Home Challenge 3: Your Dance Motions (and some conditioning)

Home Challenge 3: Your Dance Motions (and some conditioning)

OK ladies the score sheet has 10 points that go to the motions/dance section. This is just as important as the jump section. So we better be dancing divas out there on the floor too! Here is your home challenge to work on your current dance and be the dancing diva you need to be to get full credit. This home challenge will require you to really think about your dance and all the specifics. For example every arm placement, every leg kick, every pointed toe and every smile. All of it is so important to getting the dance story interpreted to your audience and judges. And most of all it is so important to getting that high score.

Your Dance challenge:

• break down the dance motion by motion. Check your levels and all components of your dance. Make sure you are satisfied with what you are doing. Could it be better?
• Do your dance very slowly and work on being sharp and tight with your motions.
  Speed up the dance and make sure you have found the right kind of facials to do during the different parts of dance. Check these facials out in the mirror. Do they look good on you? Do you look crazy? Find the right looks for you and incorporate them into the routine as if they are part of the dance.
• Now do the dance up to speed since you have perfected it. Find someone to watch your dance and give you feedback. This can be a friend, parent, sibling or whoever. They don't even need to know about dance, they just have to be impressed by your moves. Ask them if you are tight in motions, are your placements where they should be, did you make good faces during the routine and etc. If you can, have someone record your routine for you. This way you can self critique and self correct.

The conditioning and Stretching: All good routines need flexibility and strength. So we are going to work some of both in this home challenge.

• Motion holds: Yep that rights. It painful and hard but it will only make you stronger! We are going to do a motion and hold it for 30 seconds before moving n to the next motion. Do the following motion for 30 seconds each. High V (fee apart) , T (fee together) , broken T (feet apart), Diagonal with a lunge, other diagonal with other lunge, back to High V. Rest slightly between reps. Do 3 sets of motion drills.
• Splits: Everyone's favorite. Just like having good motions that are in the correct placement you must also watch the placement of each split in order to get the most out of the stretch. Each split should be held for 1 minute at a time. Already flat in your splits? Then move on to oversplits. You can do this by having your front leg slightly raised from the ground. This should only be done if you already have your splits completely flat on the ground. Do each split 2 times, holding each time for one minute.
• push ups: You have to have buff arms to get through an all star routine! When you are doing your dance I want to see your muscles from being tight and hitting the motions each time. Do 3 sets of 10 push ups.
• Let's give your legs a little rest this week and focus on the core of your body. Strong core will improve all areas of cheerleading. Let's do simple ab crunches. The best way to do abs is to do them slowly and correctly. Do not strain your neck this is not your abs and will never help you strengthen your core, it will just give you headache. Let's do 3 sets of 50 abs. You can do straight on abs, twisting to the right and then to the left.
  

RECAP:

• Breakdown the dance, do it slowly and build up speed with confidence.
• Perform your dance for someone else or for a video.
• Motion drill: hold each motion for 30 seconds each.
• Splits: Work on all 3 positions for the splits. Splits should be held for 1 minute each and then repeat. All splits are worked two times.
• Push ups: 3 sets of 10
• Abs: 3 sets of 50 abs.

Ok Ladies that is Home Challenge 3. I hope to hear that you all are doing these home challenges and taking the opportunity to bettering yourself. Everyone wants to see their little paper cheerleader move on down the poster board! The only way you will get better is by adding in some extra effort!

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time."

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing-that's why we recommend it daily."

And here is a bonus one that I found. I laughed.
"A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just have one thing to say to the authors of that study: Duh."

**Fliers don't forget to be stretching your skills. Bow-n-arrows, heel stretches, scorpions etc.

Cheers,
Coach Heather