Has this ever happened to you, ?

My second year of post-grad ballet training, I ran myself into the ground. I was bussing across town to swim laps before my morning classes, and copying someone else's more intense looking core routine. My stamina got worse, core got weaker, and muscles seized up — it took me a decade to fully understand why.

I wanted to take better care of my body, and quite frankly, I needed the stress relief that movement brought me. But the misdirected effort left me frazzled and uncoordinated.

The way my brain works, I needed to understand the theory around appropriate training load, brain-body connection, and connective tissue resilience before I could apply it. So when my body and dancing fell apart, I got to work filling in my knowledge gaps.

My continuing education revealed system-wide knowledge gaps in adapting good training practice for adult recreational dancers. You can't just do what teenagers in full time training or Olympic level athletes are doing — you have other stuff on your plate!

So I adapted the training tools myself, and started teaching adults that way.

Turns out — the complicated sounding protocols (when they’re truly customized for your needs) make it easier to practise consistently, care for your body, and improve your dancing — without quitting your job or spending an hour a day stretching.

Here's a few options to dive in:

• The full scoop on periodisation for professional and pre-professional dancers

• 5 minute rundown on adapting these tools for adult recreational dancers

• PDF template to fit periodisation and skills based training into real life (this is my first draft — let me know what needs tweaking).

• Private lessons — less is more when it comes to practising and improving consistently. I'll help you refine the cues you use in class and add movement breaks that flow with your life and improve your dancing.

You don't have to use every tool, just pick what you have the mental bandwidth for this week.

Have fun out there (and don't bite off more than you can chew),

Natasha

P.S. If you're dancing an exam in March, you have time for ONE MORE mesocycle and unloading week so you're feeling energized and dancing better than ever on the big day. 🩰 🏅 🤩 If you want a hand, you know where to find me.