For those who were there last Thursday, you know most of the details. For those who were not, here are the ones you need to know:
These injuries can happen in dance. But we would still like to minimise the frequency and severity. One way to minimise both is to ensure that you dance as instructed. Ballroom is, despite what many might assume, the most dangerous of partner dances - if lifts and dips are excluded. That is why, in class, we talk so much about the right frame to ensure that people dance with the right alignment and connection. Therefore, please, when you are next in dance class, focus on ensuring you always dance with the right embrace. Never, let the figure compromise the embrace. If you can't do the figure without compromising the embrace, then do not dance the figure. The same goes for your partner. If you feel unsafe dancing with them, then ask (if following) or say (if leading) that only simple figures will be done. You are entitled to choose not to dance with someone if you feel unsafe with them or if you feel they are not safe for themselves. Another way to minimise both the frequency and severity of an injury to the foot is to wear proper footwear. Closed toe shoes (ballroom ladies shoes are closed toe - while Latin ladies shoes may be open toed) will prevent your toe nail from catching on another shoe. Suede soles (in the case of leads especially) lack the grip and geometry to catch a toe nail should it be exposed. Also, the soft soles allow less pressure to be placed on a partners foot should you stand on in. And the thinner sole gives a person a better sensation of what is underfoot so your instinct to lift your foot - and prevent injury to another if you apply pressure to their foot - can be better utilised. Therefore, if you have been dancing for some time, then you should have proper dance shoes and dance with a proper frame. And, regardless of how long you have been dancing for, ensure you are dancing within your and and your partner's ability. Thank you for reading this and now choosing to take action to ensure your own and other dancers' safety.
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A SHOW WITH YOUR TEACHERS Prepare to be dazzled and entertained by "Music of the Century! Take a journey from back to the 1920s all the way through to the 2020s. 100 years of hits! This entertaining show is filled with LIVE singing, Latin dancing, rock n roll, foxtrot and more! We are certain you'll be tapping your feet. Both Jess and Anita will be in this so it will make it that bit more engaging for you. Pheonix Theatre Elwood 8pm 15 October 2022 Get your tickets now at Eventbrite below: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/424064978767 A TV SHOW YOU SHOULD WATCH I often talk about the benefits of dance to your health. If you have not yet seen it, then there will be a program on the ABC about an experiment to test this theory. Take a look at Keep On Dancing on ABC tomorrow night - https://iview.abc.net.au/show/keep-on-dancing. CLASSES THIS WEEK Monday 7:30pm: Salsa Tuesday 6:30pm: Samba Wednesday 7:30pm: Rock and Roll Thursday 6:30pm: Quick Step (the swing of ballroom) See you on the dance floor Clint In this update:
AWARDS We will see the year out with an awards night and BBQ (thus there will be a cover charge for yourself and friends and family who attend). So if you are getting ready for this or thinking about it, then make sure you are focused – it’s really not that far away. More details to come. NORMALITY The last couple weeks had some unexpected holidays and cancellations. However, we are now back to normal. So looking forward to getting into dance like we have done before. A NEW ANGLE ON THE SUBSCRIPTION CLASSES I have recently started an online campaign to promote the 4 dance classes a week as a fun and social alternative to other physical activities like gym. If you know someone who is looking for a fun and social way to get active, then please let them know about this. HELP WITH WEDDING COUPLES We have not had many wedding couples for a while – due to COVID. But lately, we have had quite a few. One of the things we do at Destine Dance is to have couples to do their routine at the end of a group class. This is so they can practice performing in front of people and be more prepared on the day. Gurpal and I hope to each have a wedding couple ready for the end of tonight’s group class. So be ready to enjoy a performance or 2 and emulate a wedding party. A FELLOW STUDENT’S BUSINESS If any student has a business to promote, then we are always happy to do so. You can see them here - https://www.destinedance.com.au/partner-companies.html. I have just added Magic Kids Life who provide excursions and incursions for kids to see a play about bullying. Click the link above to read more and share with anyone you know who might want to use that service. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PART TIME WORK Join the entertainment industry working as a performer. Silent Discos for Kids are currently looking for dynamic, energetic performers or teachers who are passionate about working with children in a fun environment, running events for primary school incursions and excursions. All training will be done online or in person if preferred. If you have an outgoing, engaging personality, work well in a team, are reliable, punctual have experience working with children, have a car and drivers license, a Working With Children’s Check/Blue Card, Covid digital certificate, are an Australian resident and love to dance, act or sing, then we would love to hear from you. Flexible hours (mainly weekend and school holidays). Perfect for Teachers/Student Teachers, Dance Instructors, Kids Entertainers, Sport Coaches, Performers... Join a dynamic fun team of facilitators in your state, running silent disco events, or running unique character parties with original stories, songs and programs for children in Australia. Contact - Charise [email protected] CLASSES THIS WEEK
See you on the dance floor Clint When you learn dance, it is likely for only one or two reasons. Usually it is for fun. You might have seen it for a while and wanted to do it yourself. Or maybe it was simply because you thought you needed a hobby and dance seemed as good as any other. However, there can be other benefits that you never expected.
