Dancelife Update

So, this week is the last week for classes!  I can't believe it is december already.  We have a big weekend coming up:  Hafla on Saturday and recital on Sunday--both at Cornerstone.  What a way to end the season.  We have over 20 beginners students performing belly dance for the first time.  How exciting!  And over 20 returning students performing... I love it!

The end of classes means that winter break is almost here!  Teaching is very important to me and I love helping students along their own dance journey! But Sometimes I need a break to be the best teacher I can be.  After all, I'm on a dance journey too!  I need some time to focus on my own growth for a while.  Here are some things I try to do for my dance life during our session breaks:

1.  Relax.  This is the end of our busy season; summer to the holidays are always hectic.  So taking a rest is important or else my creativity suffers.
2.  Figure out my goals for the next year.  Every year I try to come up with one or two specific things that I want to work on (lazy belly dance hand--where it flops around, keeping shoulders back, getting rid of "porn star mouth," etc.).  I keep these one or two things in mind throughout the year and try to conquer them!  (Honestly, some of these things I will always battle... But it's all part of the journey!)
3.  Pick out music for the next class session.  I will be teaching at least six classes next semester. This is always the MOST stressful part for me!  Finding the perfect song for each class that will showcase the strengths of students without being too fast/slow/long/short/repetitive/etc is hard for me!  I put a lot of pressure on myself, and really I need to go back to step one (RELAX) and just pick a song already! 
4.  Work on some costuming.  No dance classes and no school classes means I will have a lot of time on my hands!  I better make some of those pieces i've been needing to get finished! 

I'd say that's enough to keep me occupied (or un-occupied--number one says relax!) for the winter break!  What things will you do for your dance life over the break?