There are plenty of summer programs available to dancers of all ages. There are programs offered by the major ballet companies, musical theater and modern programs and sleepover camps that involve some type of dancing. All of these programs are beneficial in one way or another to dancers. However, if they are out of reach for any of your students, there are some other ways to help your dancers to not only maintain their current strength, but increase it in preparation for the Fall. Especially in these economic times, we need to find ways to encourage dancers who are serious about staying in shape, yet are on a low budget.
You could ask your studio owner to incorporate some fun fitness classes into the summer programs, which in turn would give you, as a teacher, more income over the summer months. Ideas include:
Classes such as Pilates mat classes, Floor barre class using lots of props like different size exercise balls and resistance bands, dancers generally like trying out the different ways to use these props.
Hip Hop Fitness and Zumba classes these are a fun way to get your dancers in shape from an aerobic standpoint incorporating high energy music and moves.
Stretch classes dancers also love finding different ways to get their bodies to respond I have found that when dancers really get involved with different ways to stretch their bodies and find that they can get into the splits and sit in a great second position and arch their backs correctly, they suddenly realize how much better their positions are and how better they are able to get into the air for their grand jetes. Life is suddenly a lot nicer!
Summer is a great time to instill this type of work ethic into your dancers. They are more relaxed because they dont have the pressures of school and the weather is more conducive to stretching and just feeling better in your body. This type of training will definitely carry through to your regular classes during the year, so it is well worth the teachers effort to help the dancers discover their newfound strengths.
Working one-on-one prior to the end of your session or during the summer is a great way to keep dancers motivated and strong. If I identify that a child has a particular issue that would benefit from some extra work, I talk to their parents about working one-on-one with them. If there is a financial problem you can help by having even one session with the dancer. Make sure that they bring a notebook with them so that they can write down each exercise that you give them and then they can make a plan to do the exercises a number of times each week. With this type of work I generally give the dancer a series of perhaps eight exercises suitable for whatever type of strengthening we are going for. I make it so that it can be done in 15 minutes and I let them know that it is important to reserve a special time in their day to do them. The idea is that you really want the dancer to do the exercises so that it will be beneficial to them, but you dont want them to feel so overloaded that they give up. I like to work mainly with resistance bands for this type of training and my main three reasons for this are: 1.They really work. 2.The dancer can take that band with them wherever they go, they can put it in an overnight bag and take it with them on vacation. 3.They are inexpensive.
I try also to give them motivational reasons to keep on doing their exercises by arranging to have strength or stretching contests right after the summer. This works well because they are enthusiastic about show offing to their friends and I generally give a small prize to the dancer who has made the most progress through their consistent work. Sometimes it might be movie tickets with a coupon for refreshments or a small gift certificate to a dancewear store. Ask your school owner if they would be willing to provide these small prizes.
Make suggestions to your students of ways that they can enjoy being outside in the fresh air and still do something that will benefit them with their dancing during the rest of the year. Excellent ways to not only maintain strength, but to develop more are:
Bicycling: An excellent way to strengthen leg muscles, abdominals, glutes and lower back.
Swimming: Great overall conditioning in a non-impact way.
Hiking: Terrific outdoor activity that works the major muscle groups.
Walking on the beach: Excellent for the legs and also very helpful for strengthening the feet.
These are four great ways to enjoy the summer with their friends, but constantly working on their bodies in preparation for the Fall semester. Encourage your dancers to understand that if they continue to work on their bodies over the summer months, they will reap great benefits during the other months in the year, and you will definitely see improvement in their technique. This will make it easier for you as a teacher to get the results you are looking for without having to start at square one in the beginning of the school year.
