how many hours should i practice per week?

[rippytrippy]

hellO I'm rippy i like just joined cuz i wanted to ask a qwestion lol
i'm in like intermediate-advanced level dancing, don't have pointe yet (tho i prolly will soon) and i'm taking 4-5 classes per week so around 4 hours in a class on most weeks but 2 weeks in a month I'll have an extra, 3hr long class so yeh

i try to practice at home but uhh.nmgfd im lazy and actually relatively undisciplined (i'm trying, ok...)

so anyway i was just wondering: for my level how many hours of dancing should i cram into a 7day week? i feel like if i had a number i'd be able to knock out that goal easier.

tia!

 

[opendoor]

I would think its already too much, because you should not only focus on dancing. General compensatory training, stretching, muscle building, balancing, juggling (for your brain), endurance and so on MUST flank all dancing.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

ok so like theres no 1 right answer about how many hrs to practice. it depends on what else u have to do in ur life also u mentioned pointe so im thinking u do ballet. this forum is for ballroom dance which is partner dancing. the amt of practice needed is diff if u have partner or dance alone. & the WAY u practice matters more than the # of hrs cuz just putting in time w/out concentrating isnt worth much
if u rly want to improve u have to not b lazy and yeah actually u nd self-discipline. also private lessons r rly helpful & not only group classes
idk what intermediate-advanced level dancing means cuz theres a sliding scale & ppl define that differently but um i have to say that w/out practice at home then idk how advanced someone can b

so yeah anyway good luck & keep dancing!

 

[rippytrippy]

ahh thanks y'all
(bro i thought this was a forum for any type of dancing ;-; oh well lol)

 

[David_In_CA]

ahh thanks y'all
(bro i thought this was a forum for any type of dancing ;-; oh well lol)

I think all are welcome here, but you're not going to find many people here who identity first as ballet or contemporary dancers. Our advice might miss some nuances of those worlds.

 

[fiesta0618]

Hi @rippytrippy, and welcome!

so anyway i was just wondering: for my level how many hours of dancing should i cram into a 7day week? i feel like if i had a number i'd be able to knock out that goal easier.

For better or worse, none of us can give you a number without more information, because the amount you should practice depends on what you want to achieve.

Do you want to be the absolute best dancer possible, and eventually become a professional? Then you should spend almost all of your free time practicing.

By contrast, are you doing dance just for the fun and social aspects of being in dance class, and don't really care how skilled you become? Then there's no reason to practice at all.

If you goals lie somewhere in between "professional" and "don't really care," your practice hours should be somewhere in between, too. But we can't offer any more concrete recommendations without knowing your goals.

 

[dancepro]

First, what is your desired end goal?
Second, it is not about how much time you spend practicing, it is more about the quality of practice.
I always tell couples I coach, not practice too much as it will have the opposite effect, than what they are looking for... it is just as easy to practice good technique as practicing bad technique. If you are practicing bad technique, it is difficult to go back and get it corrected. As my teacher said “pounding floors will not improve your dancing”.
There are several kinds of practice.
1) Mental awareness
2) Your jobs
3) Execution
4) Partnership
If I were to give a percentage for each it would be... 1) 80% 2) 10% 3) 7% 4) 3%
So better to practice with efficiency and only practice principles and facts. Your emotions will show up as you develop confidence in what you are doing. Doing this kind of practice, doesn’t need to take long. I know one couple used this method and did the execution part (3) a total of 4 hours a week and was a US Champion doing just that...

 

[Warren J. Dew]

hellO I'm rippy i like just joined cuz i wanted to ask a qwestion lol
i'm in like intermediate-advanced level dancing, don't have pointe yet (tho i prolly will soon) and i'm taking 4-5 classes per week so around 4 hours in a class on most weeks but 2 weeks in a month I'll have an extra, 3hr long class so yeh

I think asking your instructor would be the best bet. One of the things you are doing at your stage is to strengthen particular muscles in preparation for pointe work; it's easy to overdo strength exercises so doing more may not be the solution there. Stretches, on the other hand, can be done every day, so if you need more flexibility, you could do those each day.

Getting to class ahead of time so you can warm up before class may be more useful than added practice time at home.

 

[debs]

Whenever I can practice I do. I don't do set times as work can get in the way.
I agree that arriving early for a class and warming up if possible is a great help.