Dancers ZOOMing through the Pandemic

Irish Dancing has a vast competition circuit which runs from local competitions to global championships. Dancers on the circuit often form strong bonds over the years at these competitions.

There are stories of dancers who formed friendships at the young age of 5 at a beginner competition and later became college roommates.  Or the two friends who went head to head in competitions that now are the best of friends on the professional show circuit. And, then there are the stories of friendships that have lasted decades which all began at a "feis" pronounced "fesh," which is an Irish word commonly used to refer to Irish Dance competitions. Competitive dance provides participants an outlet to form friendships that often last for decades. 

For dancers on the competition circuit, the pandemic may have temporarily sidelined seeing each other in person, but it certainly did not sideline the ability to keep friendships growing. Last summer, a group of 11 and 12 year old Champion dancers from nine schools on the East Coast of the USA launched a ZOOM group to keep up with each other's pandemic lives. From the beginning, ZOOM proved an important lifeline for their friendship.

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Meet the Team bringing you content, 24/7 @irishdancingmagazine!

 Chelsea

Jr. Intern - Chelsea O'Connor Rea comes from a well known Irish Dancing family. Her mother, uncle, brother, and sister are all Irish Dance teachers at the famous Butler Fearon O'Connor School. Chelsea has grown up in the Irish Dance world and absolutely loves Irish Dance. She is a world class dancer on the international dance circuit and a two time Western USA Regional Oireachtas Champion.

Chelsea enjoys traveling to various states and competing overseas but loves seeing her dance friends from around the world the most! She loves being on stage; her favorite dance to perform is slip jig and her favorite tune is King of the Fairies. Chelsea plans to follow in her family's footsteps and be involved in Irish Dance for a long time as an Irish Dance teacher.  

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A 'no-brainer' gift for grandparents, aunts and uncles to give to their dancers: A Dream Dress Voucher

Dancers need costumes and often would love a new one before it is on a family's budget. New in 2020, many costume designers will now email or ship you a voucher. You choose the amount, and they will handle the rest. All the companies below are based in Ireland!

Make your dancer's day with a gift certificate/voucher to one of these companies. Wrap it up and put it under the tree!

Eire Designs by Gavin Doherty. Use a gift voucher toward the purchase of a stunning, one-of-a-kind solo costume, a mask needed for competitions or even a matching dress for an American Girl doll. Visit www.gavindoherty.co.uk for email and phone contacts to purchase a voucher and to view Eire Design’s last collection.  

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The ability to maintain maximal speed and power in Irish Dance is essential to getting through your entire round.

Endurance is always a factor in performance, but with having to spend more time training at home, the motivation to keep working is even more difficult in these trying times. Target Training's guided workouts and audio guides can help you stay on track.

By increasing your endurance, you will develop a greater lactate threshold.Your lactate threshold is significant because once you go over this threshold, fatigue will set in and you'll have to slow down.

One of the ways to maximize your endurance is to perform moderate high-intensity training rounds between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. Ellen likes to establish a dancer's limits by the length of a full round (3 steps of Reel and Treble Jig, 2-5 steps of Hornpipe and Slip Jig), Reel = 0:48, Slip Jig = 1:00, Treble Jig = 1:12, Hornpipe =1:20

This 10 minute endurance audio guide can be done while running outside or while working out on any piece of cardio equipment (bike, treadmill, elliptical, etc).

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Diving back into a training schedule after a break, if not done right, can lead to a variety of injuries and setbacks for dancers.

In the September-October 2020 issue of Irish Dancing Magazine, Target Training founder, Ellen Waller, has fabulous tips on how dancers can return to intensive dance training safely. 

Doing too little for too long, then doing too much too soon, can lead to a variety of injuries and setbacks for dancers. This can lead to negative self-talk, feelings of inadequacy and injuries.

Anyone who is getting back to dance or increasing their dance load after taking time off, needs to take it slowly.

TIP 1: FORGET ABOUT THE PAST & MENTALLY PREPARE

Forget about where you were before the break started. Instead, focus on where you are now and the steps you will take to regain your skills, stamina and strength. One useful tool that will help is visualisation.

Sit in a quiet space and close your eyes. Begin visualising your dances with perfect execution and/or challenging movements in your steps. This will help reduce nervousness surrounding your return, strengthen your mentality, and ease you back into dance.

TIP 2: TAKE IT SLOW & GO STEP-BY-STEP  

Regaining your skills, endurance, strength and flexibility must be done gradually and over time to reduce your risk of injury. The National Academy of Sports Medicine’s Optimum Performance Training (OPT) model is a great tool to follow.

It is a three-level system with five training phases beginning with a stabilisation endurance training period. This period develops a strong structural foundation that will be the base of future strength, power and endurance training.

Get started on your stabilisation development by following the three exercises at the end of this article.

TIP 3: MAKE A PLAN

A well-devised training and dance plan will help you return to dance safely and allow you to focus on what you are working on that day.

Without a plan, dancers tend to get 'lost' in what to do, often resulting in not doing anything or trying to do too much all at once.

Solicit help from a training coach and your dance coach to help devise a plan that works for your ability, is structured around your goals and needs, and will help you safely return to dance.

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