Dance News Archives - Evolution Dance Complex

Tips for Staying Connected With Dance Over Summer Break

July 1, 2023

It’s officially summertime, and for many dancers, that means it’s time for a well-deserved break.

After months of rehearsals, performances, competitions, and travel it’s essential to give your body some rest and let it recover. However, taking a break doesn’t mean you have to stop dancing completely. In fact, summer break can be an excellent opportunity to improve your skills and technique without the added pressure of performances and competitions.

Staying connected with dance over summer break is important to take your skills to the next level. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of rest and improvement during summer break and give you some tips on how to use this time effectively.

Rest is essential.

First and foremost, it’s important to take some time off and rest your body. Dancing is a physically and mentally demanding activity, and your body needs a break to recover and prevent injury. Use this time to focus on self-care activities including

Massages
Stretching
Acupuncture
Pilates
And other low-impact exercises.

If you’ve been struggling with injuries or chronic pain, now is an excellent time to seek professional help and start a rehabilitation program. A little bit of rest can go a long way in helping you come back stronger and more prepared for the upcoming season.

Keep it moving.

While rest is crucial, sitting on the couch all day is not the best way to recover. It’s important to keep moving and stay active. You can use this time to explore different dance styles or take classes in areas you want to improve. Attend summer intensives and workshops, or try out online classes. Another great way to stay active is to cross-train with some supplemental activities like yoga, swimming, cycling, or hiking. These activities can help you improve your endurance, flexibility, and overall fitness, which can benefit your dancing in the long run.

Hone your craft.

Summer break doesn’t have to mean a hiatus from dance training. Use this time to focus on areas of your dancing that need improvement. Take a closer look at your technique, footwork, and musicality. Work on new choreography, or create your own routines. Watch dance videos, attend performances, and seek inspiration from other creative works. Use this time to get better at your craft and come back to the studio with renewed passion and dedication.

Keep in touch with the world of dance.

As a budding or established dancer, it is vital to stay informed about your craft. An excellent platform for gaining insight is by reading online dance publications, such as this one. These sources provide advice from experienced dancers and choreographers, updates on industry developments, articles on advocacy in dance, and more. By immersing yourself in the world of dance, you boost your chances of success in your career. Keep up-to-date with the latest trends and knowledge; it will pay off in the long run.

Be mindful of burnout.

While summer break is an excellent opportunity for rest and improvement, be mindful not to overdo it. Burnout can happen when you push yourself too hard, too quickly. Remember, it’s okay to take it slow and enjoy your free time. Avoid setting unrealistic goals or expectations for yourself, and prioritize self-care and rest. Listen to your body and take breaks when you need them. Your physical and mental health should always come first.

Prepare for the upcoming season.

Finally, use this time to plan for the upcoming dance season. Start by setting your goals and priorities for the year. What do you want to achieve? What areas do you need to focus on? Plan out your training schedule, and make sure to include time for rest and recovery. Talk to your dance teachers and coaches about your goals, and ask for their input and advice. By setting clear goals and expectations for yourself, you can approach the upcoming season with confidence and enthusiasm.

Summer break can be a time of rest and rejuvenation, but it can also be an opportunity for improvement and growth. Use this time wisely by resting your body, staying active, improving your craft, being mindful of burnout, and planning for the upcoming season. Remember that taking care of yourself should always be your top priority, so enjoy your free time and come back to the studio ready to dance!

If you need some advice on how to find balance this summer, contact the experts at Evolution Dance Complex today! With our clinics, camps, and intensives, we can ensure you stay in shape and are dance-ready all summer long.

5 More Incredible Reasons to Take an Adult Dance Class

September 6, 2022

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again (maybe a little louder this time): A person taking an adult dance class reaps so many rewards! However, there is one giant challenge that many of us face when considering exercise—getting started.

It can be difficult to carve time out of your already busy schedule. Also, stepping outside of your comfort zone isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Sound familiar? We are all so good at avoiding the things that benefit our bodies and minds. Exercise is seen as a four-letter word by some.

If that’s the case, a shift in perspective could do the trick! What if you view an adult dance class as the opportunity to move your body in a way that makes you feel good? Instead of focusing on how sweaty you get, think about how you feel at the end of class. Instead of thinking about how hard the class is, pay attention to the way you feel when you land a challenging move.

A perspective shift can help you to try new things and break past barriers that keep you from trying new things, like an adult dance class. Have we convinced you yet? If not, read on for more reasons to get dancing today.

Even More Reasons to Take an Adult Dance Class

Improved Posture

Form is a large component of any form of dance, particularly in ballet. Dance has an impact on the core and back muscles that can lead to improved posture.

