By Maya Haridas and Siddhie Pillai 
As we leap into 2022, we are all discovering new things about ourselves and the world. Why not take this time to set yourself up for success with our list of ballet goals for the New Year! Pick a handful that work for you or enthusiastically go for them all! It’s up to you.
Dedicate some time on a regular basis for home practice. For example 10 – 15 minutes a day daily, or even 20 minutes every few days.
Set a specific goal before each class, for example, I will not stop during the jumps or whatever you find challenging.
Look at corrections from your previous assessment report, and take note of the corrections you are given during class. Keeping that in mind, each week, focus on a different one.
Listen to your choreography music outside of ballet class and mark the steps in your head. This will help you ingrain the music and the movements in your brain.
Make yourself feel like you are performing on stage during every ballet class. Your dancing will be so much more enjoyable for the teacher watching. Performance is a muscle and strengthens each time you use it.
Watch ballet videos and expose yourself to different media through which you can learn more about ballet. (Aradhana Kiran did this during lockdown and found that it improved her dancing tremendously, read about that journey here)
Familiarize yourself with music from ballets, just play some while you are doing something around the house and enjoy! You will definitely find yourself doing better in ballet class music trivia!
Take 15 minutes before each class to mentally focus yourself and physically warm up – Hydrate and eat something that fuels you for class well in advance, keep your uniform ready, spend time making a neat bun and do 10 minutes of warm up.
Be consistent with classes. For example, set a goal to not miss more than 4 classes a year. If you are unwell, try to watch the class instead of missing out completely.
Switch on your video as soon as you join your online ballet class, it will mutually benefit you and your teacher. You will be safe from injury and your teacher will be able to help and correct you.
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