Reasons to enter physie competitions

 

5 tips guaranteed to help your holiday physie practice!

Read the original post here: Practice makes progress

Getting better at physie during isolation

It has been a while since I wrote my article for the self-improvement blog series, so I thought I'd share some activities I've been doing during isolation to improve physie. I have been doing a bit of cross training in similar disciplines to boost my overall fitness and flexibility. There are so many great video resources by inspiring and qualified teachers. 

Physie: Watch the training videos and other resources from your association and club. Have a look at other girls/ladies outside of your age/category and learn something from them. Are there extra resources/online sessions delivered by your club or association? If so, why not join in?

Ballet: Pointed toes, balancing, lengthening limbs and control are transferable skills to physie. 

Pilates: Core strength and control can help with balances and floor exercises. 

Yoga: Mental wellbeing, breathing, strength and flexibility can help you become a well-rounded physie girl/lady. 

Check out my other self-improvement blogs here.

Learning routines

By June or July the whole set of routines will be learnt. While not necessarily memorised or polished, many clubs opt to hold a lollipop/chocolate competition for members to showcase their new moves.

It's April and we're still in the learning phase of the physie season, here are my top tips:

1. Counts of 16. Learn each set of 16 solidly, then join each section up. Use the last few counts of one set to segue into the next, for example [previous set] 13, 14, 15, 16 [current set] 1-16. I think of this as a 'jigsaw puzzle' piece as the ends join together to form a seamless picture.

2. Count out loud - just like how your teacher does in class. Do you find yourself counting in your head or perhaps hearing your teacher's voice?

3 . Repetition or Opposites
Repetition can occur identically - facing the same way, maybe even the melody is the same. Repetition can also alter factors like direction, music (the part of the song) and transitional/ending pose. For the opposite/mirror image, instead of right/left think front/back. This makes it easier when repeating on opposite sides.

4. Just watching and not doing it at the same time. You might pick up on a detail from your teacher/DVD performer. 

5. Word painting - build a story with movement through the music and lyrics. Add some dramatic meaning with facial expressions and gestures. Your nuances make your style unique. 

6. Go with what your body knows - maybe this sequence is a popular one (eg. the grapevine) or the next move comes naturally without deliberately thinking of which foot steps next. 

7. Visually - I have drawn stick figures to remind myself of the moves corresponding to each count. Maybe you're lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the written syllabus.

8. Resources - Most associations provide their members with training resources such as DVDs and CDs. I'm already practising with BjP's practice music download. It's been very helpful between classes for triggering my memory. 

For more tips and exercises on goal setting, progress tracking, learning routines and inspiration, check out the self-improvement blog series.

Years from now: Goal setting

Having a goal journal means seeing your ambitions listed in black and white. Goal setting is a tool for life!

The physie year is starting soon so it's a great time to write out your goals for 2018 and beyond. Goals that are closer to now should follow the SMART principle which I've written about here in an older post. Also, check out my other posts from the self-improvement blog series.

Long-term goals (5 years and beyond)
I hope I'll maintain my strength, flexibility and stamina ... (and fit in my current leotard).

Mid-term goals (1-5 years)
Achieve seniors (possibly join a class and compete). For non-physie readers, 'seniors' is the syllabus for young ladies. It is more fast paced than the ladies and junior syllabi.

Short-term goals (this year)

• Try learning from DVD
• Hold planks, splits, balances, back bend/impulse
• Learn moves such as fan kicks, half pirouettes and leaps
• Do the best I can with the current ladies syllabus

This month's goals (will ultimately contribute to short/mid/long term goals)

• Continue to stretch achieving both splits
• Increase the time held for balances/planks by a few seconds each month

Let's apply my mid-term goal to the SMART principle:

Specific - Learn a complete seniors' syllabus.
Measurable - When I finish learning, memorise and execute the moves.
Achievable - Yes, I will work very hard.
Realistic - Should be, I'm progressing.
Timely - In a year or two.

It's simple to start your own journal or list of goals. If you already list your goals, good on you, or if you don't, why not start now?

2017 Interclub competitions

In my opinion, this year's interclubs went by very quickly and now classes are focusing on synchronicity for the team competition. As per BjP guidelines, clubs may only compete in two interclubs per year, I entered in both. Over two consecutive Saturdays, I travelled to school halls about an hour's drive from my residency.

Interclub #1 

As with last year's interclubs, the beginner and novice sections were scheduled as the last events of the day. The sun was setting as I looked beyond the louvres of the hall. This interclub consisted of fairly local dancers. We were treated with a generous warm-up space and provided with plentiful parking which took a lot of the stress away. I was able to practise in a mirrored room to music which accompanied previous ladies' sections. During marching, I gauged that grip on this particular floor was smoother than that of my usual venue's. Also, the music was louder than my usual setting's, I had to adjust to these differences. It was time for me to dance! I discovered that I had forgotten to focus on my five words and let my mind drift away until about the third routine. I had a great time doing my best physie. Eventually it was quite dark outside as ladies and their supporters headed towards the car park. 

Interclub #2

I was impressed with the dedication of the families who flew in especially for this competition. Unlike Interclub #1, the host had welcomed clubs from three different states. The school hall was packed with girls, ladies and their supporters resulting in a lot of standing audience members. After marshalling, we were seated for about one and a half sections (about 15 minutes). I've never experienced this before, even at zones we were able to actively stand up and keep our blood flowing. On the floor, I found the problem of comparing myself to others which meant I couldn't give my full attention on physie-ing. I will try to focus on my own dancing rather than watching others in my peripheral vision at the zone competition. As we marched off, I realised that strategically positioned sideways-facing chairs created a barricade so that dancers could have an aisle to exit. 

Overall, I was very pleased with my performances. I am glad that I had the opportunity to experience how different clubs run their events and to explore different venues. 

5 words for 5 routines

Two weeks to go until my first interclub for the year and for me that means only two lessons to go. By now routines are memorised and I do not have to think of what the next count is. With that being said, I still have to make sure that I maintain technique such as posture and pointed toes.

In this self-improvement post, I want to share with you how I will be simplifying my approach, dancing five routines with five memorable words. For several weeks, I asked myself what expression or message I wanted to convey with each routine. Now I have one word to focus on for each routine that will hopefully bring out my best dancing. This simple approach clears your mind so that you can be in the zone to dance. I highly encourage you to try this activity.

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.