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3 Tips for Dancing after Covid-19

06/04/2020
iStrength | Warm Up
It’s clear you’ve done all you can to keep your dancers moving during the pandemic and despite your hours on Zoom doing classes,  your dancers were most likely confined to their bedrooms or living rooms without the ability to be dancing full out.
While I’m sure you and your dancers are excited to push hard in the studio, be mindful that your dancer’s bodies may not be.
As your dancers are coming back to you de-conditioned their flexibility, endurance and strength will need time to rebuild so check out the tips below for getting your dancers back where they want to be dancing safely, with strength training.
3 Tips to Dancing After Covid- 19

 

1. Make  Room For Strength Training:

I can feel the stress rising when you think about taking even a second away from running your dancing routines, especially when you haven’t had everyone together in one room for a long, long time.However, working your dancer’s strength will only add to class productivity as skills get stronger, movements become more powerful and you have less to clean and fix.

OPTION 1 ON HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR CLASS

  • Dynamic warm up (walking lunges across the floor)
  • Stretch
  • Select  2 upper body exercises , 2 core exercises and 2 lower body exercises that correlate with the skills you’ll be working on in class
  • Alternating between upper, core and lower, do each exercise 10 – 15 times
  • This is about 6 -8 minutes of your class but you’ll be spending it on specific and effective exercises for your skills.
  • From here, go on with the rest of your class.

OPTION 2 ON HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR CLASS

  • Dynamic warm up (walking lunges across the floor)
  • Stretch
  • Begin your class and when there are about 25 minutes left do a quick circuit.
  • Select 2 upper body exercises , 2 core exercises and 2 lower body exercises THAT INVOLVE JUMPING OR ARE CARDIO BASED.
  • Alternating between upper, core and lower, do each exercise for 40 – 60 seconds switching legs or sides half way through if needed.
  • This circuit will work your dancer’s endurance and strength but because it’s only a few minutes they’ll have enough steam to get through the rest of class.
  • From here, go on with the rest of your class.

All of the exercises I’ve provided on Dancer-Fitness.com are specifically designed for dancers and their skills. So take some time to use our filtering tool to search for TURNS, LEAPS, KICKS or any other skills you’re touching on in class and use them with the tips above.

 2. Begin With the Basics

 

Having a room full of de-conditioned dancers is the perfect opportunity to bring it back to the basics of strength training.
Focus on simple movements like planks, push ups, wall sits,  glute bridges and balancing exercises to help dancers:
  • Mindfully connect with their muscles
  • Fire the muscles they need for each skill
  • Properly warm up injury prone areas like the ankles and hips
  3. Grease the Squeaky Wheel

 

Getting ahead of injuries while also building strength would personally be my goal for my dancers if I were still coaching. If you and I share this goal, here are some exercises to implement to ensure injury prone areas (ankles, hips, backs and hamstrings) get the attention they need:
  One Leg Hip Bridge (ankles, hamstring, low back, glutes, core)

 

  Knee Drive (ankles and hips)

 

  Hip Flexion (ankles and hips)

 

  Up Down Planks (Back, Core, Glutes)

 

Don’t forget to be mindful of the material you’re expecting your dancers to execute, look for dancer specific resources and healthcare professionals to offer their support and encourage your dancers to give themselves grace as they navigate their movements on a post pandemic body.

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