GUIDES
How to prepare for a dance intensive
What to do in the weeks before, how to pace yourself during the week and how to keep what you learned once you're back. A guide to dance intensives.
· by UTOPIC · 4 min
A dance intensive packs into one week what your school would cover in a term: several classes a day, different teachers, styles you may never have tried and new people in every session.
You learn a huge amount, but your body and your head feel it. A bit of preparation is the difference between making the most of the whole week and reaching day three with no legs left.
In 30 seconds
- In the month before, build up: one more class a week and some groundwork.
- Arrive with two or three specific goals.
- During the week: warm up, drink, eat and sleep.
- Once you're back, go over two or three routines and write down your corrections.
The weeks before: build up gradually
If you dance two hours a week now, jumping to four or five hours a day is a big step. Here it is in hours:
- Now2 h, for example
- Camp34 h 30 in 7 days
The 2 h are just an example. The 34 h 30 come from the UTOPIC III timetable: 23 classes of 90 min, not counting the evenings.
Over the month before, add one more class a week or make the ones you already do longer. And add some groundwork too:
Stamina.
Running, cycling or skipping.
Strength.
Legs and core.
Mobility.
Hips, ankles and back.
The key
You don't need to arrive in peak shape. You need a body that already knows what back-to-back classes feel like.
For training at home
- View on Amazon
Jump rope.
The simplest cardio to get through a whole class without running out of breath.
- View on Amazon
Fabric resistance bands.
To build leg and glute strength, and to warm up.
- View on Amazon
Foam roller.
To loosen your legs and back after training.
As an Amazon Associate, UTOPIC earns from qualifying purchases.
Look up who you'll be learning from
Many camps publish their line-up in advance. And if there are videos from past editions, watch them: they give you an idea of the level, the pace and the styles.
At UTOPIC Summer Camp
- Teachers are announced one by one from 20 December.
- Classes from past editions are on YouTube and in the archive.
Arrive with a couple of goals
A week with that many classes can fly by without you knowing what you're taking away. Before you go, think of two or three specific things. For example:
Pick two or three
You don't have to tick them all off. They help you know what to focus on in each class.
During the week: pace yourself
Warm up.
Before every class, even if the class starts with one.
Drink water.
All day, not just when you're thirsty.
Eat properly.
Between classes: nobody learns a routine on an empty stomach.
Sleep.
Camp nights are usually great and it's tempting to stay till the end, but after four short nights in a row, day five won't go well.
You don't have to do everything.
At UTOPIC no class is compulsory: if you need to take an afternoon off, take it.
How to get more out of each class
Class by class
Pick your spot
Stand where you can see the teacher well and change rows now and then. The back row is comfortable, but having someone behind you watching teaches you a lot too.
Counts first
Learn the counts and the direction of the movement; the details come later.
If you get lost, don't stop
Keep marking the beat until you can come back in.
Ask
Teachers at an intensive expect questions.
At the end, save it
Film the routine or write down what you want to remember.
At UTOPIC Summer Camp
A group video is filmed at the end of every class, and being in it is optional.
If something hurts
Sore muscles in the first few days are normal. Other pain isn't:
What's normal and what isn't
| What you feel | Is it normal? |
|---|---|
| Sore muscles in the first few days | Yes |
| Sharp pain | No: stop and tell someone |
| Pain that gets worse | No: stop and tell someone |
| Pain that stops you putting weight on a foot | No: stop and tell someone |
Heads up
If you feel it, stop, tell the teacher or the organisers, and don't dance through it. The rule is simple: better to miss one class than the whole week.
Once you're back: don't leave the week on your phone
What you learn at an intensive fades fast if you don't go over it. The week after:
The week after
Go over it
Pick two or three routines you filmed and go through them slowly.
Write down your corrections
The ones you got, so you can take them to your usual classes.
Message the people you met
Half of what you take away from a camp is people to keep dancing with.
If you're looking for a week like that, UTOPIC Summer Camp offers one week of summer dance training on the Costa Brava, with morning and afternoon classes for every level. The next edition is between August and September 2027.
