Happy holidays!

Adversity and resilience in performance

From losing your footing to losing a hairpiece on the dance floor, adversity in performance is inevitable. Here's the newest post in the self-improvement blog series on how to deal with challenging situations and overcoming them.

Here are some undesirable situations that I'm sure physie girls/ladies can relate to:

• Sweat in your eyes
• Safety pins unclip 
• Memory lapse - forgetting the next move
• Hairpiece/jewellery falls off (seniors/ladies) 
• Muscle cramp

The aforementioned situations can hypothetically happen to anyone, so below is a collage of tips to deal with setbacks in performance (click to enlarge):

Beyond one's control

As we enter the month of November, junior repechage and zone championships have already come and gone. This means that competitions on the national level are underway.

Welcome to my newest instalment in the self-improvement blog series where I'll be discussing the factors that you can and cannot control in a competition setting.

Factors that are beyond your control:

• who your competitors are
• the judges' decision 
• how well others dance

Factors that you can control:

• being the best dancer you can be
• what you eat, how much you've rested 
• hours spent practising 

Focus on the things you can control and always stay positive.
Good luck to all the girls and ladies who are competing at nationals.

In the zone

The basics

It's October and zone championships are under way for the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture! Zone championships consist of team and individual competitions where girls and ladies strive to qualify for the national championships held in Sydney or simply have a fun time with all their physie mates. A zone comprises 8-12 clubs grouped together according to geographical/administrative regions. Locations with insufficient clubs to make a separate zone may be grouped into a distant zone, for example, clubs in Western Australia travel to Victoria for the championships.

Out of your comfort zone

Medallion for girls and ladies who competed individually.

Ladies in lycra,
oh so brave.
You are the ones,
who rock the physie stage.

Whether you are competing in a team with seven other inspirational ladies or individually on the floor with ladies who you do not normally dance with, all physie ladies are awesome just for getting out there.

In the zone

Once you've gotten out of your comfort zone (or stayed within your comfort zone) and decided to compete in teams or champion lady, it's time to get in the zone. So go ahead and immerse yourself in the world of physie.

Interclub #2 & Club Competition 2016

Interclub #2  

Packed my bag | Arrived at venue | Professional sports complex | Name ticked off | Got hair done | Hairspray was everywhere | Pinned on number | Checked my make-up | Warm up area | Did dynamic stretches | Hit the floor | Smiles all around | Danced with grace | Recovered from mistakes | Extremely fun experience | Thank you ladies | Super support team | Friendly practice environment | Still smiling now :)

Club Competition 

I recently competed in my club competition which was a fairly casual event with two judges from separate clubs. All girls from preschool to ladies were encouraged to take part even if they did not participate in previous interclubs or intend on dancing at the zone finals. The club competition was a perfect opportunity for girls to perform the 2016 syllabus in front of their friends and family. After the interclubs, I did not expect for the event to be so relaxed. I'd also heard from the ladies that club competitions do not count towards your status, for example, if you were a novice and you dance on club day or in a team ONLY that year, it would not progress your status (eg. beginner, novice, intermediate, open).

For the first few age groups the audience was patient and pretty quiet. Then as the preschoolers arrived, the hall filled with their excited squeals. Luckily, silence followed with the commencement of their dance. That being said, the BjPop which involved all age groups except for the ladies (sadly) ensued the biggest silence (with the exception of the soundtrack). The BjPop exemplified the inclusivity of physie, where the older girls helped the younger ones to learn the routine earlier in the year. Towards the end of the program was the biggest crowd-pleaser which was the men's marching challenge where brothers, sons, grandfathers, husbands and male relatives joined in to experience a taste of physie.

After a long day the antepenultimate event was the march past. All girls and ladies received a sash akin to pageant sashes where we pinned all our well-deserved badges and medallions to display. The shape of the medallion at this event was different too, it was circular and not triangular like the interclubs. Some ladies even showed me their special medal from the centenary of physie in 1992. After that, club photos were taken and presentation of awards concluded the big day of physie.

Interclub #1 2016

Firstly, what is an interclub competition?

• Basically, it's a competition organised by individual clubs rather than the association (eg. BjP, APDA). Around 10 clubs are present and the number of girls/women that enter vary with each age group and category. For BjP Physie, each club may only participate in two interclubs per year. Prizes such as certificates, medallions and fundraising raffles are presented at these events. 

Interclub #1 2016

In the late afternoon, I drove to the venue with my hair undone and not freshly washed which I planned be styled by the lovely ladies who were part of my club. Upon arrival, I had the impression that the venue was massive compared to my class location, however, nearly half of the floor space was taken up by audience seating making the performance floor an adequate size. Firstly, I had to register and get my number which was a very smooth process. I was actually expecting the number to be bigger, but I guess the little girls have the same size numbers too. Then, I headed to the makeshift hair salon where many clubs gathered to create awesome physie hair-dos. My hair was teased and transformed by an amazing physie mum. Soon after that, I got changed into my physie gear and sat down to watch a few sections of the competition. This was useful to see how the competition was run before my turn. Each age group/section commenced with marching and the awards presentations were done directly after the routines with the champion leading the marching off the floor.

