Dance update: "Have a little practice"

At the start of the year, I put together a roadmap. Here’s where things stand now, since my last update at the end of May.

"This time, I want to learn to appreciate the substance of craft itself: the classes, the practice, the learning, and the gradual improvements."

• Green bold text: Completed
• Brown text: Dropped
• Added: Objectives and Key learnings

I updated and rewrote the table with my quarterly goals and learnings.

The more precise my goals and methodology, the clearer the cause and effect: what I did, what improved, and where I deviated from the plan.

With this, I can review what I wrote down in May.

STOTT Pilates course: Fundamental class completed

✅ "From July, I will begin my first STOTT Pilates course, Anatomy. Beyond that, I have not yet committed to the next module. I would like to see how the first course unfolds before deciding on the next ($pricey$) steps."

Awesome. I actually did it!

I left with a great appreciation for the human body, a better foundational understanding of how the body moves, and the principles of STOTT Pilates.

I look forward to applying what I’ve learnt in future. Not looking forward to the cost of the next steps, but let’s see! Perhaps these constraints make my journey more intentional, memorable and meaningful.

Latin dance

Performance and competition training

✅ "Beyond that, the calendar is open. There may be a chance to perform later in August, and by September, it is competition season again. My soft goal is a double turn by the end of the year."

Yes, I'll do the performance, try to have fun, and aim for competition in September.

I've also been aching like crazy and have to foam roll my calves, then force myself to do my thighs too. It’s uncomfortable and a little painful, but manageable. My muscles do feel much less sore afterwards.

High-quality training means higher cognitive load and stress

✅ "My priority now is to have high-quality, ROI-driven days and to fully focus on Latin Ballroom choreography."

Start

✅ Paying closer attention to music/rhythm and developing a deeper appreciation of it.

✅ Demanding more of each practice to make it high-quality, and not just going for volume anymore.

✅ Ballet technique class with much more focus.

✅ Treating each minute at dance with a professional attitude, and also plenty of camaraderie and joy.

✅ Embracing the burn!

What I didn't expect was the mental strain of simply asking myself to pay 10% more attention in each class.

For example, instead of mindlessly copying the teacher or my friends at the barre, I started expecting myself to remember and dance the exercise on my own. In Latin, I started paying much closer attention to every movement.

In my 30s, I want to get the right gains from each class. Those hours might still compound into skills if I were in my teens, but now, there’s less time I’m willing to waste with passivity.

As I try to reduce the physical load through more efficient, high-quality movement, I’ve found that the cognitive load increases instead. Once I get into the lesson, things get easier, but it’s still tiring to do that hour, foam roll afterwards, and then wind down before bed.

The cost of paying attention has also made me appreciate decompression time much more, including little pockets of rest during the workday. I still want to read on top of my day job and dancing, so the overall cognitive load can be significant.

Paying this higher “blood price” made me wonder: what is the point of trying so hard? Why pay so much attention? Strangely, that frustration made me feel I was doing something right. I must move beyond comfortable repetition and into the "learning space".

I think I’m developing a better process: identifying the fundamental exercises worth doing and re-doing, so that each action becomes more intentional and polished. For example, I recently took a class that completely rebuilt my Samba box step. Same actions, but with completely different bones and soul.

Still, following the “why”, I wonder why I want to dance like this, and whether it’s worth it.

The answer so far: to feel freedom and autonomy in my own body.

Didn't manage to do this:

❌ Tracking my practice with good data: effort and calories burnt per session, plus close observation of myself

❌ Filming myself at least twice a month.

❌ Pilates push class once a week.

Turning up and paying close attention in class was already quite exhausting, so I didn't really monitor my heart rate with data or film as often. Instead, I just focused on turning up, learning the material, practising well, and dancing with intention when required.

I also didn't do as many Pilates classes in July, because of my commitment to the STOTT Pilates programme and some urgent matters. With regular Pilates, the coordination and core strength seemed easier to tap into during dance. Without it, I had to lock in and pay much closer attention during each class. I plan to observe and see whether my hypothesis is true, but likely in Q4.

Appendix

The work ahead

• To stay calm, stay positive, never quit.
• To do the work in front of me, with care and attention, and loosen my grip on the outcome.
• To remember what matters: a long-term, professional mindset, quality practice, and people.

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