The #1 Thing to Consider When Scheduling for Summer Dance
A couple of weeks ago, I hosted the first ever Body Kind Valentine Week over on my Instagram account, and it was amazing! I interviewed dance wellness experts, offered free trainings on incorporating body kind practices into dance classes, and got wonderful feedback from dancers, teachers, and studio owners. If you missed it, you can view the videos on my Instagram account! Just click here and find the Body Kind Story Highlight on my profile.
One question that kept popping up into my DM’s after these videos went along these lines: “this is such important work, thank you! But I don’t know how to actually fit it into my classes - there’s already so much to get through, and I feel like we’re behind.”
I’m hearing that sentiment of “we’re behind” a lot these days. And it’s understandable, considering the challenges and roadblocks of the past few years. We teachers want to give our all to our students, and usually that means packing every class full of as many things as we can: technique, progressions, choreography, musicality… the list goes on and on. Add to that the fact that summer dance camps and programs are on the horizon, you might be feeling the pressure to jam pack every moment you have with your dancers with something to “catch them up”.
But today I want to share the #1 thing to consider as you organize and plan for your summer dance camps and programs, and as you look towards setting your fall schedule. But before I get to that #1 thing, I want to set the scene with some sobering statistics.
34% of 5 year old girls already restrict their food intake.
-International Journal of Eating Disorders
92% of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look, with body weight ranking the highest.
-Dove Campaign
55% of 8-18 year old boys would consider changing their diet to look better.
-Credos
78% of children who learned about body confidence in school said it made them feel more positive about themselves.
-Be Real Campaign
It’s clear that we have work to do with helping young people develop a positive body image. And this was BEFORE the pandemic; I bet these numbers are even higher now, after 2 years of being on screens practically nonstop. Make no mistake that the work of body kindness, dancer wellness, and social-emotional learning is vital to the health and happiness of our dancers. As educators and role models, it’s our responsibility to educate ourselves, and update our practices to support dance students so they can go out into the world with the tools they need to be healthy and resilient.
So, what does this have to do with scheduling your summer classes and fall classes? Everything. Because as those DM's I received show, the biggest barrier to bringing body kindness into dance classes is time. You can download all the materials from this site and others on activities, games, and how-tos, but if you don’t actually schedule in the time to do them, what’s the point?
The problem becomes the solution - build time for body kind practices into your classes by scheduling it in!
This probably seems obvious, but obvious places are always a good place to start. Especially as you’re building and considering your schedules for summer programs, and fall classes, this is an important one to keep in mind! Body kind practices can take just 5 minutes, so stop the excuse of “we don’t have time” dead in its tracks by actually planning for this time in your schedule. Have a group of intermediate dancers who really struggle with body image and confidence? Add 15 minutes to their class time, so you can dedicate 5 minutes at the beginning of class to a body scan meditation, and 10 minutes at the end of class for conversation and a body gratitude jar activity.
This strategy doesn’t just apply to your older, more advanced dancers either. Start them on the body kindness train early, and watch them grow into confident, resilient, and growth-mindset orientated tweens and teens! Schedule your creative movement and pre-ballet classes with an extra 5-10 minutes so you can read a body kind book, or play a game that reinforces body kindness.
So hop to it friends! It’s not too late to adjust your summer schedules and add 5 - 15 minutes to your classes for body kind practices. Plant this seed now, and I promise you, months from now, when you see your dancers smile at their own reflections, and witness the confidence they have in themselves, you’ll be so glad you did. And if, while you’re thinking about summer, you’d like to schedule a body kind workshop for your students, contact me! I’d love to chat with you more about supplementing your summer dance programs with a customized body kind workshop to boost dancer confidence.
Happy summer scheduling!