Parent Guilt

[napnap]

Greetings and happy June! My family has scheduled a 10 day vacation right before the start of DD's SI. Our lives revolve around ballet and we haven't vacationed from ballet in over two years. But this means she will be away from dance for 20 days total!

 

I am now starting to feel guilty about doing this right before the SI. I can think of no other time to do this that doesn't conflict with school, training, my other non-dancing children's schedule, my work schedule, etc....

 

Any advice on keeping her fit and prepared while away from ballet. I am just so worried she will jump back in 100% and get injured! AHHHHH the guilt. Help!

[Momof3darlings]

Can she not take class where you are going?

[Clara 76]

If she can't take class, can she hike, swim, etc., as well as maintaining her core doing ab work, and maybe giving herself class?

[BelaNina]

We're in a similar boat, napnap. There is no way dd can take classes while we're gone, so we've devised a plan for her to do Pilates mat exercises several days a week, use her theraband, and have her give herself a mini-barre in our hotel rooms (probably no grande battement combinations ). A friend of hers who was gone from ballet for over a month this past year said that she lost core strength more than anything else, and she wished she'd focused on core exercises while she was gone. Any other suggestions people might have would be most welcome.

 

ETA: We were typing at the same time, Clara!

[Victoria Leigh]

I've done many a barre in a hotel room in my lifetime!

[napnap]

Thanks everyone for your great ideas. I will look for Pilates; I know the resort has a Yoga class as well. Does anyone know of a dance studio in Maui????? The sand will offer some great resistance for her feet.......

[Myers]

I don't think I would want to spend much time in a hotel room, studio, or gym if I was lucky enough to be in Maui--sounds like a great vacation.

 

Ballet doesn't do a whole lot to build cardio--I would recommend she does as much swimming as she can stand--fresh air, great scenery, good for the core and upper body. Good for your mood too!

 

Wear sunblock!! Have fun. 20 days away from dance may not be such a bad thing.

 

FYI moderators, did not get a chance to change my profile--DD turned 13 in March.

[dancemaven]

There should be NO parental guilt involved in a family vacation. Your DD can be as active as she chooses and that alone will help her body rest and be ready for more classes.

[Treefrog]

Second that.

[2marzipans]

Third that. Plus your guilt might transfer to your daughter, and she doesn't need to feel guilty on a vacation at her age.

[BelaNina]

I can't speak for napnap, but I do not feel guilty at all about going on a vacation! However, last summer, dd went 6 weeks between her SI and the fall semester with no ballet whatsoever, and when she got back to ballet in the fall, every last bit of strength she had gained during her SI was gone. Because of lack of strength combined with sudden changes brought on by puberty, she struggled terribly the first couple of months of the school year in her classes, and so we've decided together that for her body, she shouldn't go more than a couple of weeks at a time with no core work or ballet exercises at all. Those couple of weeks off are, of course, important. In this current case, she'll be on vacation, and then she'll jump right into an intensive load of classes. Not only would she certainly be sore if she didn't do anything ballet related in the weeks prior, it also sounds like a recipe for injury to me. So having her do at least some specific work to maintain her body in ballet condition prior is the kindest thing I can think of to do for my dd.

 

ETA: If it was just going to be a week, maybe two off, I wouldn't worry about it. But, according to Linda Hamilton's book, dancers begin to lose strength after two weeks off. Dd will have two periods of two weeks off completely this summer, and I agree that that's a good thing.

[gimpydancer]

Too bad you won't be on Oahu, there's a bunch of classes there!

 

You could check out mauiballet.com. I remember Derek from when he was at BalletMet as a company dancer but I don't really know anything about him other than that.

 

There's also mauiacademy.org.

 

Try to see the sunrise on Haleakala. I went to Maui with my Spanish class my junior year of high school (I grew up on Oahu and one of the guys in my class was from Maui but lived with relatives on Oahu during the school year). It was about 20-30 degrees at the summit, this was January, but completely clear and the view was amazing!

[JLNH]

napnap--

 

Have a great time!

 

Sometimes a bit of a break is good for the body and soul. When I was younger dancing a lot, every couple or three years I'd take a break of a week up to a month. During these breaks I remained active, but just wasn't taking class. Each time I came back as strong as I had been, or stronger--and with a lot more energy!

 

Sounds like a great trip, enjoy your family!

[Clara 76]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm......Derek........ Oops! Sorry. Daydreaming a bit.

Derek is a great teacher with great energy! He's not very difficult to look at either.

[gimpydancer]