While you may only be a few months into your dance studio's competition season, it’s time to start thinking about summer.
Competitive dance is basically a year round sport with most teams taking a little break some time in summer. How you and your dancer decide to spend it can determine their happiness, health and success in the following year. Taking the time to plan summer training, intensives and most importantly, rest, is critical.
Depending upon your dancer’s age and their goals, several different options for summer time should be considered. Even before considering these options and looking into making plans, take the time to evaluate what you believe your dancer’s areas of growth may be. Where do you feel they could use the most work and where do you feel they have already seen the most growth? Then ask these same questions of your dancer. Once you are both aligned, take into consideration the following summer dance opportunities:
1. Intensives: Usually a few days long or even a full week in summer, intensives offer back to back classes in one location from a variety of choreographers in a variety of styles. Intensives can fill up quickly if they offer some of the most popular choreographers. Use the prior year to research which summer intensives your dancers favorite choreographers taught. Notate it somewhere so you can go back and reference so you can register before they fill up. Things to consider when choosing your intensives are: location, faculty and styles covered. Some intensives are style specific (examples: Joffreys, Lacey’s ballroom, etc) while others cover all or most popular styles. Registration can sometimes require an invitation, auditions or an application.
2. Private lessons: These are great if your dancer has a specific skill or area of dance that they need to work on. Private lessons can be offered through your studio or if you are traveling to an area where there is someone who specializes in a style your dancer needs to work on, it may be an opportunity to combine travel and training. Usually private lessons are the most expensive and prices are based on an hourly rate. But the trade off is that your dancer receives individual, focused training in the area of their/your choice.
3. Supplemental training at home or online: This option is much more cost effective and involves no travel. Supplemental at home training can be as equally focused and effective as private lessons. So many companies and individuals offer supplemental training programs- examples are Bodybreakers, Blake J Stanley and Farfalla Stretch. Some offer “mentorship’s” where you not only have training but also feedback and interaction with other students in the same mentorship program. The results from additional strength training can extend well past summer strengthening muscles and prepping supporting joints will ensure ideal ankle alignment and stability.
Encouraging your dancer to make use of some key dance accessories like resistance bands, appropriate performance socks and compression accessories can ensure maximized results from this additional training. Brands like Apolla Performance offer socks that not only provide support and stability through dancing and training but also offer pain relief and support in recovery after these activities.
4. College Dance Prep: Similar to other sports “combines” where athletes attend to gain exposure, experience and learn more about the organizations they hope to potentially join in the future, summer dance programs geared toward high school dancers can offer lots of opportunities. These “camps” serve to familiarize the dancers with what the audition process for college teams and what dancing for a college team could look like. But it also introduces these older dancers to people who may be involved with or manage, coach and/or choreograph for these teams. Sometimes these camps are hosted by the college teams themselves ( some examples are Brigham Young Dance and University of Oregon). Other times the camps are hosted by third parties who invite both dancers and team representatives to be involved. Examples of these third parties are Tribe 99, AMDA, and Varsity Spirit Dance Combine. Research far enough in advance as many combines will require travel.
5. REST: Perhaps the most overlooked thing when dancers are planning their summer, rest is critical in allowing your dancer to be successful, happy and balanced. Scheduling set days off from dance and encouraging activities with family and friends that have nothing to do with their sport can keep a dancer energized and excited about dancing AND can deter burnout. Physical rest allows muscle recovery and keeps joints from being overworked. To supplement recovery, compression socks can be worn while your dancer is resting. Apollo performance also offers a number of these socks which encourage recovery at various parts of the foot, ankle and leg.
Preparation is key to success in most sports activities. Using your dancers' summers to prepare for their future season can result in monumental growth in strength and confidence. Start your summer planning now to ensure this growth!
