The Practice COP

Want to be a better dancer? Want to bend farther, shimmy bigger and tame your duck butt once and for all? I can hear the chorus of zaghareets.

Simple. Bring in the practice COP. Okay okay I know, let's get on with it already, right?! Here are a few things that in my opinion are crucial if you truly want steady, exponential growth in an area of your life - obviously here we're talking specifically about dance, but it really applies to lots of things.

Consistency. Optimization. Persistence.

If you're striving for excellence, you need these three tools.

Consistency

Short, routine practices every day are better than sporadic practices than when you "feel like it" - even if they are 3 hours long. Period.

Optimization

Quality over quantity! Better to do the moves once with perfect posture than a hundred times like a floppy bunny. Every second, try to be in the best possible form. Remember your angles. Smile! Optimization also means creating the best environment for your practice. No interruptions, get your head in the right frame of mind, whatever you personally need to have the best practice you can. And don't forget to warm up and cool down!

Persistence

Some things are just tough. Keep. Trying. Break it down into it's smallest easy to do pieces, and add each part when you can. Slow the move down to snail speed and increase speed until you make a mistake. If your still stuck, get more instruction from your teacher, online, DVDs, anything. Don't give up.

That's it! Bring your COP to each practice and I promise you will be amazed. :)