Stacey Nemour’s Dance! Flexibility Makeover Power Pack – Part 6

This is part 6 of a series on Stacey Nemours fantastic online

Check out the full series here:

Stacey’s Dance! Flexibility Makeover Power Pack contains several courses.

I will be working with/posting about them in the following order:

1 – Flexibility Makeover for Dancers held back by Tightness
2 – Extensions for Days
3 – Competition prep for Gymnasts
4 – The Cheerleaders Flexibility System
5 – Pre-Pro to Pro Flexibility Training
6 – Dance Pre Competition Training
7 – Extensions into Infinity
8 – Flexibility Makeover with Top Female High Diver (part 1 + 2)
9 – Flexibility Makeover for Rhythmic Gymnastics (part 1 + 2)
10 – Synchronized Swimmers Flexibility (part 1 + 2)
11 – Flexibility Makeover for Competitive Dancers (part 1+2)
12 – Secrets of Splits & Flexibility
13 – Secrets of Splits & Flexibility vol. 2

Note: use code ‘khalidadance’ for 10% off all Stacey’s courses, straps and course packages at flexibilitymakeover.com

Enjoy!

Course 6 – Dance Pre-Competition Training

Duration:

Module 1: introduction and before pictures – 6:39 minutes

Module 2: Main video – 71:13 (the 15 final minutes combine flexibility re-tests with splits/oversplits exercises, bridges/backbends and extensions with Staceys stretch strap)

Module 3: split leap training – 11:03 minutes

Level:

Intermediate to advanced

Props:

A couple of yoga blocks (I use 2)
Some clear wall space
Optional (but recommended): a Stacey stretching Strap (or 2 if you want to intensify the exercises)
A step stool (you can substitute with a stretching rack, a sofa, a stack of yoga blocks or something of similar height)

Course type:

Recorded one-on-one coaching session via Skype.

Featured student:

Brenna Babcock (competitive dancer)

What I like about it:

I like that the effects of this course go DEEP, without the exercises feeling unsafe for my body.

Speaking of deep work:

Because the stretches are more intense than the ones in the previous courses in the pack, I take a bit more time for repetitions, in other words I pause the video where needed, and I adapt/modify the exercises to my abilities where neccessary. So if you – like me – are not super duper flexible yet, I would recommend planning for a bit of extra time when working with this video than the minutes mentioned above.
Because the work is so deep, I also do a bit of relaxed movement or even – when time permits – a relaxation-focused meditation session beforehand.
I recommend keeping a water bottle nearby, to make sure you stay well hydrated.

I also liked that I was able to use my step stool creatively for a few of the exercises.

Last but not least, this session features a quote by Stacey that made me smile, because it is very true and so very ‘her’:

Most peoples’ homes are a gym waiting to happen.

Technical note:

There were some issues with the Skype connection here and there during the recording of this session, especially at the beginning of the course, where the sound ‘desyncs’ for a bit and then catches up.

It wasn’t enough of a disturbance to make the session ‘unfollowable’ for me though, plus Stacey added subtitles in the one spot where directions got a bit too muddled by the Skype sounds.

Also, there are bits at the beginning where the dancer (Brenna) is somewhat hard to see as there is backlight coming into the camera, but you can still see Staceys demonstrations clearly in the split screen there.

The issue is solved once Brenna’s mom turns on additional light at Staceys request.

N.B.: Stacey told me she was a bit on the fence at first about including this course because of these technical issues, but the work and content are deeply valuable in my opinion, and there are some unique exercise tweaks in this session, so I for one am very thankful that the course is part of the Dance! package.

What it does for me:

I notice that the exercises are great for my upper body, hips, quads and hip flexor flexibility, as well as for my leg strength. I could feel some of the stretches in spots that I did not ‘get’ before.

For me this course is also a great training addition for working on the height my Taekwondo kicks – especially ones to the side, like the straight side kick (yeop chagi) and the roundhouse kicks (doliyo chagi)

Effects after a few sessions:

I feel more range in my cambrès (upper body backbend) and arabesques in ballet, and I definitely feel more freedom of movement and fluidity when performing diagonal overhead cuts in Haidong Gumdo (Korean Sword Art).

It feels easier – lighter’ in a way – to hold my kicking leg up higher to the side and back for TaeKwonDo (see before/after pictures here), which is excellent timing – as I am working towards my first grade black belt test in just a few days 🙂

My favourite exercise:

I love many of the new-to-me exercise variations in this course, but my absolute favourite are the deep ‘quads/hip flexors-on-a-step-stool stretches’ as seen in the picture below – they can be found at about 52 minutes of module 2.

Happy stretching!

If you have any questions about this specific course, or about the Dance! Flexibility Makeover pack in general, feel free to contact me via the comments below.

If you have this course, too: Let me know what your favourite exercises are!

Next up: Part 7 – Extensions to Infinity

Joy of Movement

Adventures in movement in all it’s forms