Learning the BJPop 2020 in 10 days

This August I am going to learn the 2020 BjPop dance. It's a special dance choreographed for all ages to be used as a display rather than competitive routine. 

Usually the juniors learn it during a holiday workshop and one year the ladies did it during a lesson. At my club's annual competition, physie girls and ladies are invited to do a mass display of the BjPop. Ladies stand at the back during club competition and follow the girls, because we often don't know it off by heart. 

This year, I am going to learn it properly and then memorise the BJPop using the SMART principle.

Read about the SMART method of goal setting applied to my 2016 goal here. 

Specific - BjPop 2020.
Measurable - End result = memorised the dance. 
Achievable/Actionable- Spend 10 minutes a day for 10 days.
Realistic - Yes, I can set aside time each day.

Timely - Sat 1st Aug - 10th July

Lesson journal: Feb-Apr 2020

Woah... it's already April.
Let's rewind.

In mid-February, the club started lessons as normal with ladies coming in for their weekly physie lessons. We continued learning our routines with our 2 teachers. I managed to remember the warm-up and exercises routines before in-person lessons ceased.

March came and hand sanitiser acted as an entry token into the hall. Dance schools and gyms were operating as normal till mid-March. Unfortunately, in the space of just hours, these activities were halted. Literally overnight, indoor sports were ordered to shut down.

The physie community was optimistic that competitions will still go ahead later this year with zones but there are no interclubs for the 2020 (July/Aug) season. Head office announced this a few days before leotard orders had to be finalised so that people could pull out of ordering multiple garments.

On the bright side, I have my physie music, online modules with walkthroughs and soon I can look forward to live virtual lessons.

Physie social distancing

Why do physie as an adult?

Fitness

Music and choreography

Disciplines us (for me it has motivated me to stretch regularly)

We can wear whatever

Choose to compete or do it for the fun and fitness

Great role modelling for our children

Getting involved with something with our daughters

Flexibility and mobility (improving or maintaining it as we get older is important)

Meet new like-minded people

Pick up where you left off (if you're an ex physie girl)

All ages and experiences, size and shapes are welcome

Gives us 'me' time

My lesson journal: May 2019

It's now mid-May and only a month until the practice lollipop competition at my club. We have just begun practising with the new competition music and although it's only a few beats per minute faster, fluency in routines is needed to keep up with the upbeat music.

Marching - revised marching and pointing feet with turnout

Warm-up - complete
Level of confidence - 😃 I know all the moves and transitions, but will need to add some personality and flair into the performance.

Floordrill - need to figure out a worthy 'get up'
Level of confidence - 😮 Probably know 3/4 of the moves, the transition moves are the ones I need most work on.

Swing - complete
Level of confidence - 😃 My favourite routine this year is swing. I cannot solidly perform the second/opposite side yet.

Exercises - complete (the first one finished)
Level of confidence - 😊 Confident. I like this one, but I liked last year's song better.

Advanced - the whole routine (vaguely)
Level of confidence - 😩 In alignment with past 'advanced' routines, the use of word painting is prevalent. There are also a few transferences of weight which can be off-putting when not yet mastered.

I can't wait for the new 2019 syllabus DVD which was recorded last weekend to be released so I can revise with confidence at home.

My lesson journal: February 2019

I am back to physie for my fourth year which means I've progressed into the intermediate category. On arrival at my first lesson I learnt that over 40 registered ladies were attending my club this year. This is an incredible enrolment and a testament to the passion and effort from my teacher, clubmates and volunteers to build this wonderful club.

Lesson 1:

Warming up our bodies and brains included walking, lunging and marching in a (very) large circle. Then we learnt the travelling step in the warm-up routine. We start with learning a travelling step every year because travelling steps are always included in warm-up. Five lines gathered at the back of the hall and we learnt the step firstly with our feet, then added our arms. We also learnt the first few steps of 'exercises' and soon after class was over.

Lesson 2: 

We started with a circuit warm-up. Nine stations were set up including toe rises, lunges, wall push-ups and hip bridges. Then we all stood at a marker on the floor to revise and learn new moves for warm-up. Afterwards, we learnt the first couple of counts for swing. I'm guessing it won't be long before my teacher introduces bean bags for us to feel the weightiness in our arms (I hope that we have enough, we're the largest class now). A few more positions were discovered for exercises and then we revised all three routines at the end of class.

P.S. New format this year! All blog posts will be quick reads limited to 250 words so that you can get on with life and practising more physie :) 

2019! Back to physie challenge - Day 5

Today's the final day of the back to physie challenge and I encourage you to organise, sort and label your physie paraphernalia from previous years.

Organise - Keep all your items together in a display folder or special box/hanger/sash for medals.
Sort - Arrange items based on date in reverse chronological order or sort them into categories such as interclubs, zones, nationals. Keep the program booklets together its competition number and certificate.
Label - On the back of your medals and competition numbers write the date and event so that you can remember where you earnt your medals. Read labelling physie keepsakes for more tips.

