I’ve spent years mentoring students with their training plans. They are a valuable tool that I use myself daily, as a guide to help me to achieve goals without feeling the pressure of time. I know that might sound counter intuitive because training plans are based on time, but for me they are reminders that help me to accomplish something daily. Even if my goal is as simple as working on a combination or new choreography for 30 minutes a week, my training plan keeps me on track. And guess what? Before I know it, I will have unintentionally finished a new choreography.
In my experience as a dance instructor, I find that whether students are aiming to advance to a higher level or just looking to maintain their skill set, following a training plan is crucial in this discipline. A training plan helps you to prioritize and schedule your time accordingly, while focusing your energy in key areas. We all wish for more time to practice, yet once we have that time there is almost too much work to make up for and we end up feeling overwhelmed and lost. No matter how little time we have available to us each day, having a strategy for focusing our energy and remaining consistent is essential.
The Salimpour School offers a wide range of tools to help you to stay on track and achieve balance in your training. The first step of the process for creating plan is to complete our assessment questionnaire. What are your goals? Are you looking to test and progress to the next level? Are you looking to maintain your skill set? To perform more? To learn a choreography? Once your time availability is put into perspective, you can set a realistic goal for yourself and allot your energy into segments…15 minutes drilling here, 2 hour technique class there.
If you need assistance with creating your training plan, our Certification Coordinator Rachel George is available to walk you through the process. Rachel is a Level 5 certified instructor and she has been a student of the Salimpour School since 1999. She knows the certification program from start to finish, and as a student of the school, she is available at no cost to you. You should not feel alone in this process, and our faculty members and online resources are here to provide support throughout your dance journey.
-Suhaila Salimpour
