Welcome back to our 2nd blog :)
It feels very topical to discuss dancing during lockdowns, as we are now going through our 4th lockdown here in Melbourne, and it is bringing back some memories from 2020. We did not share much during 2020, as it felt like such a blur, so let us give you a bit of a back-story.
Pandemic hit us unexpectedly. We did not quite want to believe it. Our dance calendar had just started, and we were preparing for our annual trip “Asian Tour,” where we would have competed in Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, and Bali. One after the other competitions kept being cancelled. We made a swift last-minute decision and bought a one-way ticket to Bali, having a feeling that we may not get another opportunity to travel any time soon. So we spent an amazing week, not being dancers and just being tourists, with three other dancing couples - Jack and Jo from Perth, Nick and Lindsay from Singapore, and Igor and Camille from Melbourne. When we got back, it was less than two weeks, and we were in lockdown.
Initially, we tried to practice quite a bit just in our living room on the carpet, setting up our hold every day and keeping up with exercise, but injuries due to stopping our regular routine, kept popping up and slowed us down physically and mentally. As the year went on, we kept ourselves busy doing renovations, teaching and learning on ZOOM, and exploring new hobbies. Even though we kept going, we knew we were not at 100%, which demotivated us even further.
In November 2020, we came back to full speed, up until a week ago, with a short snap lockdown in between. However, lockdown 4.0 feels different. We know it cannot last forever, so there is light at the end of the tunnel already. We may not know when exactly, but the feeling is soon. The rest of the world around us is at full speed, so we are keeping ourselves busier than ever, not to lose the momentum that we tried to regain after a whole year off.
Our advice to dancers is:
Call your friends and family talk to them; it makes the day that much brighter.
Leave the house once a day, get that fresh air, it helps your mindset and allows you to think clearer.
Try to fit in exercise every day.
Watch videos, analyse your dancing, write down notes, and see what ZOOM international or local workshops you can attend.
Keep yourself busy, but also remember that this time allows you to rejuvenate your mind and body, to go for it even harder when Melbourne reopens.
Good luck to all Victorian dancers and anyone else stuck in lockdown, and stay positive!