At a time where the world has been urged to stand still, dancers and choreographers everywhere are searching for ways to keep moving at home and stay inspired. We’re here with some pointers for you on how to stay proactive and stimulated in your downtime.
#1: Create a New Routine
Establish a routine to create consistency with your days. Decide when you’ll wake up, work out, take an online class, have office hours, relax and watch a movie, FaceTime family or friends, etc. Scheduling your day even when you’re at home can increase productivity and give a sense of normalcy to your week.
#2: Get Fresh Air
While keeping social distancing in mind, it is helpful to get out and about. Take a walk in your neighborhood or enjoy an outdoor workout. Find other activities such as reading, listening to music or office work that you can do in an outdoor area. Fresh air can do your mind good and lift your spirits.
#3: Find New Inspiration
We are used to moving from one thing to the next and slowing down usually isn’t an option granted to us. As the world is forcing us to take a break, take advantage of the time you now have to do things you may not necessarily make the time for on a regular day. One thing that is great to stimulate your mind is researching dancers, choreographers, and anything else entertainment related. Whether it is a movie, a world tour, or conceptual videos, now is the time to jump in and get inspired. We have everything at our fingertips on the internet- all that is needed is a little curiosity and time!
#4: Expand Your Creativity
Along with finding new inspiration, now is a good time to use that to expand your own creativity. This could be in the form of developing and writing down ideas for future projects, broadening your vision on current things you have in the works, or when it comes to movement, freestyling to explore and enhance your skills. A lot of us have things we may have set on the back burner due to overload of daily work that we now have plenty of time to tackle. Dive in!
#5: Stay Connected to Your Body
Some days you may not feel like dancing, but it is important to still find a way to keep your mind and body connected. Whether you want to stretch, go through a warm-up from your favorite technical class, strength train or do yoga to stay centered, these are all are good options that will encourage consistency without feeling forced.
#6: Keep Moving
Along with other forms of exercise, maintaining your muscle memory for picking up choreography is key. Classes are essential in this practice. We are very fortunate to have many resources right now to take class from home, and although it is not the same as being in the room with an instructor, we’ve got access to some incredibly talented choreographers. Dance educators everywhere are hosting free live classes on Instagram on the daily. If you’re looking for something more consistent, you have access to some of the world’s top instructors on TMILLY TV, where you can learn at your own pace right in your living room. We are fortunate that technology is at a point where online dance classes are so easily accessible.
#7: Practice Your Truth
No matter what you choose to do with the time you have, keep in mind that this is temporary. We are living through a moment in time that the whole world is learning from; one we can hopefully avoid repeating in the future. We may not have control over when things will go back to normal, but we can always choose what we do with our days.
Be good to yourself, listen to what you need for YOU each day, keep your head up, and keep dancing!
