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Warm up plays a crucial role in dancers’ life, it provides safe preparation for a performance as well as any physical activity. As Tom Welsh stated warm-up is essential for dancers and has multiple benefits. It activates muscles and nerves, so they work together and help you produce coordinated movement. It prevents injury and it is believed that good warm-up can improve your overall performance. Warm-up should always be safe and focus on the activity you are about to perform.

Even though I was always warming up I never really thought about it more in depth and only in the past few weeks I was introduced to a warm-up structure that makes complete sense and makes me feel prepared and ready for any dance practice I do. In the past my warm-up was always the same, I never really thought about structuring it depending on what I want my body to prepare for and now that I do my body feels more ready to take action in what I want it to.

A perfect example for me would be my preparation for Arran’s ground-based class. In my warm-up I started focusing on preparing my body to be in contact with the floor, on warming up the upper part of my body properly so it collides smoothly with the floor during class. I focus on activating my arm and back muscles so they can support me in any handstand, roll or shape I want to master. I focus on mobilizing my shoulders and neck to be able to get to any shape smoothly and without feeling any pain. I focus on strengthening my wrists and arms so they can get and hold me even when I’m upside down. Last but not the least important one change in my warm-up is my movement quality preparation. I started loving this particular part of my warm-up as it always gives me a wonderful first feel of dance in my day. I put my headphones on, sometimes close my eyes and just let the movement flow through my body always discovering something new and unknown yet being completely conscious of what my body is doing. I let the liquid pour to every single inch under my skin, I let the solid to remind me where to put an end to a sentence and I let the gas flow in and out of me making me as light as a feather always blowing me different ways.

‘The more the warm up movements mimic the movements you will be performing later (in terms of space, ranges motion, tempo and movement quality), the better they will prepare your body for the stresses of dancing (Franklin 2004,9)”

By giving more focus to what I want my body to prepare for, it does it with ease and without being surprised. Even little changes make a difference, and I can definitely feel it. My warm-up no longer looks the same every day, it changes and reflects on my personal needs. I listen to my body and by doing this it helps me perform better in exchange.

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Motivation and determination have been crucial elements in my journey as a dancer. Looking back on my dance practice, I realize how essential these qualities are for continued growth and improvement. Dance is not just about technique; it's also about mental resilience, and my motivation has often been the driving force that has helped me push through difficult moments. There are times when my body feels tired or when a particular move or routine feels out of reach. It’s during these moments that I’ve learned just how powerful motivation is.

In my past dance journey I’ve experienced a lot of rough times. I was faced with criticism on daily basis and as I was growing up I’ve come to realize it was not always objective, but sometimes only used as a tool to manipulate with young growing dancers like me. It wasn’t always easy. On contrary in took me a long time to finally find a clear vision of myself and armour my self from the unnececary coments made by my teachers. Looking back at it, I’m thankfull for the experience it gave me. It shaped my mind and made it a powerfull tool that helps me with my everyday dance practice.

Psychologically, my mindset plays a huge role in how I approach dance and my overall performance. I’ve learned that how I think about myself and my abilities directly impacts my success. When I focus on self-belief and stay positive, my performance improves. But when I let doubt or fear creep in, it creates barriers to my growth. Early on, I struggled with perfectionism, which led to frustration and self-criticism. I realized that constantly judging myself negatively was holding me back from enjoying the process and embracing mistakes as part of my development. Now, I try to maintain a growth mindset. I remind myself that making mistakes is an essential part of learning, and that setbacks are just stepping stones toward success.

‘Mind is your most powerful tool or your most harmful weaapon.’ (Taylor and Estanol, 2015, p. 6)

My mindset plays an iportatnt part of my current Contemporary- ground based practice. The shapes and combinations I’m presented to are not always easy. They require practice as well as a strong mind, that helps me overcome the challenges. Now I view mistakes as part of the learning process. I see them as stepping stones rather than failures. This change in perspective has made me more resilient. It helps me recover quickly and redirect my energy into the next challenge, rather than dwelling on what went wrong. By keeping my mindset  this way I don’t even realize and my body shows me progress and all the simple and abstract shapes feel more natural day by day. Sometimes it takes more time but I accept all the ups and downs as I see them as part of the learning process.

