Dancer Health – Part 2: The Warm-Up

Welcome to Part 2 of our blog post on building a warm-up for dancers of all abilities! Below is the continuation of some tips and suggestions to help create a well-rounded warm-up before dancing. Check out 'Dancer Health - Part 1: The Warm-Up' to see how it all goes together - http://bit.ly/1Lxai54 .

Pumping Heart

 -   Take a deep breath in with your arms at your sides. Exhaling, raise your arms high. Inhale with arms up, exhaling, lowering your arms back to your sides. Try also gently squeezing your lower abdomen in and up throughout. Repeat 5-10 times.

  -   Punching up, forwards, to your sides, and down towards your knees. 10x in each direction.

Some things to include if you are a stand-up dancer:

-       Jumping jacks raise the heart rate easily and quickly.

-       Running! Extensions of running can work as well; include jogging, lifting the knees, running fast, lifting the arms.

-       Sun Salutations (from Hatha or Ashtanga yoga). Breathe in and out through the nose if possible  (ujayi breath)!

Some things to include if you use a wheelchair:

-       4 walls: Roll forwards on an inhale, exhaling wheel back and turn to the wall to your right. Repeat to face wall behind you, to the left, and front again. Repeat starting left side.

-       Wheel through space without stopping for at least 3 minutes, or play tag with a friend. Breathing in and out through the nose will raise your heart rate even more.

Stay tuned for the last piece, 'Part 3: The Warm-Up'…

Amelia is a professional contemporary dance artist in the Ottawa area. Amelia joined the Propeller Dance company in 2012, and now also teaches youth of all abilities for Propeller, and is Propeller’s social media gal. She also dances for Tara Luz Danse, Platypus Theatre, and Dorsale Danse, as well as other notable choreographers and organizations. Amelia is also a certified Ashtanga Yoga instructor and Yoga Therapist.