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4 Goals Every Dancer Should Set for the New Year

Hi everyone! I can't believe this is the last blog post I'll write in 2021. Since the new year is right around the corner, I thought I'd write a post today with 4 goals every dancer should set for the new year. 

Discover why you dance.

This is something that's been heavy on my mind recently. I've wondered why I dance, what made me fall it love with it, and why I connect to it so well. One of my goals this year is to discover the answers to this. I feel like once dancers have figured that out about themselves, it can help them to connect to dance in ways you can't if you don't even know why you do it in the first place. Of course, I want to point out, the ultimate reason I dance is to bring glory to God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat of drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.) I dance to witness my faith to others. I'm setting this goal because I want to discover more about God's plan for me in the future with dance. 


Identify your strengths and unique talents as a dancer.

Every dancer, no matter your skill level, has something you do extra well at. We all have our own special talents and gifts as dancers, regardless of what you've been told. So much of the time, we focus on our weaknesses. We're constantly telling ourselves we could've done better or beating ourselves up for not being the perfect dancer we wish we were. Yes, it's always good to be critical of your dancing, but only to a certain degree. We need to improve, and you can only do that by criticizing your dancing. But don't beat yourself up because of what you can't do. If you tend to be too harsh on yourself, start focusing on the things you can do really well. For example, one of my strengths is balancing. As insignificant as this sometimes seems compared to turning or jumps, it's still an important strength and is a major skill required for things like turns. Whatever it is, your posture, your lines, your stage presence... identify your strengths and use that as motivation.


Set goals for yourself.

(This paragraph is copied from one of my other blogs, Tips for Improving in Dance.)

Using a notes app or notebook, write down a focus that you have for class each day. I also like to write down something for the week, month, and year. Use stuff that you can become aware of and improve in a short amount of time for your daily and weekly focuses. For example: turnout, straight knees, or core activation. Monthly and yearly goals should be things that take longer to improve, like the splits or triple fouettes. 


Remember to truly dance.

This sounds funny, but I'm serious. Lately I've realized that I've just been going through the motions. I've been so focused on improvement that I've forgotten to truly let myself dance. Enjoy each class, rehearsal, and performance. Express yourself through your dancing. Show emotion. And most importantly, have fun. As dancers get more serious about dance, we forget to enjoy what we do. 


I hope this gave you some ideas for goals for 2022. Happy New Year's! 



Dancing4Jesus

Psalm 149:3~ Let them praise his name with dancing. (NIV)


Contact me here: dancing4jesus20@gmail.com

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