5 minutes counts is the motto I use to give me a push to start when I need it. It can be used when you don’t have a lot of time, energy, motivation, privacy or health. Short dance practices are more achievable than long ones and consistent (regular) practices are how you make progress.
I am aware that you won’t learn much in 3-5 minutes. But not all practices will be 5 minutes. And when they are; you are learning more than dance skills. You are learning how to build habits and routines, consistency and commitment and confidence. Showing up is the first step to building your dance practice!
How To Structure Your 5 Minute Dance Practice:
You still need to warm up for many reasons: to prevent injury, to shift your focus and attention and to increase results. So your warmup could be done within the 5 minutes or before the 5 minutes. I like to warmup before the 5 minutes, so I can do a solid warmup and then focus the entire 5 minutes on my dance goals. But if you really only have 5 minutes, put on a song and dance. Use lots of stepping, move your body and swing your arms. You can use a blend of traditional exercise movements and belly dance moves. Practice basics like arm circles, hip circles and snake arms. Add travel steps like step touch and the chasse (also known as the triple step) to give you some cardio. Then, take your basics and slow them down; stretch them out to cool down. This could be your complete 5 minute practice. This is enough to get you moving and you’re building muscle memory too.
I like to use this as a warmup and as a time of transition to shift into a state of mindfulness. Then I use my 5 minute practice to focus on 1 thing! And I always take time to cool down at the end and stretch out, even if it’s just for a minute or two. Stretching at the end reduces soreness later.
Breakdown Examples:
If your warm up and cool down are within your 5 minute practice, you can adapt your 1 thing to serve multiple purposes. Choose warm up and cool down moves related to your practice focus. Do you want to practice shimmies? Then use hip bumps and slow shimmies in your warm up and hip slides and stretches in your cool down. Do you want to practice flowing arm paths? Then you need both warmup movements and cooldown stretches for your arms, shoulders and upper back.
5 Min Total: Warm Up & 5 Minutes:
1 minute+ for your warm up 1 song 3-5 minutes for your warm up
3 minutes to practice 1 thing 5 minutes to practice 1 thing
1 minute+ for your cool down 1 minute or 1 song for your cool down
What Can You Do In A 5 Minute Dance Practice? Here’s Some Ideas:
1 Move with variations like speed, direction, energy.
1 Combination OR
1 Minute of Choreography: If this is the first time practicing, it will be slower to learn as you need to become familiar with the steps and music. If it’s a review of something you already know, you can focus on elements of technique such as arms, timing, spacing etc.
1 New Thing: Maybe you have a new prop like fan veils and just want to practice holding and opening and closing it. Or maybe you want to add to your veil knowledge with a new move or wrap. 1 new thing will get you started and then more practices will build your skills.
1 Technique: Shimmies for endurance, speed or evenness, varying arm paths, transitions etc.
1 Zill Drill: One combo or rhythm, speed, strengthening nondominant hand. Learning a musical instrument is a huge time investment, but imagine the progress you could make with a 5 minute daily practice long term like 6 months or a year.
1 Layer: Pick 1 base move you know well and add 1 layer move you want to improve. Start with your strong move first, then add your layer. Ex: Shimmy with arm paths, shimmy on a travel step, any smooth hip move (circles, figure 8’s) with a zill drill, any sharp hip move (bumps, drops, lifts, twists) with a zill drill. The possibilities are endless.
1 Song – Increase your music vocabulary and dance to 1 new song. Make a playlist of songs you like. This can also be used as an improv practice.
Preparation Is Key For A Productive Dance Practice:
1. Designate practice space.
2. Keep it clean and ready to use.
3. Store your practice essentials there: music, hip scarf, zills, props etc.
4. Make a list of practice ideas and keep it in that dance space.
5. Journal: keep a record (handwritten, digital or video, whatever you like) of your practices. Include things like goals, breakdowns, what you did and learned and what you want to do next.
Beyond The 5 Minute Dance Practice:
Getting started is often the hardest step. So don’t be surprised if 5 minutes goes by and you decide to keep going.
10 Minute Practices: You can practice 2 things or spend more time on warm up and/or cool down and deeper stretching if improving flexibility is one of your goals. Of course, you can stick with the 1 thing you chose and spend more time on it.
15-20 Minute Practices: This gives you time to explore and play a little. Maybe you have a youtube playlist of short tutorials you can pick from a dvd or a recorded class. Start working with the content. Another idea is to create a combo or short 30 seconds to 1 minute of a longer choreography. Short practices add up to real results. And because they’re short, it’s easier to stay focussed and not waste time.
Summary:
You don’t need to have large amounts of time for your dance practice. You can learn with short practices if you plan well and do them often. Whatever your needs are, they can be adapted to fit within your life. Even a 5 minute regular practice can be motivating to practice more. More practice will lead to confidence and momentum and they all add up to results and a happy dancer.
Questions: What belly dance goals are you currently working on? How can you break them down into short practices?
Resources: Search Belly Dance Warmup routines on YouTube like this one:
Kelly Picard Books 