5 tips guaranteed to help your holiday physie practice!

Read the original post here: Practice makes progress

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

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: May/June

My recent physie sessions have been filled with innovative, memorable and effective approaches, so I'd like to share some of them with you.

We held beanbags in each hand to feel the 'swing'. The slight weight at the end of our arms enabled for the ebb and flow desired in the swinging routine. Afterwards without the beanbags, we were still able to mimic the heaviness.

Top stands were mastered against a wall to ensure that our back, elbows, shoulders and head were in line with each other. We then applied this activity to the lateral bends with top stand in the 'exercises' routine.

Learning from our peers is one of the most effective ways of realising what works and what doesn't. We partnered up and one lady observed while the other danced. After observing our partner, we gave them some constructive feedback on style and positions.

Different songs with slower tempos were utilised in order for us to deliberately execute positions in warm up. Due to this, we were not able to rely on lyrics/word painting or listening to musical cues.

Earlier this week, I attended my last class before our annual practice competition. The practice competition is a non-competitive event where we dance with our peers and get to watch girls and ladies from all the different age groups present their work. I'm looking forward using my physie smile and remembering all the steps this weekend.

It's getting closer to competition season, here are some stories you may like:

Interview: First practice competition

Practice makes progress

5 words for 5 routines

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.

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

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?

Physie favourites - melodies for beginning instrumentalists

If you or your child are lucky enough to have an instrument over the holidays, here's some sheet music for four of the melodies featured in this year's junior syllabus.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Band instruments:
Flute, Oboe
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet
Alto Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Horn in F
Trombone, Euphonium, Bassoon 
Tuba 
Glockenspiel/Mallets 

String instruments:
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass

Piano 

Recorder 

Audio:
Audio: band (wind, brass, mallets) 
Audio: strings
Audio: recorder
Audio: piano

Each of the 4 instrument families are only compatible with other instruments in their family i.e. all band instruments play the same sounding notes. However, a band instrument will play different notes to a string instrument.

Practise performing

It is important to practise performing in low-stress situations such as practice competitions run by your club (affectionately known as lollipop/chocolate competitions) where you have the opportunity to perform in a familiar environment and with people you know. There are noticeable differences between dancing in lessons, at mock competitions, interclubs, zone and intra-club competitions. I once read that clubs cannot use their normal class venues to host an interclub. This provides a level playing field for all physie girls and ladies as competitors will not have had a chance to regularly dance at the venue. However, girls/ladies may have danced at the venue before for a biennial interclub or participate in other fitness activities at the chosen venue.

What's the difference between class and competition?

• time of day
• audience
• dancing with others (not from your own club) can be off-putting when they perform moves at a slower/faster pace
• expectations
• grooming
• venue and environment
• anxiety
• louder music (I only realised this last week at an interclub)
• the material of the hall floor (I also only just realised the impact of this on foot grip)
• harder to access drinking water & bathroom facilities especially when you're in a leotard

How can we create our own opportunities to mimic a performance/competition?

• wear competition attire to class (leotard, hair)
• perform in front of family and friends
• participate in opportunities given by the club (fete performances, showcases)
• participate in practice competitions
• enter yourself into a [talent] show (especially for girls in school)

For more tips check out Practice Makes Progress.

Tracking your progress

Here I'll share some tips on tracking your progress as part of the self-improvement blog series. Keeping a record of progress can be hard due to the fact that it is difficult to calculate or measure. Some achievements show quantifiable progress while other developments are not quantifiable. For example, you can measure how high you can kick but you cannot measure how well you dance. That raises the question of, "How do I know if I've improved?"

Sometimes it is frustrating to see little improvement on a week-to-week basis. So here's advice that can help you improve in the long run.

• Remind yourself of the bigger picture, the physie year is around 40 weeks.
• If you are relatively new to physie, look back at how far you've come in a short period of time.
• Listen to praise and feedback from your teacher and peers. Believe it when they tell you that you're doing well (seriously you are) and trust that they will guide your further progress.
• Video yourself so that you can be your own audience and critic (but don't be too harsh on yourself). At the end of the year video yourself again and see the difference.
• Practice diary - Write your thoughts, questions, goals and achievements ... I can now touch my toes ... Tonight I learnt the last 16 counts of swing ... You can even doodle/sketch your routine.

Start now! Competition season is just around the corner.

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.