Cross‑training: Skills I’ve learnt to complement physie and vice versa

One of the things I love most about physie is how inclusive it is. People (girls and women in most physie codes) of all ages and abilities can step into a class and feel welcomed. Not every dance style offers that same sustainability which is why I decided to explore other styles in (and a bit before) my physie hiatus. Cross-training has also helped my confidence with attempting "seniors". Each practice offers technical, physical and artistic differences to complement each other. 

✨ Jazz
Keeping up with the high‑paced teens was overwhelming at first. I’m not a huge fan of the rapid rolling around on the floor or multiple jazz turns. (With that being said, I loved the controlled positions in what used to be called “floor drill" in BjP.) Jazz helped my mental sharpness.

👠 Cabaret Heels
High kicks and pirouettes instantly got harder when you add heels. Weight distribution becomes a whole new puzzle. But I’ll admit there were moments I felt like a Rockette. 

🎪 Circus Flow Arts (Hula Hooping, Fire, etc.)
These styles teach flair, calmness under pressure and improvisation. You learn to read the audience, adapt on the spot, and keep moving even when something doesn’t go to plan. 

🎶 Tap
It's percussion on your feet. I absolutely adore tap. I started with YouTube basics, joined a tweens class, and now I’m in an adult class. I find it very methodical with forward planning of where and when weight needs to be placed. After you gain muscle memory, calculated steps flow into artistry. The only frustration is when your brain knows the step but your feet refuse to cooperate. 

🧘 Yoga & 🩰 Ballet
In my opinion, these two overlap with physie the most eg. clean lines, balance, posture. - Warrior 2 is looking great thanks to physie. - Warrior 3/aeroplane is still humbling, but I’m glad I get to practise it. - Mirrors in yoga and ballet are a bonus since physie classes don’t always have them. - Ballet elements like relevés, pirouettes, and expression translate directly into physie strength and elegance. 

💃 Zumba
At first it feels chaotic, but once you learn the core steps, they repeat across routines. Instructors use non‑verbal cues to cross language barriers, which is fascinating. Zumba is about volume since it's cardio heavy and continuous, but doesn't focus on positions, rather dancers can do what they're capable of bigger, dramatic or smaller actions don't matter. 

🎡 Aerial Arts
Dancing in the air while manipulating an apparatus challenges strength, coordination, flexibility and proprioception. Being adaptable is a must since you might not spin exactly the same each time, grip gets affected by weather and you might even need to perform on the venue's gear that you've never practised on.

Back to physie and my first goal

Eight years ago, I wrote that my mid-term goal was to learn (and possibly perform) the seniors syllabus and now I'm working towards achieving this. 

When I started in 2016, I was one of the youngest ladies, and now I’m one of the oldest seniors. While I didn’t stop dancing during my five‑year physie hiatus, I was a bit hesitant about starting seniors and keeping up with everyone. (I’ll write about my “cross training” in the next blog.)

I keep reminding myself that it doesn’t matter, because the competition this year is with myself, becoming more flexible, getting higher kicks, regaining the splits,  and improving my balances. Still, there is also that extrinsic motivation to “keep up with the teens” and not look too out of place. I started taking progress photos of my stretching in January, and I’d like to share my first SMART goal for 2026.

Specific 
Do the splits (or get as close as possible to looking like it), focusing on hamstring and hip flexor flexibility.

Measurable 
From February until the end of May, I will stretch every day or every second day and record it in a habit tracker.

Achievable 
I’ve done it before, even if it was four years ago.

Realistic 
Adults can learn the splits.

Timely 
By 31 May, in time for competition season.

Reasons to enter physie competitions

 

5 tips guaranteed to help your holiday physie practice!

Read the original post here: Practice makes progress

2020 club competition

This year's club competition was unforgettable! The event aligned with 2020's theme of expecting the unexpected. We, the novice/intermediate ladies, were just about to finish our floordrill routine when the blackout started. Some ladies joked that we could use this to our advantage as the judges would miss fine details. 

Family members were allowed to watch the show which was held in a large arena venue. However, the march past with our sashes and the men's marching challenge were cancelled. These two proceedings are a crowd favourite each year. 

I love how the annual club competition gives the club community a yearly gathering to watch and celebrate girls and ladies flourishing at physie. Thank you teachers, volunteers, supporters, venue staff, and my clubmates for making this year's event so special. 

Read more:

2018 Club competition

2016 Club competition 

2020 competitions: Team championships

My team competition earlier this month was the first time I've danced in front of judges all year. This year, I had opted to skip the individual championships due to not having any interclubs. 

My favourite of teams was the figure marching at the beginning of the warm up where 4 x 8 counts of the individual warm up were omitted to accommodate the cool choreography. We did a windmill pattern and it was spectacular! I wish we had gotten a video to self-evaluate as a team. 

This year, I was front-left, a position I'd been in for most teams. We had 5 spectators - 2 judges and 3 teachers from our club. Perhaps, this was even more intimidating as we only had experts watching us and not a sea of supporters from across the zone. 

We placed and got a frilly medal! It was great to have our team efforts recognised. 

Thank you to my intermediate teammates. Also, extraordinary effort to the novice team as it was the first competition for some physie newcomers. Thank you D who volunteered to do our hair, your generosity and expertise is truly appreciated. Thank you to our teachers S & L for preparing us for the weekend. Finally, thank you to the supporters cheering on from afar. 

Read more:

2019 teams

2018 zone championships

2017 teams

Practice competition 2020

It has been a long 10 months since I last performed physie. I'd forgotten the feeling on putting on heavy-duty fishnet tights and the fear of accidentally pulling or ripping the mesh.

The showcase was remarkably different from any of my previous physie performances. Usually, dancers would have had at least three opportunities to compete both in informal and judged settings by the end August. 

It was a nice sunny day outside, however, it felt quite chilly to me indoors. I didn't remove my jacket until we had to line up for marching in height order. The practice competition took place in a large sports arena where I'd physied on several occasions. At first, I could hear the lag between the sound bouncing off the walls from the speakers, it was quite boomy. Then, I concentrated on the music. A small audience may have contributed to making the venue 'ring' more as few people were there to absorbed the sound. All the ladies were relieved that we made it to the end of our performance and we felt not so cold anymore.

Well done to all competitors and especially the beginner ladies who have learnt their first set of physie routines through a mixture of online and in-person lessons. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this event happen. I am so grateful to perform physie after this hiatus.