Do you practice everyday?

[Sasa]

Am I being ridiculously shy?

I want to practice everyday. Especially because I am not so called naturally gifted dancer. To dance well, it seems like I need more training than average people...

And I do train "most" day. But to be honest, I cannot "every" day. It is because I don't want my family to see me practising... I do only when I am alone at home. However, just before a show, I REALLY need to practice, then I do. But I push my husband away from the room!!

Are you comfortable training in front of your family? Let me know how you think... any solution?

[jjj]

Ok, I'm not a belly dancer yet. But when I exercise I want my house clear too. But I'm very shy when it comes to my body.

[SeeJaneDance]

Hi, there! I'm just a student, but when I'm at my best, I train every day (lately I've been sick and injured, so it hasn't happened)...it definitely affects both the quality of my dancing and my comfort level with executing a dance. As for doing it in front of my husband or anyone else...yeah, I'm not so comfortable with that, either. What I WILL do in front of him, though, are simple stretches and isolations that I know he won't pay any attention to. We pop in a movie and I get my shimmy on. It's a way that I can spend at least a little amount of time on it no matter what. Real dance practice, though, or any work I do with dvds, happens pretty much in private. Not because I'm shy, but because he and I are both easily distracted. Either he'll start making comments, or he'll ask questions, and that doesn't work for my focus.

[Lydia]

Yes ! practise lets say 6 out of 7 day,s of the week ...that is beside my ,,dance work,, practise just for me

[Sasa]

Thanks for your answer, jjj, SeeJaneDance and Lydia!

jjj, yes, I also try to tidy my room up before I start. Otherwise I cannot concentrate!

SeeJaneDane, that's good to know it's not only me who wants to be by myself for training. But in your case, I think it's great that your husband is interested and makes comments. It's like having others' eye all the time to be pointed out when we do some non-beautiful movements. My husband imitates me and makes fun!!
Do you take private/group lessons as well or are you self-taught using DVDs?

[Sasa]

Lydia, so, professional dancer like you also practise every day in addition to your work! Thank you for letting me know since it's good example for me to make myself more disciplined!

[Lydia]

Hi Sasa....wel there is always new things that i want to do new choreo,i find new music and want to teach new combo,s in class so i have to practise...and beside that i feel so good....i try to do it every day at 11.am and try to stick to that time ,if i leave it for later usely i get busy and then nothing comes from it....but if you get used to it its like i did not eat or something ...it keeps on nagging on me ,so better get it over with in the morning...its not realy hours sometimes i only do 45 minutes ....but need to do it....lol addict!!!!!!

[Sasa]

Lydia, thank you very very much for the useful advice.
For me, setting time is really good idea. I agree morning is better. I feel I can do it this year!!
What I need to improve now is drum solo improvisation. For other type of music, I started be able to comfortably improvise, but when it comes to drum solo, my body just doesn't move. In front of mirror I look nothing like a skilled belly dancer, and I quit. When I think "oh, I need to practise drum solo", it's sooo difficult to start... I just avoid drum solo... would you kindly give me any suggestion how I can change my attitude towards drum solo?

[Darshiva]

Am I being ridiculously shy?

I want to practice everyday. Especially because I am not so called naturally gifted dancer. To dance well, it seems like I need more training than average people...

And I do train "most" day. But to be honest, I cannot "every" day. It is because I don't want my family to see me practising... I do only when I am alone at home. However, just before a show, I REALLY need to practice, then I do. But I push my husband away from the room!!

Are you comfortable training in front of your family? Let me know how you think... any solution?

I also do not like to train in front of my husband. He now offers to leave if I look like I want to dance (isn't he wonderful?!) I think that it's human nature to not want to look foolish (and let's face it, we all look foolish while we're learning how to do something) in front of someone who is WATCHING! Of course it's different in a classroom setting because everyone is doing the same thing.

Also, I think you'll find that the schedule of 'most days' is a good sane one to have. You do need rest days from formal training to give your body & brain time to recover. If you feel you are running low on time, you can always incorporate your training into housework & hygiene routines - that's actually how I encourage my full-time working students to find the time to do their dance practice (there are no excuses for not practicing in my classroom!)

Something I would recommend is to video yourself dancing every once in a while (ever few months) because that way you'll be able to see the progress you're making.

Also, it is my experience that those who take the longest to learn something do so because they learn it deeply. Once they have it, it is in their bones. So be kind about yourself when describing the progress you are making with your dance. I have had more than one lovely dancer who was still using negative language to describe her dancing!

[Sasa]

Darshiva, wow... you have an amazingly kind husband!!! (In my case, I needed to kick out my husband from the room, Oops! .....but he always sits in the very front row when I perform, which is sweet of him

Thank you for your advice. Yes, I will follow your "most days"-basis recommendation when I feel too guilty when I really cannot have time to practice...

I used to feel really embarrassed to watch my video taped dance. Now it must be the time to compare my old performance (I have never watched since I know I will want to scream!!) and my current dance... Actually, after I uploaded my performance on Youtube, I started to get used to watching myself, and I can see myself clearly more, what I have to fix, etc.