Here Are 8 Ways To Warm Up Before Dancing

Before dancing, our muscles are in a relaxed state. This means that our blood flow is slow and the core temperature of our tissues is cool. As a result, our muscles aren’t ready for rapid contractions and aren’t flexible to execute full-range motions.

Dancing when your muscles are in a cold state increases your chances of incurring injuries and experiencing painfully paralyzing cramps. On a lesser scale, you’re prone to making dance mistakes that could screw up your audition dance practice session, execution of audition choreography, and live arena performance.

A common sign dance judges observe in a contestant that hasn’t done their warm-up is that they don’t move gracefully and are lagging behind the beat of the music. Now that I’ve stressed enough the importance of warming up before a dance practice and performance, let’s get straight to the best routines you should do.

1. Brisk walking

First off, start with a light exercise. Don’t ever begin your warmup routine with a strength-related move. Walk normally in the beginning, then progress to a faster walking speed as you complete laps in the area where you’re going to practice your dance. It’s important to swing your arms properly as you walk.

2. Light jogging

Once you feel your body heating up, follow your brisk walk with light jogging around the area. Be careful not to exhaust yourself. So jog for 5 minutes at a minimum.

3. Push-ups

Brisk walking and jogging warm up your lower body. It also gets your heart to start pumping. The purpose of push-ups is to take a portion of the increased blood flow to your arms. This will help your upper limbs become more flexible and more responsive to your brain’s commands.

4. Leg swings

To make your hip joints more flexible, do leg swings. Swing your right leg to the front and back. Don’t keep your leg straight once it has swung mid-air. It’s important that your swinging leg has the knee slightly bent.

5. Lunges

Most fitness instructors suggest doing squats as your lower body strength warm-up. But this isn’t a workout session so we recommend lunges. This exercise will help your knee and hip joints become flexible. It will also increase blood flow to your thigh and leg muscles.

6. Heel raises

As the final part of your pre-dance warm-up routine, heel raises will increase the flexibility of your feet joints. It’s also a good breathing exercise to make your heart rate return to a quite active state.

7. Hip Swings

If you still feel stiffness in your waist and hips after your basic warm-up routine, do hip swings to guarantee a stabilized core balance during your practice and performance. Swing to the left and right while dropping your hips and going back to your initial position. You can also swing your arms to get that groovy feeling.

8. Jumping jacks

At the auditions or your team’s home arena, you might not have the chance to warm up through brisk walking and light jogging. We suggest that you do jumping jacks for a short full-body warm-up in the locker room. If you want to do an additional cardio warm-up, you can jog in place.

In the world of fitness and athletics, having a warm-up routine is sacred for all members of the community - that includes pro cheerleaders of the NFL and NBA, as well as other sports teams. Not only does it prevent injuries, but it also boosts the performance of athletes and dancers significantly. So never forget to warm up before you practice and perform your dance on the studio, stage, and arena. Arrive ahead of schedule to have all the time you need to be ready.

Read these blog posts to learn more about fitness and dance essentials!

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