Reconnect With Ballet To Beat The Post-Holiday Blues

Everyone loves a holiday right? It’s relaxing to step out of your routine and treat yourself with the choice of reading that book in bed or heading out to soak up the sun. Holidays are an enjoyable (and very necessary) time for everyone to take stock and reset, enhance wellbeing and happiness. Holding on to that uplifted feeling is something that we all wish for. One of the best ways to prolong that sense of wellbeing is to find it in your everyday life. Reconnecting with your adult ballet class is the perfect way to keep the post-holiday blues out of sight and to leap into the new ballet year with purpose and creativity.

Reconnect with your inner-self

After a break, no matter how small, it’s really important to be mentally kind to yourself. Everyone arrives at class with an expectation of what will happen and how it will feel. Managing these expectations after a break will allow yourself time to ease your body back into the technique. Approaching your adult ballet class with care and consideration is a good start. Your muscles have had a well-deserved rest, so there’s no point pushing them to the limit in the first class back. Likewise your brain has had a holiday from all of those tricky enchaînements, so it’s important to give yourself a mental break if your head goes one way and your legs go another. Having realistic expectations about returning to your ballet class is key to keeping your morale strong.

Reconnect with your music

One of the wonderful things about dancing is connecting with the music. Returning to your ballet class after a holiday is the perfect time to reconnect and really listen to the music that you are dancing with. It’s easy to forget that every enchaînement is created with and informed by the music, and without music ballet doesn’t reach its full potential. It’s wonderful to have the sense that the music is flowing around you as you dance, helping to support you in your ballet movements. So whilst you are thinking madly about the steps and your technique, also take a moment to appreciate how the music helps transform your enchaînements into something quite special.

Reconnect with your ballet body

From a practical point of view, your body requires a bit of a refresher when you’ve had a break from your adult ballet class. Any break requires a little touch up afterwards, but it’s never more needed than after the Christmas/New Year period when parties are in full swing and indulging is a necessity! Being told to zip up your centre in class will sound like the impossible, right along with switching on your turnout! But it’s now more than ever that you will want to use your muscles correctly. After a break it’s essential to recondition your muscles and, at the same time, if you can fine-tune good habits such as correct muscle engagement, then even better. Reconnecting with good ballet habits will set you up for a year of strong improvement and greater enjoyment.

Whether you are travelling or staying close to home, time to regenerate the body, mind and soul is always welcome. But when the holiday is over it’s easy to fall into a heap, making the holiday (and the good feelings that went with it) seem a distant memory. This is the perfect time to reconnect with your adult ballet classes! So brush off those post-holiday blues and step confidently into your ballet class with renewed vigour!