2019! Back to physie challenge - Day 4

Follow Phoebe Collins, former Grand Champion, in her article about stretching and achieving the splits. While the splits is a staple in junior and senior floordrill routines each year, ladies do not need to perform the splits.
Find the article here.


Answers for day 2 challenge - naming physie positions:
1. Attention
2. Top stand
3. Yard
4. Oblique
5. Flight
6. Reach
7. Trunk forward bend
8. Lunge
9. Drag
10. Lateral bend

2019! Back to physie challenge - Day 3

Today's challenge is to march with the 2016 Ladies Grand Finalists.

Marching is the first impression that you present to judges. It demonstrates posture, pointed toes, turn out, musicality and shoulder flexibility. Marches for ladies are consistently around 100 beats per minute. 

Read "March into March" to see how I grasped the concept of marching in physie and turning corners.

2019! Back to physie challenge - Day 2

Today's challenge is to revise 10 basic positions of physie.

Execute the positions to the best of your ability with the clues given below. Answers of positions will be released on day 4 of the challenge. I recommend checking alignment and aesthetics in the mirror. Remember your physie smile. :)

Have a look at Physie 101's post for help and visual guidance.

1. Starts with the letter A, toes turned out, heels together, fingers down
2. Fingertips touching on the top of your head, elbows out
3. Starts with Y, arms sideways and parallel to floor
4. Arms form a V shape upwards, palms up
5. Palms down, fingertips level with head, straight arms outwards and slightly upwards
6. Arms stretching forwards, parallel to the floor, palms inwards
7. Three words, bending torso forwards and parallel to ground
8. Starts with L, front knee bent and both feet turned out
9. Works your shoulder flexibility, arms are pulled behind body diagonally downwards
10. Stretches your lateral muscles, usually done while hands are in 'adoration' or 'top stand

2019! Back to physie challenge - Day 1

I am ready to go back for a fresh, new season of physie in 2019.
In this seasonal series, I will be posting challenges every day for the next week to prepare and revise physie essentials.

Sara from Inspired Physiotherapy demonstrates quad exercises to allow physie girls/ladies to straighten their knees especially in floordrill. It's been a while (over three months) since I've consciously done physie so this is a great revision. 

2018 Competitions: Zone competition

This year, my zone event was held a little differently. The location, format and scheduling were all changed since last year. We had two weeks more to prepare for the district event but I felt that it neither helped nor hindered improvement. The schedule for the day also changed. The open teams were first followed by the novice and intermediate teams. Previously, novice/intermediate teams preceded the novice/intermediate champion lady event, then the opens had teams and championships in the late afternoon. 

The format this year also changed and we performed to a front-facing audience. Fortunately, I had the chance to practise to an onlooking audience at the club competition. The experience for the audience was better this way and it was educational in the sense that onlookers could watch from judges’ perspectives. 

Medal with "curly" edges

After watching the open teams’ remarkable performances, the floors were reset with crosses on the ground for the novice and intermediate teams. Since there are marked spaces for the eight dancers in a team, novice teams weren’t able to creatively use other formations. Considering the amount of memory already needed for reconvening on our spots, I am glad to keep it simple. My team placed and I am very proud of everyone for achieving this feat. One of the ladies mentioned that awards at this level had 'curly' edges, it's been very special to our team. 

The individual competition affectionately known as "champion lady" ran from noon to night. By the time the novice/beginner ladies marshalled it was already early evening. No semi-finals for me this year but it was a tough section with 6 heats and over 80 competitors. My friends from my club achieved personal bests from competing in a team for the first time to qualifying for nationals in Sydney, well done! Popular leotard colours this year were red and fluoro orange. Next year I am moving up to the 'intermediate' category and it'll be my fourth year of physie.


Read an in-depth description of zone proceedings and recounts of the 2017 championships below:
2017 Zones Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Competitor's number

Spell it out: BjP's newest challenge

Physie girls and ladies from the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture may have seen the latest workout challenge. Basically, you spell your name/club and each letter has a corresponding task. It takes about 2 minutes of preparation time to write the letters and their corresponding 'challenge', then you are ready to exercise.  

Last Sunday, I spelt my name out. I endured:

• 80 squats 
• 50 jumping jacks (star jumps)
• at least 3 minutes of wall sit 
• & a few more challenges

On Wednesday, I spelt "physical":

• 80 star jumps
• 30 burpees 
• 10 crunches 
• arm circles, squats, wall sit

Yesterday, I spelt "culture":

• 3 minutes of wall sit
• 15 push-ups
• squats (inevitably) 
• arm circles

All these challenges took me no longer than 20 minutes, but ensure you are adequately warmed up beforehand. I found that the arm circles helped my shoulder flexibility and was part of the 'swing' routine. Many of the challenges also improved my core strength. I'm going to continue this week with the same sets of exercises and then adding an extra day by spelling my club's name.

Other blog posts you may enjoy: Tracking your progress | Practice makes progress | SMART goals