You’ve done it! You and your partner have committed to attending that dancesport competition you’ve always dreamed of. The date is on the calendar and you’ve already requested off work. This is happening!
“But wait,” you say to yourself, “how do I get ready for a DanceSport competition?” Follow this simple guide and you’ll be prepped and primed in no time.
1. Let Yourself Get Excited!
As shivers of excitement run down your spine, enjoy them! Anticipating the competition is one of the universal joys of Dancesport, experienced by professionals and amateurs alike. Many dancers say they feel a tingle of energy when thinking about their next opportunity to get out on the floor. Take that energy and use it to fuel your preparations!
In your practices, remind yourself of how exciting it will feel to perform out on the floor, and let that thrill brighten your eyes and lift your frame. Imagine your partner’s smile of anticipation before taking the floor. It’s okay to feel a little scared; this is all part of the process. By pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone you will be making leaps and bounds as both a competitor and dancer. Don’t believe me? Watch this!
Just like a road trip, getting there is half the fun of the competition. Enjoy the ride!
2. Set Your Goals
Still riding that surge of motivation, set some goals. Spend time alone developing your personal goals and then work with your partner to set partnership goals based on your shared values. Partnerships work best when the personal goals of both partners complement the goals that are set as a partnership.
Your goals needn’t be grandiose! “Make one audience member smile” is a great, simple goal that nobody should feel ashamed to have.
A Word of Caution: Keep in mind what you do and do not have control over in Dancesport. “Win the Rhythm Scholarship” may be a poor goal because there are so many factors that you cannot control. There will always be some dancers who are better than you, and some who are not. Depending on who decides to register in your level at the competition, you may be at the top or bottom of the heap. Importantly, that doesn’t say anything about you as a dancer. What does say something about you is your ability to have fun, perform, and improve over time.
“Smile during every dance of the Rhythm Scholarship” turns out to be a great goal, because not only does it have to do with your dancing, it is measurable (look at your videos after the competition!) and it actually makes you more likely to win the Rhythm Scholarship as well. Win-win!
Wherever possible, focus on the process of dancing (“I want to nail every heel lead in tango!”) rather than the product (“I want to win tango”) and you will find yourself having more fun and, not surprisingly, placing better as a result.
3. Take Care of Reservations & Planning.
The more you do in advance, the more fun you will have at your Dancesport competition. Start by making a plan for yourself that addresses the following six categories:
Registration – Make sure you and your partner are registered! There are often early-bird rates, so get in as early as you can. If you find the registration confusing, feel free to ask a friend or email the registrar. Once you’ve got your registration taken care of, the rest will be simple.
Transportation – If your competition is in another city you will probably need to make travel arrangements (flights, rental cars, etc.) well in advance. Taking care of these reservations early will make for a relaxing, fun trip.
Lodging – Just like transportation, it pays to do this well in advance. Many competitions are held in hotel convention centers and room blocks can go quickly, especially at larger competitions. Reserving your space now is just one phone call away.
Costume – Plan out what you are going to wear and make sure it is in good condition before the competition. If any repairs or cleaning is needed, plan to get this done at least two weeks in advance. If you have questions about what you should wear or have never danced at a competition, ask your professional instructor–they’ll point you in the right direction for your age and category. If you still have questions, look here for a fun guide. Aim to have your competition costume and shoes ready to go two weeks before the competition. You’ll need them for practice.
Food – Though it may not seem as immediate as the first four, it pays to have a plan for your meals. Will you eat at the hotel restaurant or go out on the town for food? What kind of snacks will you bring to make sure your energy peaks on the competition floor? Keep in mind sound nutritional principles. I’ve personally gotten a lot of mileage from the ketogenic diet but your mileage may vary.
Packing List – It may seem cheesy, but a packing list is the best way to ensure you and your dance shoes don’t end up 500 miles apart on the day of the competition (and yes, I have actually seen that happen!). There are some general items that everyone will need to bring, but packing lists are usually very specific to the individual. The act of creating the packing list itself will make you far less likely to forget anything important. Eventually you’ll tweak your packing list to fit your style and the competition. For an example packing list, click here.
Taking these steps will set you up for a smooth, enjoyable competition experience.
4. Plan your Practice and Practice your Plan
In the weeks leading up to the competition you should plan to practice slightly more than normal. Work with your professional coach or instructor to determine the amount of practice you’ll need to achieve your goals, then set your schedule accordingly. It is important to practice both technique and performance skills leading up to the competition. Your routines should feel comfortable but not boring. The best performers (that’s you!) push the boundaries of their comfort zone while enjoying the act of dancing.
As the competition draws closer, practice your plan for the competition itself. Find example rounds of the dances you will be doing on Youtube and practice walking on the floor, dancing, re-positioning, and acknowledging the audience with a smile as the cheers and music play in the background. It’s important to rehearse these seemingly minor aspects of the dance in order to perform well–you don’t want an awkward transition tarnishing an otherwise skillful dance. In addition, see if you can find opportunities to perform in front of a live audience prior to the competition. Local showcases often work well for this. Work on eye contact, facial expression, and relaxed focus in the presence of others. Practicing the competition the way it will be run will give you peace of mind and a leg up on the competition! Here’s an example round:
During the last two weeks of preparation, make sure you wear your competition shoes to break them in and get used to them and do at least one dress rehearsal where you try your costume, makeup, hair, and performance all at once. Take notes on what could work better and, if needed, feel free to do more dress rehearsals until it feels right.