Strengthens the Mind & Body

Even if you’re simply dancing for fun, it takes a good amount of strength to move your body in a controlled manner. Dance classes help you develop strength in your body with challenging movements. Plus, you strengthen your mind when you learn something new!

Boosted Coordination

Taking an adult dance class helps enhance your posture, balance, and strength. Each and every one of those components can help increase your coordination.

Raises Endurance

As many of you know, performing movements that were tough at one point become manageable when repeated often enough. Adult dance helps increase your endurance and energy to help you stay nimble while playing another sport or help you keep up with your family’s busy schedule.

Make New Friends (or Bring One)

Dance classes are a fun way to socialize and move your body. You’re instantly surrounded by a group of people with whom you have a common interest. On the flip side, you can bring along a friend to class to ramp up the fun and accountability.

Take an Adult Dance Class in Wilmington, NC

Perhaps it’s time to shake up your routine or maybe you need a way to move your body during the week. An adult dance class is a perfect way to strengthen your body and mind while giving your coordination and endurance a boost.

You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for an adult dance class in Wilmington, NC. Register for one of our classes or contact us today to learn more!

Need even more reasons to take adult dance classes? Check out our other blog post.

6 Benefits of Summer Dance Camps

April 1, 2022

Unleash your child’s creativity while taking their skills to a new level this summer with dance classes and camps!

Evolution Dance Complex has the perfect cure for summertime blues and boredom with our extensive line-up of intensives and camps. With so many choices for camps and other activities available over the summer, we’ve listed six benefits of summer dance camps and why our dance camps should be at the top of your list!

Improve learning abilities.

It’s crucial that learning skills stay sharp during the summer. Evolution’s summer dance camps will help your child develop the ability to focus and understand the concept of discipline.

Summer dance camps and intensives are great resources for triggering young minds through observational and physical learning. In class, dancers memorize spacing, music, steps, and formations. They will carry these abilities into all areas of life, including home and school.

Kids can discover their passion.

Summer dance camps are an excellent way for students to find their passion. Many of our dance camps offer specific dance genres or themes and can even fuse several styles giving them opportunities to find something they genuinely care about.

These camps include a variety of dance styles, different types of music, themes, and crafts. Our camps offer something for every child!

A chance to have fun and be creative.

EDC’s summer dance camps provide various fun activities for children while they learn new moves, play fun games, and cultivate creativity.

Increase social skills and make new friends.

One of the best things about summer camps is meeting new people. Our dance camps encourage new friendships and introduce your dancer to new positive role models.

Dance classes and camps build a team-like atmosphere, and dancers will work together in camps while improving skills. They will work to overcome shyness and stage fright and all the tools to become a true performer.

[Check out our summer camp flyer here!]

More physical activity.

Dance is an aerobic activity ideal for all children. Your dancer will improve flexibility, range of motion, balance, strength, stamina, and coordination at camp. They will learn how important it is to develop healthy habits and healthy hearts!

Improved self-confidence.

Dance is an outlet for self-expression. When children learn to express their feelings, it increases their self-esteem.

As they conquer new skills, they will become aware of how their bodies move and gain a sense of accomplishment. All the new things they will be doing and learning add up to a lot of growth, giving them the confidence they will need to handle any challenges that come their way.

If this sounds like the perfect solution for your child this summer, register today for one of our dance camps! We are offering camps for children ages three and older. Themes range from princess to perfecting your audition skills. Call the studio to register, or you can register online on our website!

Is dancing in the classroom just like dancing on stage?

April 1, 2021

All the classroom is a stage, or is it the other way around?

The hours of sweat and tears while training in the studio helps dancers perfect their technical skills and style, while also teaching them valuable skills in preparing for the “real” world. Dancing in the studio and dancing on stage are great ways to prepare yourself for future success, inside the world of dance and beyond.

Keep reading for six ways that being on stage prepares you for the future.

Inspires confidence and poise.

Dancing on stage can be an overwhelming experience. Stepping onto a stage and performing in front of an audience requires a tremendous amount of confidence and self-esteem, as you’re presenting your talent. In these situations, it’s natural to feel some nerves, but as a professional performer, you need to harness and use these nerves to better your performance.

A confident and poised attitude will help you stand out in job interviews and when securing work experience.

Instills improvisation techniques.

Success on the stage requires the ability to respond to unexpected developments. Maybe the music cuts off, your partner is off, or you have a costume issue. The ability to respond quickly in these situations is valuable; as the saying goes, the show must go on.

