DANCE!!

Dancing practice has begun. I have been okay'd to do physical activity again. I am able to get back on track and on top of everything. I am getting more flexible everyday, building endurance and stamina, building core strength and over all muscle strength. I start competing in mid-February, around Valentine's Day.
On a different note, my hope for this blog is for the people who read it that it helps them become better dancers and that I will start getting feedback about whether its helpful or not. If people want me to upload a video of the stretches in action or pictures of my dress or anything, then ask. I don't want this to become a boring blog that doesn't help anyone but myself. I hope everyone's holidays was great and that a much needed break was taken and that every has fun on New Year's Eve!
Blog again in the New Year!!!!

Doctor Fun!!!

So tomorrow, Monday December 15th, I go to see a doctor to make sure my lungs are okay for strenuous exercise. And if I get the okay, I will be back in action in no time to get back on track for the physical fitness aspect of this project. If I don't get the okay then I can't continue with the physicality of this project and I just give everyone helpful tips and help strangers with their goals. I hope someone succeeds from reading this blog. Anyways a good way to get flexible for those tight, and high kicks, turns, and whatever else is to stretch everyday. Doing each stretch for thirty seconds on each leg. Good stretches are Butterflies, you put your feet together so the bottoms of your feet are touching and then first you bring your feet as close to you as possible without taking your feet apart. Once your as close as possible, try and get your knees as close to the ground as possible. Once you're as far as you can go lean forward so that you feel the stretch but not so far that it hurts, if it starts to hurt stop stretching. That's the finished product.

Asthma Attack

Unfortunately in the past week, I have suffered from 3 asthma attacks, horrible headaches, and a glitchy computer both at school and at home. Because of my 3 asthma attacks in such a short amount of time I am unable to do any strenuous physical activity, like practicing my steps, running, or biking, but it won't stop me from doing core and leg workouts that don't impact cardio very much.
Mondays are the days where during class I look up fun and new ideas to share with everyone who reads these posts, but unfortunately, computers at school decided to not allow me to look up anything worthwhile. At home, my internet was going in and out all week, but I finally fixed it late last night and it's been working ever since. If no one knows what an asthma attack feels like, to put it simply it's like an elephant sitting on your chest, while a boa constrictor goes around all at the same time. Its scary and the after-effects are horrible. You can't exactly breathe very well for the next four-seven days and in my case for a bit longer than that since I'm still recovering from three.
My progress up until this past week was moving along well and will continue moving along after I see the doctor about my breathing. My endurance, stamina, and altogether muscle strength has gone up tremendously and my hope is that my future progress doesn't become hindered based on the minor set back I have been faced with. Currently I am still recovering from the asthma attacks but hope to be doing at least core and leg workouts within the next few days.

Working out has started

In the last week, I have started working out in order to make my body better equipped and able to do Irish Dancing for longer periods of time, effectively, and done well. I have started with running. In the upcoming week I plan on introducing a core workout on the days I'm not running so that progress is still being made. Something else I do to better my dancing is when I'm standing or not doing anything I stand with my feet in proper form, which is heels together and then toes out so that your feet end up making a 'V'. I will also start going to my Irish Dance lessons this week. Running will help with Irish Dancing because it is using all the muscles needed for dancing and keeps you in great shape for those long private lessons that everyone knows will happen when it becomes crunch time for shows and competitions. It strengthens your heart, increases circulation, increases endurance and stamina, and it's a good way to feel good. I suggest running if you like staying in shape and especially if you are an Irish Dancer. It's a fantastic way to get up to par with the best of the best.

It's a work in progress

For the past week, I have been looking up ways to improve dancing techniques. The resources I have found have been very helpful, from saying that Pilates and Yoga are good ways to increase mobility, flexibility, and overall body strength, to explaining how leg strength, and endurance are a big part in ability. Activities like swimming, or biking, or kick boxing, or ballet are good for targeting the specific muscles used in Irish Dancing. Ballet specifically since it is the most disciplined and has the most similarities between the two when compared with posture, precision, and gracefulness. Swimming, biking, or kick boxing are good for Irish Dancing because of the muscles these sports target, mainly the core, back, butt, and thigh muscles. These are just a few of the things I have learned in the past week.
Practice is key in anything and this is especially true when talking about getting better at Irish Dancing, but it is also a double-edged sword. You need to work on things correctly so you don't do them wrong in your step and if you just aren't getting anywhere with a specific step, after an hour, or even thirty minutes, take a break from it and move on to a different trouble area and go back to it a different day or ask your teacher for help. Believe it or not the person you go to lessons is trying to help you. Don't take the nagging, scolding, or criticism personally. It's meant to help not hurt. Last but not least, what I learned this past week is to never give up, keep trying if you really want it because at the end of the day, you're only as good as you let yourself be. The goal isn't about being better than everyone else, even though that's a plus. The goal is to be better than you were the days before.

Hard work to win at Irish Dancing

My Almost Famous project is to inform dancers how to win and get better and attempt to make it past the preliminary stages using the ways I describe. The final product that will be shown at the end of this project. It will be a compilation of notes, articles I have found useful, and short videos of private lessons, practices when I'm by myself and feis', not just my competitions but higher level competition, and lower level competition. The expenses for me personally will be the cost to compete, new dancing shoes (if needed), and travel. The expenses for new and old dancers will be the costs to compete, travel, dancing shoes, dresses, wigs (optional), private lessons, and class lessons. The timeline for this project is to start practicing with my dance teacher by December, and have a work out schedule set that targets the muscles most needed for dancing. By January, I hope to be competing in competitions around America, mostly in the Midwest, so Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. By the end of this project I hope to be in Preliminaries, or further. I'm excited about this project because I have been an Irish Dancer for almost 14 years and making it past preliminaries is within my grasp, after years of trying.