Even though we literally, just kicked of the dance season, it's never to early to start preparing for a totally awesome competition season. Honestly, balancing a dance and cheer competition season may be making me a little bit of an over planner but I guess for the purpose of this blog, it works!
MUSIC:
First thing, I do every dance season once choreography has begun, is every song our dancer performs to is added to our family playlist. This way, she more likely to hear the song and remember Miss J told me to practice this before next week or I need to practice this choreography so we can move on. Not every dancer has time to write down notes in between classes, and so this is just a great memory trick to encourage her to think about dance. We use Amazon music but to be honest any streaming service works for this.
We create a playlist exclusively for our dancer as well, this way she does not have to search for her music while she is practicing on her own. This playlist comes in handy when our dancer is practicing at competition or the hotel, just pair the playlist with a Bluetooth speaker and you're good to go.
MUSICAL THEORY:
I was having a conversation with the woman who taught me to play the piano, and had mentioned to her our dancer's songs have a lot of piano in them. So, together we came up with the idea of finding the sheet music for the songs, and teaching our dancer how to play the music for a better understanding of the rhythm of the song. I have integrated learning to play the sheet music into our dancer's homeschool curriculum for music, instead of the music feeling like an additional task.
FORESIGHT:
Last competition season, we had a few problems, that this season, I told my husband we need to have a solution to these problems long before competition season starts. The first problem was at some competitions the dressing rooms, are kind of limited, so to avoid not having anywhere for our dancer to sit while I do her hair and make up other than the floor. I knew this season I wanted to order a collapsible stool. This season our dancer also has a few more routines than last season which means more costumes. Last season, we were already struggling to fit her props, costumes, shoes, make up, hair products and accessories in her regular size Glam Gear bag. We are upgrading to the larger Glam Gear Bag after just one season, so if you are ordering a Glam Gear Bag keep that in mind.
SELF CARE:
Start prioritizing your self care now! What do you need to lower your stress during an hectic day with possibly early mornings, and very late nights? Write a list of what those things are, and make sure you have a way of getting them while traveling or at competition. I start every morning with a specific smoothie for my anemia, and I know most hotels do not have blenders, so I found a battery operated smoothie I could throw in my luggage for competition season. I am a 90's baby, so at this stage in the game, I care about comfort, forget the make up, messy bun and getting things done is pretty much my mantra during competition season. Leggings are a must for me, and competition season starts in the frigid winter of New York, so fleeced lined leggings are going to be my favorite travel companion this season.
FIT CHECK:
What is my dancer wearing when she isn't competing? Most studios have some sort of dress code when it comes to dancers at the competition venue. Make sure you know that first. Last season, our dancer lived in Nike Pro's under her mandatory team jacket and pants. I suspect this season maybe be some what similar but I also do not want her in shorts and a sports bra in the middle of winter. So, I have started putting together a few comfortable fits to help her relax after a long day of competition. I usually move on to what our dancer is wearing when we are traveling, especially when competitions can be a few hours road trip or a plane ride. It is best to purchase anything for travel now ahead of competition season than the month of as Amazon has gotten slower in delivery.
FUNDRAISING:
This season, I joined our studios Booster Blub, this is actually the first studio we have been to with a Booster Club but I am so incredibly thankful I joined. The Booster Club, is always fundraising, and coming up with ideas to really help the studio, the dancers, and the families which is great because it allows us to be more involved with our dancer's dance life. As a military spouse one of my favorite things about our booster club is not every fundraiser is a local fundraiser, which allows us to fundraise more with family and friends we've met over my husband military career. I cannot forget to add the booster club is so welcoming to new dance families, and makes every feel like you all are part of one big family.
Now, I am sure, I will find some more things later, I could be doing with my time to help our dancer have a terrific competition season but for now here is where my focus is at.
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