Hi dancers, and welcome back to the Reel Deal! Today we’re going to be talking about practicing at home. All of the top Irish dancers in the world point to home practice as a key factor in their success. Here are some words of wisdom about home practice from a few of the world’s best:

• “Home practice goes hand in hand with taking accountability for your own progress. A lot of things are out of your control, but one thing you can control is how hard you work.” - Zara O’ Gorman, World Champion

• “Practice at home is not only important, it is VITAL to help you become the best dancer you can be. You can quickly improve corrections from your teachers so they can give you more corrections. This way you are becoming a better dancer, quicker!” - Amy Mae Dolan, Principal Dancer in Riverdance

• “Home practice, in my opinion, is so important as it teaches even the youngest dancers to become responsible for their own dancing and independent in correcting their steps.” - Blanaid O’Neill, 7x World Champion

Feeling inspired by their words? Home practice can help you speed up your improvement, build confidence in your training, and give you peace of mind knowing that you've done everything you can to show your best dancing when you step on stage. 

So, all champion dancers agree that home practice is important, but how do you do it well? Let’s jump into my top 5 tips for getting the most out of Practicing at Home!

Tip #1: Have a Clear Focus

When you're first starting to practice at home, it’s easy for things to get off track. Especially since you don’t have a teacher to remind you what to focus on, its good to have one or two things planned for your pratice. By choosing one or two specific areas to work on, you’ll avoid distractions and make your home practice more effective.

For higher-level or competitive dancers, I recommend picking a specific dance, skill, or technique to focus on. For example, if you’re working on your reel, choose a movement like change 23s or a technique like toe point to focus on in every step. If there’s a section in your heavy jig where you frequently miss sounds, spend time just doing that section, and then and then integrate it back into the full step and keeping the corrections you just made.  

For beginners or dancers with a more recreational/performance focus, practicing at home can be a great way to memorize your steps. If you're struggling to practice on your own, try dancing along with videos to help you remember what comes next. Also, use the correct music, especially if you're practicing a performance routine, so you get really familiar with it. Knowing your music inside and out can actually help you remember your steps more easily!

Tip #2: Prioritize Drills over Fulls

More often than not, dancers use home practice as time to correct mistakes and address comments from their teachers, rather than running whole steps or full dances. One of the best ways to address these corrections is through drilling. You’ve probably heard teachers say “Go drill that!”—but what does that really mean?

Drilling is all about repeating a specific section or movement over and over until it becomes second nature. One common mistake dancers make is trying to practice too much at once. If you received a correction about a movement at the end of your step, don’t practice the beginning. Instead, zoom in on the exact part that needs improvement and repeat it. It may feel strange to focus on such a small piece, but trust me—it works! The reason we drill is that repetition builds muscle memory. The more you practice a movement, the more familiar your body becomes with it, and the easier it will be to execute that movement correctly later on.

During class time, you normally don’t get 15 minutes to dedicate to practicing one section over and over, which is why it’s the perfect thing to focus on at home! When you drill corrections outside of class, you’ll eventually master those sections without needing to think about them. Then, your teachers can move on to giving you new corrections to tackle!

Tip #3: Use your Time Wisely

Home practice doesn’t have to be as long as your regular dance class, in fact, most of the time it shouldn’t be. Most often, we don’t have an hour to dedicate to home practice, and that’s okay! The most important thing to keep in mind with home practice is spending the right amount of time on the right things. Here are some recommendations for using your time wisely:

• For starters, even if you have less time for home practice than you’d like, do NOT skip warming up before you dance! 5 extra minutes of drills is not worth risking an injury. We want our home practice to help us, not hurt us. 

• If you’re drilling a specific correction, try to spend 10-15 minutes on one skill and one skill only. By dedicating your full attention to one area, you can make noticeable progress. Remember, the goal isn’t just to get it right once; it’s to practice until you can’t get it wrong.

• Even if you have unlimited time to practice, set a time limit for yourself. If you practice for too long, you run the risk of getting overtired and your technique turning sloppy. Having a set time helps you stay focused and ensures you’re giving your best effort during that window. Once the time is up, stop! You don’t want to push past your limit and risk reinforcing bad habits.

Tip #4: Use a Mirror or Take Videos

Especially since home practice is a great time to focus on improving a specific technique or a specific section of a dance, being able to watch yourself and make sure you are drilling properly is key. As I mentioned in Tip #2, drilling is effective because it builds muscle memory through repetition. However, if you repeatedly practice something incorrectly, that’s what your muscles will remember. Using a mirror or taking videos while drilling is a great way to “check your work” and make sure you’re reinforcing good habits, not bad ones.

When you watch yourself, either in the mirror or on video, don’t try to analyze everything all at once. Focus on one specific element at a time. For example, watch yourself once to evaluate your turnout. After you’ve made adjustments, watch again and focus on your crossover. It’s easier to spot improvement when you look for specific things in each repetition, rather than trying to take in everything at once

Tip #5: Practice Something Other Than Dancing!

Home practice includes anything you are doing to support your dancing outside of the studio, which isn’t always just practicing your steps. Sometimes, the best way to improve your dancing isn’t by dancing at all! Here are a few things you can do at home to boost your performance:

• Stretching: Spend 15 minutes on a full-body stretch to support your muscles and improve flexibility.

• Strength Training: Dedicate 30 minutes to a strength routine that builds power and stamina.

• Mindset Training: Listen to a podcast, read an article (or a blog post!), or do some journaling and reflection.

Personally, I actually prefer using my time at home to focus on areas like strength training and mindset work. But it took me a long time to figure that out, and as much as I benefit from it, this approach won’t work for everyone. Some dancers will benefit more from drilling specific footwork sections at home to improve muscle memory and flow during class. Once you try out some different things, you’ll start to see what works best for you!

Bonus: At Home Practice for Competitive Success

The reader who suggested this topic of practicing at home also asked what kind of at home practice habits are needed for a dancer to get to Worlds some day. In my preparations for Worlds over the past three years, I have found that consistency is almost more important than what or how long I practice. You want to do something to get better every single day. That could be dancing, stretching, strength training, drilling, mindset training, staying hydrated, fueling your body properly, or even intentionally taking the day off (yes, rest is important!). 

Another important piece of advice is learning how to switch your dance focus on and off. It sometimes feels like when you want to achieve something so badly, you have to think about it all the time or you aren’t doing enough. But you don’t need to be thinking about your dance goals all day every day, that would actually be really draining. Instead, practice tuning in fully during your designated practice time, and give yourself permission to relax outside of that. This way, you can give 100% when you’re training without burning out.

Lastly, it takes time to reach your dance goals, and it also takes time to figure out what kind of training works best for you. Every champion dancer emphasizes the importance of home practice, but they rarely share the exact details of what they do. That’s because home practice is personal—it’s about figuring out what your body and mind respond to best. I highly recommend trying out different training routines and seeing what feels right for you. Once you find a plan that works, consistency with that plan will bring you the most benefits in the long run!