Bringing that attitude to the business world means that you will be highly adaptable and able to overcome problems. Stage performers know how to expand when the situation calls for it.

Teaches resiliency.

Due to the industry’s competitive and highly skilled nature, dancers will likely experience rejection and criticism at some point.

To cope with these challenges, resilience, and tenacity are essential traits. You need to use these experiences to hone and develop your craft and bounce back better than before.

Helps with communication skills.

On stage, you are in full view of the audience and your fellow performers. The ability to stand in front of people and deliver value is crucial. Once you build up your foundation of confidence, you can develop the other habits of highly effective communicators.

As a performer, you quickly learn that presentation and communication are about the art, not you, and conveying the story to the audience is part of your job.

[Want to know more about the world of competitive dance? Click here!]

Reiterates the importance of marketing yourself.

Many times, in dance, you will have to audition to secure a part, so it’s vital that you’re able to sell and market yourself and your abilities. This essential skill will come in handy when applying for college or for a new position in the career world.

To get your name recognized and help secure work, you’ll need to employ your networking skills learned in dance and work to make those important connections.

Teaches the importance of hard work.

As you work to improve and perfect your dance for the stage, long hours are needed. The mindset to keep working to reach a result is priceless when preparing to be on stage. It also makes a substantial difference in the professional world. The ability to put in long hours to achieve a goal is a vital success trait.

Being on the stage can be a rewarding experience for the dancer and their parents when they notice the positive changes and growth. The excitement of stage competition and the sense of accomplishment is a fantastic thing to experience.

Are you ready to take your child’s dance to another level with competition dance? Contact the expert and high-trained staff at Evolution Dance Complex today!

Photo Feature- Emily Dorman (Dancer/Model)

A Day in the [Dance] Shoes of a Competitive Dancer

January 31, 2021

Behind the doors of the typical dance studio, people imagine adorable little girls in tutus leaping on the hardwoods or stretching over a barre.

The average person pictures a simple, carefree world, where students listen for the rhythm, learn some choreography, and spend time with their friends.

While fun and carefree is a part of this dance world, the effort put in by a fully committed competitive dancer is a lot more than what is shown at a recital or on TV. Competitive dancing consists of many hours of training, various technique classes, and relentless choreography. Dancers and their teachers put their time, blood, sweat, literal tears into their craft – and they wouldn’t trade it for the world. The feeling of improvement and hard work or placing in that important competition is more rewarding than anything else.

As a highly motivated competition dancer, Valadie will give us a glimpse into the life of a 14-year-old competitive dancer.

Valadie’s story

I started my first dance class a few months after I turned one and have loved it ever since! I started dancing at Evolution Dance Complex the year it opened, in 2014. I started getting very serious around nine years old and went to several competitions and conventions. Our family was traveling quite a bit, and with school, it became somewhat of a struggle.

It was a lot to go to public school while being out of town for a convention almost every weekend, but I made it work until 6th grade. Then in 7th grade, we decided to start online school. It is still hard to manage school while dancing 20-30 hours a week and being gone for conventions and competitions on the weekends, but both are so important to me, so I make it work. That means constantly doing schoolwork at midnight after dance class. Even with so much hard work, dance has provided me with some fantastic opportunities which will help me continue to succeed in my future.

One of those opportunities was being chosen to model for a dancewear brand named Second Skin Costumes! I auditioned to be a model for them, and I got it! I made so many wonderful friends from this experience, and I also found a new love for this awesome dancewear brand!

Another amazing opportunity and experience I had was being flown to Arizona to film a new and inspiring project with Missy Moffitt that will help dancers for many years to come. It is an app where dancers can do intricate training exercises at home. I am one of the demonstrators on the app. Intricate training is an excellent tool that helps better a dancers’ technique, and I suggest all dancers give it a try! I am so happy that we added an Intricate Technique Class into the EDC schedule this year because it really helps me become a stronger and more controlled dancer. I’m so excited, and I was honored to be a part of this project.

I also had the chance to tour with the Revel Dance Convention as a pro-reveler and assistant, and I was a Top 13 Core Performer Finalist with Radix Dance Competition last year. These are two of my favorite dance convention honors that make me very proud.

In addition to dancing, I have a passion for performing in the theater. I do one to two community shows each year where I can showcase my dance abilities and my acting and singing skills. I’m so grateful for all the opportunities dance has brought me, and I will cherish all the memories forever. Dance has been my best friend, and I’m so thankful to have this art form in my life. I’m so grateful for the Evolution Dance Complex and all of the amazingly talented teachers that help me better myself every day. I am very grateful for Brooklyne; she has offered the dancers of EDC a gorgeous facility to train in and a challenging environment that is preparing us for our future in dance. She continually pushes me to be my best and has and has made the best studio in Wilmington in my eyes! I love my dance family and look forward to this upcoming competition season!

