Long Break

[Dancebug]

What was the longest break you took from dance practice just before a competition? We are about to leave for a vacation that will last about two weeks, and we are going to compete in a week after we come back. We will have a lot of catch-ups to do at work after we come back, which means we will not have much time to prepare for the competition. Practicing during vacation is not feasible. I am nervous, but it is not an issue for my partner, he says. Have you ever gone to a competition after a long break? What was it like?

 

[fascination]

sounds scarey...I feel your pain..I've never gone through it but am about to have a similar situation...and yea, its stressful...I'll let you know how it went at the end of July

 

[skwiggy]

One year right before Nationals, my partner went on vacation with his wife for over a week. We met up in the town where Nationals was being held two days early, and found a local studio to practice in. Right before he left for vacation we had some of our worst practices ever. Needless to say, that made me even more nervous about the break. But when we came back together, everything just fell into place. We danced better than we ever could have hoped for that year, and our placements were pretty good too.

I think sometimes a little time off can help things to sort of sink in. It can also help refresh you a bit, and give you the chance to take a step back and stop beating the same old issues to death. Somehow, it allows you to "just dance" a bit more. So I think you'll be just fine.

 

[Katarzyna]

We just danced Polish open with over 10 days of no practice at all whatsoever... plus tons of planes trains and busses. it was painful...

 

[mamboqueen]

How'd it go, Kat?

 

[Katarzyna]

painfully bad.. but it was a good experience

 

[LXC]

Yes, we have gone on vacation right before competitions. It made the few practices before the comp a bit stressful just because I was mentally nervous, but the actual competition went well.

I agree with skwiggy, taking breaks help.

 

[star_gazer]

painfully bad.. but it was a good experience

Maybe you should start a "lessons learned" string? On the bright side...you did very well in Rising Star at Blackpool.

 

[Katarzyna]

you did very well in Rising Star at Blackpool.

results wise yes, dancing wise not really... our dancing was so inconsistent, and the results showed. but yes we did learn a lot.. and it was definitely worth it....