New Year's Resolutions

Published on December 27th 2018 by Hillary-Marie

New Year’s Resolutions

‘Tis the season of reflecting and refreshing! I hope you are taking time this holiday season to relax, refresh and re-energize in preparation for 2019. This is the time of the New Year’s Resolutions: where we resolve to accomplish personal goals and I am going to help you brainstorm some tap dance focused resolutions. 

Stay until the end of this episode to learn one of my biggest secrets on how I’m approaching the New Year, AND a special Holiday gift just for you!

Resolve to Focus on Self-Care: (1:41)

• Take a 10 minute cool-down stretch before you leave the studio
• Give yourself a long, daily, morning stretch
• Set aside time to meal prep

You use your body for a living and not only do you need to take care of yourself, you deserve it! Because self care is NOT selfish. I repeat: SELF CARE IS NOT SELFISH! 

Resolve to Continue Your Education: (3:12)

• Set aside weekly time for yourself to practice and work on you by pushing your limits and strengthening your technique
• Take a weekly dance class to keep moving and feel inspired (if one is available in your area)
• Attend master classes (when funds allows)
• Travel to Tap Festivals (to learn more about Tap Festivals, check out Episode 004: What is a Tap Festival?)
• Become an iTapOnline™ Member today for unlimited access to my online video library and practice in your own time

Dive deeper into something that you struggle with. Maybe 2019 is a chance to tighten up your music theory (check out my Rhythm Training for Tap Dancers Video Series for introductory level rhythm training). If you’re ready to dig deeper and venture into odd meter, check out my Odd Meter Playlist on Spotify. Maybe 2019 is your time to learn a new historical piece (the Shim Sham and BS Chorus are available for FREE on the iTapOnline™ website) and start diving into other historical repertoire like Buster Brown’s Laura, which is available in the iTapOnline™ Member Center. My favorite historical pieces are Laura by Buster Brown, 53 by Leon Collins, Opus One by my mentor Harold Cromer, and The Eddie Brown BS Chorus by Eddie Brown.

For me, it’s all about contributing to the tap community and helping you to be the best tap teacher that you can be for your students. As you continue your own tap dance studies and use iTapOnline™ as your go-to online source for tap dance education, you’ll find yourself ready to freshen up your tap syllabus and excited to try things that you come across in the video library, like introducing improvisation and choreography games. Your students will be so excited for this new knowledge and ready to strive towards new goals that maybe this is the year they get their double pullbacks clean. Everybody deserves a Tap Dance New Year’s Resolution!

Resolve to Find Time for Inspiration: (6:41)

• Read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• Take yourself out on a weekly artist’s date to see a live dance show, music concert, museum, etc. A weekly artist’s date will keep you consistently inspired, excited, and experiencing new things. Examples of artist dates include: 

• Seeing Dorrance Dance or STOMP on tour
• Having an at home movie night to watch TAP or White Knights
• Read a tap dance book like Jane Goldberg’s Shoot Me While I’m Happy, Barbara Duffy’s Tap Into Improv, Acia Gray’s The Souls of Your Feet, Constance Valis Hill’s Tap Dancing America, Brenda Bufalino’s Tapping the Source, or Rusty Frank’s Tap: The Greatest Stars and Their Stories. 

Resolve to Tune Up Your Instruments: (8:08)

• Save up for new tap shoes
• Build your own at-home practice space or portable tap dance floor. Check out Epidode 007: Tap Dance Floors for a description of the portable and permanent tap dance floors that I have both bought and built.

My Secret New Year’s Secret: (8:50)

I am a huge fan of The Tim Ferris Show and came across an episode of his where he talked about doing “past year reviews,” which is about reflecting on events of the past year as a way of planning and restructuring the upcoming year. I did this last year by going through my calendar, every gig, every festival I taught at, every artist I collaborated with, every venue I performed at, everything I did and made two lists: one list was for positive experiences that excited me, pushed me forward and fulfilled me. The other list was for experiences that didn’t feel as good. This “negative” list is in my journal as a reminder to not take on those experiences again because no matter how exciting the opportunity may seem, I know from previous experience that it’s just not worth it. Instead I go into the New Year focused on my positive list and set aside more time to invest in those experiences. In doing this past year review in 2017, I set myself up for a 2018 year filled with feel-good, exciting experiences and I cleared out negative experiences to make room for new ones. I am so looking forward to reflecting on this past 2018 year in preparation for 2019 and I hope that you’ll take the time to reflect and do a past year review of your own so you can craft a new year that excites and energizes in everything that you do.

My Holiday Gift to You: (11:25)

An opportunity to become an iTapOnline™ Member today. An opportunity to have 24/7 access to the iTapOnline™ video library that is full of hours of technique exercises for beginner through advanced levels, improv exercises, historical choreography, teaching tricks, tap dance games and so much more. Use the code: tappyholidays for a lifetime discount code to your membership. Head to iTapOnline™, click “Get Started” and enter the code to get started today!

You are always a part of the iTapOnline™ Community!

Let’s help each other out and support each other in our new endeavors for the new year by commenting and sharing our New Year’s Tap Dance Resolutions. Comment on this episode or share in the iTapOnline™ Community Facebook Group. I always write back and I love supporting you in your tap dance journey!

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