The benefits of competitive dance.

Valadie’s story shows that while competitive dance isn’t easy, the reward is truly worth the work. Some of the positive things that competitive dance has to offer include:

Gives dancers a sense of purpose and achievement.
Provides many learning opportunities.
Prepares dancers for life challenges.
Implements poise and confidence.
Provides experiences and memories that last a lifetime.
It’s a great way to network.
It opens up so many doors – even outside of dance.

Competitive dancing can be a rewarding family experience for dance parents when they notice the positive changes, growth, and confidence in their child. The excitement of competition and the sense of accomplishment is an amazing thing to be a part of.

Are you ready to take your child’s dance to another level with competition dance? Contact the expert and high-trained staff at Evolution Dance Complex today!

7 Things Every Dancer Needs This Christmas

November 20, 2020

The holidays are fast approaching, and chances are you are scouring the malls and online stores to find the perfect gift for friends and family.

However, finding that special present for the dancer in your life may be a bit more of a struggle. You wrestle with the need to get them something practical and the desire to get them something fun and exciting.

We put together seven gift ideas that can be the perfect combination of fun and practical. With these ideas, you can help make the holidays merry and bright for your tiny dancer! Keep your shopping simple and stop by the EDC apparel store where we can help you with all your practice and dance competition needs.

Tights and leotards.

Every dancer needs tights – that’s obvious, right? We know, but the thing is, busy dancers will go through a lot of them. Runs, stains, tears, and excessive sweating, will happen, and dancers will need a backup pair of tights and a clean leotard. And because temperatures in studios can be unpredictable, it is crucial to have warm-up clothes to layer on top and remove easily.

If you are buying these as a gift, find out their size and buy them three or four pairs, and they should be set for the year with a spare set for emergencies. Our EDC apparel stocks all kinds of dance tights and leotards, and we can help you find the perfect gift for your dancer.

A customized dance bag.

If your dancer doesn’t have a custom dance bag to hold all their essentials, now is the time. Having a bag will keep all those vital dance items organized and ready to go for any upcoming practice or competition. Splurge a little and add a fun monogram.

Some good gift ideas for dance bags that hold everything without being too bulky include:

Dance shoes.

In the world of dance, you can never have too many pairs of shoes. So, make sure your dancer is prepared this season. Besides your basic ballet slippers or jazz shoes, make sure they have all the specialty dance shoes, such as tap or pointe. EDC sells all the latest dance attire, new and used shoes, and our inventory swaps out weekly.

Emergency kit.

A kit with all the last-minute emergency essentials will be a lifesaver for your dancer – and you! A kit with important first aid items, hair accessories, and hygiene needs will get them through their performance or practice with ease.

Some ideas of what to pack inside include:

Band-aids
Antiseptic wipes & ointment
Headache & body ache relief
Bobby pics
Elastics
Hair Spray
Comb/ brush
Deodorant
Lip balm

If you want to turn this into a gift. Find a cute makeup bag that is just their style, embroider it with their name, and pack with all these essential goodies.

A water bottle

Staying hydrated is extremely important to a dancer’s performance. Even mild dehydration can cause fatigue, mental fogginess and can affect balance.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that athletes should drink about two cups before beginning a workout, then drink five to ten ounces every 20 minutes or so. This means that a high-quality, reusable water bottle should be at the top of your dancers’ Christmas list.

A dance journal.

You never know when you’ll need to record an essential piece of information or crucial dance tip, so having a dance journal can be critical to your dancer’s growth. Having a place to write down dance goals or journal about the day in a space specially created for dancers can help motivate and inspire them.

Stretching bands

Stretch bands and foam rollers are more for advanced dancers but are very important to maintain flexibility. Sometimes a dancer just needs that extra push or pull on a muscle but is not yet flexible enough to reach the limb themselves, and this is where a stretching band can come in useful and make an excellent gift. While a foam roller is great for a quick massage to provide relief or prevent injury.

As a dancer, your body is your instrument, and it often requires a variety of items. And there is nothing worse than finding yourself without the tools you need to succeed. Preparedness is essential to us here at EDC and something we instill in our dancers to ensure they are thriving inside the dance studio and out.

So, make sure your dancer has everything they need to be safe, comfortable, and successful this upcoming year. Check out our on-site EDC apparel store for all of your dancer’s needs!

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