After that, I went to the marshalling area with the other beginner ladies and started to warm-up. Soon after marshalling, it was time for the real deal. We marched on in the order of our competitor number, did our routines (with teachers in front helping us) and received our prizes. I would like to commend all the ladies on getting out there and competing for their very first time. 

Practice makes progress

Welcome to my third entry in the self-improvement blog series where I'll be sharing to you practice tips. Coincidentally, BjP's physie blog published a blog entry a few days ago with the same title. I have been drafting this for a while though so what am I to say? Great minds think alike.
Here are 10 tips for physie, dance and for performances in general:

1. Finding your right way to practise - Everybody is different and we each have our unique ways of learning. For some, practising one routine per day in depth can be effective while others may find that they need to go over each routine daily. Be sure that you find your practice style in order to maximise outcomes.
2. Rest and recover - Don't practise when you're tired because your body will not work efficiently. Make sure you have regular breaks and have a few days off before a major competition. 
3. Drawing or writing down your counts - This is like visualisation on a piece of paper. The example shows snippets of three of the ladies' routines. I've written in cues from song lyrics to help with visualisation. 

   

   Visualising a routine on paper
   Top to bottom: Exercises, warm up, swing

4. Observing others - This requires no effort for physical exertion. Watching others is a great way to see how others do it since it's difficult to watch your teacher/other peers when you are dancing.
5. Practise in sets of 8 counts - They say that you eat an elephant one bite at a time. As with any large task, smaller goals have to be attained in order to fit into the bigger picture. 
6. Practise until you can't get it wrong (rather than only practising until you can get it right). 
7. Slow it down - A lot of the routines are performed at a moderate to fast tempo, so slow it down in your personal rehearsal. (I know your physie teacher does this in class too because it works). 
8. Don't always start from the beginning - Going from the beginning every time will probably make your start really good, but remember that the endings are equally as important. 
9. Changing up the songs - Okay so I've taken this tip from my physie teacher. Instead of the 2016 soundtrack she used songs from previous years to test how well we really knew the moves (keeping in mind BjP renditions of songs means that tempo and number of counts are the similar year after year). 
10. Practise at the time of day when you will be competing. This is extremely important as you want to prepare your mind and body to work at that time of day. Knowing that you can do your routines at the scheduled time of day gives you one less thing to think about. I'm glad that the beginner ladies are scheduled at the same time I have my lessons. 

Above all, find something that works for you. If you don't see improvement after a while (it can take 4-6 weeks), then change the way you are practising. Everyone is different.

Countdown to competition season

Physie-goers all around the country are now gearing up for competition season. Towards the end of July until September, there are competitions to prepare girls and ladies for the zone championships, these include interclubs and club competitions. Interclubs as the name suggests are between clubs and dancers may only enter into two (BjP association, others might differ). Club competitions are intra-club and give an opportunity for the club community to see each other dance.

Here are just a few things that I have learnt:

• Impulse - one of the hardest manoeuvres to execute gracefully. The movement has to be fluid and it works the abdominal muscles. This move has been included in the 'floordrill' and 'advanced' routines. 
• Toe rises require a lot of balance and should be practised with a chair/barre.
• I have learnt that in marching, the thumb should be slightly bent to ensure that it doesn't create a gap with the rest of the fingers.
• All positions should be done in front of a mirror so that you know that it creates the desired lines and illusions. Sometimes you think that you are making a straight line when in fact it does not appear that way.

Attire

• My made-to-order leotard has not arrived yet, it'll turn up later this month. 
• A club jacket (optional) makes sure that make-up does not transfer onto your leotard, keeps you covered up, provides warmth and certainly a sense of belonging. 
• The BjP ladies' championships are not done on a lit stage but rather a sports centre. This means that you needn't go ridiculous with make-up. Remember, BjP also bans certain make-up products for juniors but there are no restrictions for seniors and ladies. 
• Tan, well I'll see about this one. Physie in this era has banned the tan for juniors and is optional for seniors and ladies. Dancers all have their individual complexion and BjP promotes positive body-image. 

I've saved the most important point last and that is to take care of your health.

• Have a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet which will provide your body with physie fuel. 
• Stay hydrated! Always have a drink bottle at every workout and avoid fizzy drinks for physie. 

What's been happening?

Can you believe it? It's already June! So let me update you on my physie progress:

Posture 
I am standing tall, proud to be a physie lady.

