Busy

March is one of the busiest months for me. I signed up for another competition in May, Memorial day weekend. I had a multitude of shows this month. Other warm-up stretches include just sitting on the floor with your legs out in front and stretching. Remember DON'T bounce when you stretch, it can cause little tears in the fibers of your muscles which has the ability to cause bigger problems late on. You can also take little things in your steps like being on your toes and walk around your house on your toes with proper form and technique to make your turnouts and height better over all. Or if you think you already have a perfect turnout and height then you can practice your points whether its when you kick in back or whip in front or anything and just continue to do them along with whatever step they come in. DON'T practice your entire steps when you want to work on it and make it better, work on it piece by piece and then put some pieces together, and then try it altogether. If it still doesn't work out keep trying, or ask your dance teacher if they can change your step, or a certain part in your step.

MARCH

March happens to be the busiest month out of the year for most irish dancers. Most competitions are held between the months of February and April, any shows are usually done around St. Patrick's Day, and then there is also the parades and parties that follow because of St. Patrick's Day.
I think the best in time to get in shape and practice is the month of March because usually its not freezing out and its also not super hot out. So if you wanted to you could start working out or even practicing in the sun, but remember to wear sunscreen since you don't want sunburn when competing time comes around. Some helpful tips when practicing or working out outside.
1. Wear sunscreen
2. Make sure you are on even ground if you're doing an strength training or dancing. You don't want to break or pull anything
3. Don't be afraid of falling if your're trying a new jump or anything, it happens to everyone and even better to do when you're falling onto squishy ground, snow, or grass
4. Dress for the weather
5. Warm-up properly

Bleh

This past week has been chalk full of working out, and technique perfecting, and stretching, some stretches i have been doing is going into a splits form and going as low as I can and then leaning forward with a pointed toe to stretch the thigh. Doing this stretch allows you to kick higher without falling backwards and losing your balance. Some other stretches I have been doing are frontal lunges and back lunges. Front lunges are where you bend your front leg at a 90 degree angle and then keep your other leg as straight as possible. A back lunge is when you do the exact opposite as a front lunge. These stretches also build key muscles for dancing including abs, lower back, and thighs.

Technique, Technique, Technique

As of recent, I stopped practicing again because I suffered from a concussion but I have been working on my flexibility and technique instead of my actual steps. The key to good technique, such as good posture, pointed toes, feet that are turned out is to incorporate them into your lifestyle so that when you dance it becomes almost as natural as breathing. Ways that I do this is:
 1. I walk, sit, jump, run, everything with a straight back and good posture and form.
 2. I walk, and stand with my feet always turned out properly.
 3. For pointed toes this is more difficult to incorporate, but what you can do it when you run point your toes in back and kick your butt.
 Doing these three things will not only help with technique but when it comes to competition time technical points can make a big difference and change the difficulty of a step. The few extra points kept by having good technique can make all the difference between getting a first versus a second.