I’ve come to realize that determination is what allows me to break through the challenges. Determination has taught me to keep going, even when things don’t happen immediately. Each time I fall short of my goals, I remind myself that it’s all part of the learning process. This mindset has helped me stay focused on the long-term picture and my progress as a dancer.

Through it all, my motivation keeps me moving forward, my determination helps me overcome setbacks, and my mindset allows me to approach each challenge with a sense of possibility. With the encouragement of those around me, I continue to improve, and I’m excited to see where this journey will take me.

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As a dancer, I've come to realize that sleep and rest are just as important as the hours I spend pushing myself hard in the studio. In the past, I thought that pushing myself to keep dancing, practicing longer, and rehearsing harder would make me better. But over time, I’ve learned that without enough rest, my body and mind don’t perform at their best. Rest and sleep are not just nice to have - they’re essential for staying healthy, improving my skills, and enjoying dancing to the fullest.

Resting doesn’t always mean "doing nothing"-sometimes it’s about engaging in something that calms me or brings me joy, which allows me to return to my practice feeling more energized and ready to engage in classes we take on daily basis. In our Contemporary practice we are learning new shapes and combinations every week and having enough rest helps my body to be ready to participate and engage in the class physically as well as mentally.

Dance isn’t just physical, it’s also about remembering steps, learning new choreography, and being mentally present. When I get enough rest on a regular basis, I find that I’m more able to retain choreography and stay focused during practice.

Personally I found that Improvising  is one of the most relaxing ways for me to unwind, and it has become an important form of mental rest. While structured classes are essential for improving technique, there’s something uniquely freeing about moving to the music without any pressure or expectations. When I’m improvising by myself, I don’t have to think about perfection. I’m not worried about doing every move perfectly or trying to hit a certain standard. Instead, it’s about the joy of movement and the way the music makes me feel. It's just me, the music, and my body, and in those moments, I feel truly at peace.

Sleep, in particular, is key to my recovery. I’ve noticed that when I get a good night’s sleep, I’m able to concentrate better during practice, pick up choreography faster, and move more freely. But it’s not just my body that benefits from sleep, my mind does too. Dance requires both physical skill and mental focus. After a long day of dancing, sleep helps me process everything I’ve learned. But it’s not just about getting sleep,it’s about getting it at the right time, consistently. Establishing a regular sleep routine has a huge impact on how I feel physically, mentally, and emotionally, both inside and outside the studio.

In the end, sleep and rest are vital for my performance and well-being. They allow me to stay healthy, recover, and feel ready to dance with energy and joy. Thanks to periodasation my current dance practice allows me to grow sustainably, have time to rest, and give more attention to what my body needs- in exchange I see and feel a bigger progress in how my body and mind engage during my class.

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Franklin, E. (2004). Conditioning for dance. Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics

Minden, E.G. (2005). The ballet companion: Ballet Companion. Touchstone

Skácelová, D. (2017). Teória tanca pre konzervatória. Bratislava : Forpress

Taylor, J. and Estanol, E. (2015). Dance psychology for artistic and performance excellence. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Welsh, T. (2009). Conditioning for dancers. The University of Michigan: University Press of Florida

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Mcgreevy-Nichols, S., Sprague, M. and Scheff, H. (2005). Experiencing dance: from student to dance artist. Human Kinetics

Taylor, J. and Taylor, C. (1995). Psychology of dance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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The dance practice I’ve decided to reflect on is Ground based Contemporary. I’ve chosen this style because it has introduced me to things I’ve never done before and showed me a different perspective when approaching floor based movement qualities. Warm-up, mental state and rest play a big part in my life as a dancer and that is the reason I’ve decided to reflect on and focus on these dance science topics

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Periodisation is a system that systematically plans training, with the goal of the athlete to peak at a certain point. It provides various intensity levels that give us enough time to rest, prevent injuries, burnout and help with the overall performance level. Periodisation gave me opportunity to look at a professional dance development in a different kind of perspective. Ever since I was introduced to this topic my thoughts around dance training took a different turn and I’ve realized that the stereotypical training that is pushing you as a dancer is not the only way to go and as a professional dancer it could be very beneficial for my development/performance to customize it depending on my goals. Thanks to periodisation I feel well rested, and my body is not pushed to its limits, that way I can sustainably continue to develop in my training without feeling exhausted.

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warmup- ground based contemporary practice