5. Relax and Have Fun!
When you’ve done everything above, the best thing to do is relax. You’re ready! Go out social dancing or watch some competition videos if you need to let off some competitive steam. Dancesport competitions are meant to be enjoyed, not worried about.
When the big day arrives, use your packing list to get everything in order, and then head out to the competition via your chosen mode of transportation. When you get to the hotel, check in and confirm that your reservation is accurate, then head upstairs and unpack your things. If you are rooming with your partner, this is usually a good time to review your goals for the weekend and get excited together! Execute your well-practiced plan on the competitive floor and have a great time. Don’t forget to stick around and watch other dancers–Dancesport is a visual sport after all! The dancing you see throughout the weekend will inspire you to new heights.
In my own personal experience with the Vegan diet I’ve had to kind of ‘wing it’ I haven’t had the luxury of having a nutritionist telling me what, what not and especially how much to eat. I’m a firm believer in what you put in, you get out, so naturally I’ve wanted to fuel myself with the best possible foods and nutrients to help me perform at my best. It hasn’t necessarily been a straight road, but it has definitely been a positive one
Just B12
I get a lot of questions when people find out I eat plant-based.. “Calcium? Iron? Where do you get your energy?” but my favourite is probably “But where do you get your protein from?!”. Tofu, beans, vegetables anyone? In fairness that is a pretty valid question though because we do mostly relate protein to animal meat, but that’s not the only place you can get it! Another common question I get is “ok Rach, but what supplements do you have to take?”, to which my response is apart from B12… nothing! Now that’s not to say that that may change in the near future but at the moment I don’t feel like I need anything and through often tracking my daily intake on platforms such as My Fitness Pal (so handy it has an app for your iPhone so that you can track while you’re on the go!) and cronometer.com I can honestly say Im hitting all my nutritional targets with food alone!
A Quick Break Down
Now, for those of you out there wondering what on earth I consume in a day, this part’s for you! I’m not a robot so my intakes do vary depending on how intense my training is but lets face it, us dancers are pretty close to athletes with what we do. I classify it similarly to ballet; athletes creating art. We need energy to be athletic, but we still need to look like dancers.. ahh the common dilemma! So I thought I would show you a small food diary of a general day for me. Let me just say that I’m not a dietician or a nutritionist so please don’t think this is a ‘guide’ for what you should be eating. I merely supplied it to prove that on the Vegan diet you can get in enough protein, fats, carbs and vitamins without substituting calories along the way. For those of you playing out there, I’m 160cm tall and 26 years old
Breakfast: Smoothie • 3 bananas • 1 cup mixed berries • 1 tsp (heaped hehe) peanut butter • 1 handful frozen spinach • 6 dates • ½ cup unsweetened almond milk • 1 cup cold water
Snack: Large Soy Latte (mm mm mmmmm!)
Lunch: Falafel Wrap • 1 wholemeal wrap • 1 handful lettuce/mixed leaves • 3 cherry tomatoes • ½ carrot • ¼ cup cucumber and capsicum • 1 shallot (spring onion) • 1 baby beetroot • 1 tbs hummus • 1 apple • black coffee • 1 tsp coconut sugar
That’s a pretty normal day for me but what you need may be completely different! Hitting a total of 2003 calories and pretty much smashing all my targets, it just goes to show you can do it through eating plant-based! Also, don’t worry about the low Vitamin D percentage as I live in Australia so its safe to say I’m getting most of my Vitamin D through that sunshine. I don’t tend to snack a lot but if I do get hungry between meals I usually have some fresh fruit (whatever is in season or some dried mango.. I’m addicted to it! I also take a 1000mg B12 supplement twice a week and sometimes if I’m feeling a bit sore I will take a Super Strength Magnesium supplement (great for muscle tiredness, cramps, energy production and healthy nerve function!)
PointView
Start Slow
So, if you are interested in making the switch over to eating more plants and less meat you could definitely start through making a few substitutions. You could stick with your normal daily eating plan but try making one of those meals meat free #meatfreemonday. To make it easier you could try switching out chicken for tofu in your favourite chicken dish or change up a tuna salad for a bean salad. One thing my boyfriend/dance partner did was change from whey protein to pea protein which he now throws into his breakfast smoothies to up his protein intake.
By easing your way into it you have the chance to see how you start to feel after each meal and notice any differences. I used to have bacon, eggs and avocado for brekkie every dang day (fat, fat and more fat I know!) and I used to wonder why I’d have such terrible brain fog. When I swapped over to fruit smoothies the difference in how I felt shocked me! I felt clearer, energised, fresh and ready to start the day… seeya later stodginess!
The key to any diet though, even the vegan one, is to eat a variety of foods which include carbs, fats and protein. If you can set some goals as to how much of each you feel you personally need (or better yet, let some of the websites I mentioned earlier help you!) then the rest is easy… and fun! It does take a bit of trial and error believe me, but I can guarantee you will feel better for it in the long run
There was a time when your feet looked normal. You do not remember it.
You have heard this waltz many times. It must be on repeat. When you check the computer, you realize that it has not been played once this practice.
The endless void of the shoe cubby accepts bobby pins, hair ties, and socks as sacrifices. You always buy an extra pack of hair ties when shopping to appease it. You have too many hair ties.
There are rhinestones everywhere–in your pockets, lying in the lining of your bag, embedded in the soles of your shoes, glittering on the dance floor. They can be found everywhere except on your dress.
Finding fake tan smeared over all of your clothes is a fact of life. There is no such thing as a “white” costume.
The only clothing color in existence is black. Any practicewear that is not black is not practicewear.