Syllabus 
Routines are all learnt and now we are polishing them for upcoming interclubs and zone championships. Watching the DVD has also helped me to practise at home.

Goals 
My goal that I had set in April has been achieved. My next goal is to maintain balance on one leg in sections of the floor drill and swing routines.

Practice competition
I have already participated in a friendly intra-club practice competition to prepare me for the major events later on.

Flexibility
Physie has motivated me to stretch regularly to improve flexibility and prevent injuries. My ankles and shoulders are definitely stronger and have an increased range of motion.

Watching the stars

It has already been 17 weeks into the physie year and learning the syllabus has been fun, challenging and rewarding so far. Each year the association puts together a DVD of the syllabus which is released at the end of May, so I just got it. The videos allow physie students to see how the routines are performed and are shown in front (mirror) and back views. It's also done with the music (although you can buy a CD separately). I think that this is particularly helpful as the routines are only snippets of songs and you won't need to find the specific verses and put them on loop.

The syllabus DVD performers are all girls and ladies who have won their respective categories at the national championships the year before and are in the same age division for this year. For example, 11-12 year olds have the same routines but are judged separately. The winner of the 11 year old age group gets to be on the DVD the year following their victory. This makes sense as she will still be in that age group the year after the win while the winner of 12 years will have progressed to the next age bracket.

It is delightful to see these champions demonstrate their talents for us physie-goers. Additionally, these DVD girls and ladies serve as positive role models for their peers. The performers and their teachers have spent innumerable hours of behind-the-scenes rehearsal to ensure flawless delivery of the syllabi. And don't forget these girls and ladies have perfected all this in a mere few months. It is truly inspiring to watch the performers. Likewise, these DVD girls/ladies will have undoubtedly gained inspiration from the whole process. From the excitement of becoming champion and learning their routines to meeting others and being filmed in a professional studio, the experience I would assume is one that they'll never forget. For the time being, I'll keep practising at class and with the DVD and try my best at my first practice competition which is coming up very soon.

Edit: I have found out that the girl demonstrating the 5-6 year's syllabus was actually last year's 6 year's winner. The routines for 5/6 and 7/8 age groups are the same and only the music is different.

Visualisation

Hi readers,

Welcome to my second entry for the self-improvement blog series.

Visualisation, it's practising with your mind and it is as powerful as learning by rote. This technique is not just for when you're too tired to dance, it's a practice that you should regularly practise.

Visualisation can be better than physically practising. Firstly, you can allow yourself to imagine your perfect performance. You have no risk of practising mistakes which can be hard to correct. Secondly, when you've exhausted your body from physically learning an exercise visualisation still counts as practising. Finally, you can do it anywhere, you just need your mind, no dance floor required.

Vision boards are also another way you can collect ideas and inspiration. Make a collage of what you want to achieve (and it doesn't even have to be related to physie). Stick it somewhere that you can see everyday and keep working towards your goals.

If you're aiming to compete in the near future why not imagine yourself in the process from doing your hair, pinning your number and walking out onto the dance floor to have completed the routines and maybe even getting your number called out. To conclude, visualisation is a great technique of the mind that doesn't even require you to move to be practising so go and do it.

SMART goals

Hello all,

I am starting a new blog series that will discuss self-improvement and goal setting. So here's my first post which is related to effective goal setting.

It's only three months until the physie season starts so now is the time to set yourself some SMART goals if you haven't already done so. SMART is basically an acronym for the basic principles that your goals should have. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic/relevant and timely. They say that if you share your goals with others, you are more likely to achieve them so here is mine:

Now try to set some of your goals that you want to achieve. Remember to write detailed goals as this will keep you focused and give you direction. For example, a vague goal is 'I want to be more flexible', whereas a SMART goal like mine will clearly identify when I have accomplished my goal. Ideally the time frame of your goal cannot be too far into the future because then you would put off practising the skills needed for achieving your goal.

Lycra madness

It's leotard try on day! This is the time to choose and design your very own made-to-order leotard for Champion Girl/Lady which are the individual competitions for physie. Upon arrival I was overwhelmed with the choice of colours and leotard styles. Luckily, our club had the try-on box to ourselves due to the fact that there are several boxes circulating all around the country this month. Styles are categorised into junior and senior/ladies. Girls under 13 years old must wear junior styles and girls 15+ must wear senior styles. If you are 13 or 14 you can wear either. All leotards are stamped with the BjP emblem and since there is no expiry for designs, leotards are valid year after year. There's also pre-loved leotards on sale at the club and various places online. These are particularly good for girls who outgrow their leotards frequently or join later in the year and to save money (or for those who miss ordering one in time).

Body-stockings in each colour to find your match.

