You’ve spent the last several months focused on and tirelessly working towards competing at an Irish dance major. With the competition behind you, NOW WHAT? How do you move forward from the highs and lows of the competition? How do you overcome the obstacles you faced at the competition?
I’m here to help you refocus after an Irish dance major - it’s time to REST, ASSESS, & TAKE ACTION.
STEP 1: REST
Rest your body
After spending day after day in the studio training your technique and strength, it is time to give your body a rest. Many dancers may also have been pushing through a variety of aches and pains. It is important to address those issues and allow your body time to heal so that those issues do not become recurring problems in the future. Give yourself a week or two to get some much needed R&R.
Rest your mind
Attending a major competition can be very emotional and stressful for dancers (parents & teachers, too!). Just as your body needs to rest, so does your mind. Reconnect with friends who you haven’t been able to spend much time with recently, meditate, read a book, do some things outside of dance and training that bring you peace and joy.
STEP 2: ASSESS
Now that you’re rested and refreshed, it’s time to assess what happened at the last competition. Get a notebook and write down everything that went well and everything that could use some improvements. Use the below questions to help guide your assessment.
What was your goal for the major?
Did you reach your goal?
If so, what attributed to you reaching your goal?
If not, what could you have done more of or changed about your training to reach it?
What could you have improved about your TECHNIQUE leading up to the competition (think about all the notes your dance teachers give you…did you correct those?)
What could you have improved about your STRENGTH & FLEXIBILITY to better prepare you for the competition? (more power, hip mobility, leg strength, core stability, etc)
What could you have improved about your MENTALITY before and on the day of the competition? (were you nervous, focused, energized?)
What went well and/or what could you have improved on with your training schedule before the competition?
What makes the dancers at the top of your competition stand out? Are you doing those technical elements? What areas can you improve to also do those technical elements?
STEP 3: TAKE ACTION
We’ve rested, we’ve learned from the last competition, and now, it’s time to take action.
Start off by setting your next goal. What is your next major and what goal do you want to reach?
What do you need to do to reach that goal? Get REAL specific. Look at your assessments from the last competition and most likely, these are the items you need to improve on.
START NOW. Don’t wait until your a couple months out from a major to begin intense training. If you are serious about accomplishing your goals, get serious about them now. Chip away at the elements you need to work on every day. Once you accomplish one, go on to the next.
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Happy Training!
