pelvis bones to your femur … Read More
Are you training the right muscle fibers?
We all have two general types of muscle fibers, fast twitch and slow twitch. Fast twitch muscle fibers are engaged in explosive powerful movements, such as jumping and sprinting. Slow twitch muscle fibers are involved in endurance exercises, such as marathon running and lifting lighter weights for a longer period of time. Since Irish dancers are on stage for only … Read More
What kind of a student are you in dance class?
Do you just show up, run mindlessly through your steps, and then do it all over again the next class? Or do you really listen to what your TCRG is saying to you (and to everyone else…you can also learn from their mistakes), and try to work on those constructive critiques throughout your dancing? Do you FOCUS on the things … Read More
CONSISTENCY is key.
Are you impatient? I am. If I am working on something, I want to see results NOW! Unfortunately that is not always the way it works, especially if you are trying to improve elements of your dancing. In fact, I think it took almost a whole year for me to stop getting negative comments about my turnout. In order to … Read More