In total there were six senior/lady designs, some you can choose to have two colours if desired. There was an extensive list of colours to choose from, 23 to be exact. I can't wait to see all the girls and ladies brighten up the dance floor! Here are links colour palettes of different associations: Danz Design (BjP), Karen's Kreations (Edith Parsons) and Reedle Dancewear (APDA's new supplier). As you can see, unlike the other schools of physical culture, current BjP leotards are not embellished with diamantés and crystals which saves us money.

Being my first year I thought 'why not design my own?', so I did. Danz Designs allows an option for front lining which is dearer, but it's worth it for the comfort and security. So after trying on about seven leotards in four styles, I came to my final decision.

Leotard style, check... leotard colour, check... leotard size, check ... but I was not done yet. To complete the package, I needed fishnets, as in the stirrup tights worn by ladies. Being fishnets AND stirrup meant that it was the most expensive dance tights I've ever seen!

On a final note, I'm thankful that 21st century BjP Physie is done bare feet (some associations require silver ballet shoes which are around $70, though I think BjP had shoes once upon a time). This means that only a plain, non-embellished leotard and tights are required for competition. Now I've just got to wait until the last week of July to receive my special piece of lycra.

March into March

Registering with BjP Physie

After my initial trial lessons I have registered with my club and the BjP School of Physical Culture. The club registration covers public liability insurance, music licensing fees, official BjP and club competition entry fees, team leotard hire and end of year awards. Inclusions as part of a club's registration fee varies from club to club. All physie girls and ladies must also be registered with BjP and this fee entitles your rights to learn the syllabus.

This year BjP has introduced online registrations so that girls/ladies can directly pay registration fees to the association. In my opinion, this process is more convenient in terms of administration, enrolments and statistics. From a teacher's point of view it saves time since members are directly providing their information to BjP. On the other hand, families who are not familiar to the net or are sceptics of internet transactions may require extra help.

Filling in the registration form helped me gauge the popularity of BjP Physie around Australia, there was an unending list of clubs to choose from. In total, the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture has 134 clubs in 6 states/territories: NSW-105; Qld-18; Vic-6; ACT-2; WA-2; SA-1. Physie is particularly popular in NSW, there's no shortage of clubs with 105 BjP affiliated clubs and many more clubs under different associations. So if there's physie nearby, why not give it a try?

Marching

Since it's the month of March, I thought I'd share some information on marching.

In physical culture we march. No, it's not like military marching and it requires much more than just walking to the beat. We point our toes, slightly turn out our legs and swing our arms. Physie marching is always done anti-clockwise and always starts with the left leg. The left leg hits all the strong beats of the song, while the right leg goes on the weaker beats. As the dance floor is set in a rectangular shape, physie girls/ladies have to turn corners.

The corners occupy two counts of the music i.e. left and right foot counts. In physie the act of rising the foot onto its ball is called a toe rise (or releve in ballet). On the strong beat, the left foot rises and on the weak beat the right foot also rises to meet the left foot while turning the whole body 90 degrees anti-clockwise. Just before the right foot lands on the ground you will pivot anti-clockwise while your whole body's weight is on the ball of your left foot. When a corner is turned, the left foot resumes stamping on the strong beats of the song.

I know this sounds a little complicated in words but YouTube physie marching and you'll see hundreds of videos (keeping in mind that different associations do it eg. hands open or clenched). Also, why not try it yourself, especially if you are a kinaesthetic learner.

EDIT: Watch the 2016 grand final here for a visual demonstration.

Let's get busy with physie

Hi readers,

Welcome to my blog! This is where I'll be sharing my journey into physical culture affectionately known as "physie". Physical culture is a unique Australian all-female dance sport which promotes fun, friendship and fitness suitable for girls from 3 years old through to ladies. There are several physie schools/associations in Australia with the oldest and most prominent being the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture or BjP Physie for short. Physie is hard to explain so the best way to learn more about it is to YouTube the routines of any association. Numerous club websites and social media profiles such as Facebook and Instagram also give great insight into this dance sport. Additionally, many clubs perform locally at community fetes which provide girls the opportunity to perform while also raising awareness of physie to the wider community.

My first lesson

This year I have decided to start dancing with a local club that teaches the BjP syllabus. This week I had my first physie lesson. Upon arrival I was greeted by the club secretary in the foyer of the school hall (most clubs use school or community halls). Then I went to the back of the hall where I met some of the ladies who would be in my class.

It was time for the ladies class. There was a variety of ages and experience levels which is a testament to the benefits and suitability of physie for all ladies regardless of age or ability. Firstly, we warmed up our muscles by doing a few stretches including pointing our toes. Then we proceeded to learn the first few counts of three routines: warm-up, swing and exercises. I also learnt some new terminology, the names of a few physie positions including heave, upward stretch, yard, neck rest and drag. The neck rest position has been in physie for over 100 years! After learning the initial counts of the routines, class was nearly over. We warmed down with static stretches and it was time to go. I can't wait until next week to learn the other routines.