Love life When you can dance you have an automatic mechanism to meet people of the opposite (or even the same) sex. That can by default lead to romance. This can especially be so for men. One Destine Dance student recently told me about how he was at a bar where there was music playing that he could dance to (he liked Lindy Hop and the bar was playing classic rock that suited) and a woman randomly happened to ask if he could dance. He then dished out a quick dance lesson to a couple women and had others asking to dance with him. While this culminated in one woman asking to go back to his place, he did the gentlemanly thing and declined because she had had a bit too much to drink. Nevertheless, this is anecdote shows how dance can indeed boost your love live. But you need not be for singles only. Better social life When you can dance, you now have something else you can do when going out. This can be ideal for couples. Sometimes you can be stuck at home doing the same thing and not knowing what to do. There are always dance events on somewhere. You can always go out dancing. This can help with any relationship that needs something extra to it. This benefit is applicable to singles too of course. I have used dance as a way to connect with people when travelling. Dance is fairly harmonised these days so what you learn here you can use around the globe. Whenever I land in a new place, I find the local dance event, I go there and then I am instantly meeting new people. You seem more sophisticated The fact is that we assume people who can dance are just that bit more sophisticated. When you go to a wedding or similar event with a dance floor - or maybe even when you are just out with people and there happens to be a dance floor - you're able to make use of it. These days that is a rarity. When you have that rare skill you just stand out as being more sophisticated. You grow (physically that is) It only takes a few lessons before your teacher will start talking about posture. The act of maintaining your posture in dance will strengthen your postural muscles in general. This will give you better posture all the time. I know one student who was told by his doctor that he was a centimetre taller than he was at the last check up (before he took dance lessons). This all came from his strengthened posture muscles. You drink less When you go out to dance, you have something to do. That means you no longer feel the need to drink as much. This phenomenon is well known. It was one of the reasons why disco became a line dance culture even though it started with partner dancing and almost became the next great wave of partner dancing in western culture. The bar owners noticed how much less people drank when they (partner) danced. This cut into profits, and action was taken to encourage line dancing. You feel better Because of much of the above, you simply feel better in your self. Dance is an excellent way to boost your self esteem and sense of well-being. And there it is - some of the unforeseen benefits of learning to dance. If you have any others, then please share them in the comments below. We're always keen to hear how dance helps people. Many of us know we need to exercise to lose weight. However, to get right to the point, exercise sucks! We need something that is active, but fun. If you don’t like sport so much or feel that it might be hard on the joints, then you need to look elsewhere.
This leads many of us to consider dance as an avenue to weight loss. But just how much energy does dancing burn? The slower types of dance are a lot like walking when it comes to burning energy. The faster dances are a lot like jogging. That means an hour of dancing could be like going for a good walk or a reasonable jog. If you take a couple classes a week and then go out to dance as well, then you have a pretty good weekly work out. However, that is just the energy burned at the time. Dance will increase your strength by building muscles and tone. The act of building muscle also burns energy so you will get benefits even when you are not dancing as your body burns energy rebuilding itself. It is about looking good no? Most of us want to lose weight so we look better. Dance will improve your posture and your movement. That will mean that as well as losing weight, you will also look better because of the dancers posture you will now have. But health is important. Dance, by building muscle, providing cardio exercise and improving posture, will provide health benefits that will augment the benefits that come from losing weight. You can expect grater bone density, grater movement of joints and health from better poise. Dance is thus an ideal part of any weight loss program. Just feeling better. Weight loss, buy improving health and appearance, makes us feel better. If you are looking for that general sense of wellness, then dance is again ideal. The social nature of it, it’s opportunity to learn, the endorphins from the activity and its sense of fun, all combine to make dance an ideal hobby for those simply wanting to feel better. When you feel better, weight loss becomes easier too. Based on the above, dance is indeed going to help with weight loss. Considering how dance is social and fun, it makes it more enticing than many other forms of exercise. So, you are much more likely to stick at dance than you are at the alternatives. However, dance also offers benefits beyond weight loss. Benefits that augment the effects of weight loss. If you want to consider dance as a way of losing weight, then try a free trial lesson. |
AuthorThis blog is written by the staff at Destine Dance and is inspired by the questions and challenges faced by our students Archives
December 2024
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