Sorry I didn’t get this to everyone sooner. The last month has been crazy with traveling. I hope to post a lot in the next week or so.

This month (August)  is all about the warm-up. I find that this is the most important part of any class.

What I like to include in my warm-up:

Breath and Movement: I like to start with some basic movements the incorporate breathe. This will help the dancers connect to their body in multiple ways.

Stretching: The next step is to stretch the muscles in the body. This is something that is very important for all types of athletic activity. No stretching = injury. I often use yoga in the section as it a way to stretch and incorporate breathe.

Conditioning: This is the part of the warm-up that focuses on strengthening the muscles that we use for dance. For a weekly class I will usually keep some exercises the same and mix it up a bit with others. I commonlt use sit-ups and glut squats in this section.

Isolations: Isolations are movement practice that focus on a single part of the body. If the head is moving then the rest of the body stays still. This can be done with almost any body part and it helps a dancer learn control of the body parts. Isolations are used in many forms of dance, but are extremely important in belly dance.

Things I sometimes add: If it is a longer class for if it applies to the lesson of the day I will often add ballet, modern or hip hop warm-up exercises. This usually goes in the isolation or conditioning section. Also I will focus my isolations on a specific movement that we may be learning that day. This helps to connect the various parts of the class.

More to come.

-Nara

Are there any things you like to have in your warm-up?