Is this a showcase or a wedding. I mean, let’s think about the correlations for a second… kind of eery – (especially for your swinging George Clooney types out there)
1. Plenty of Planning – No real surprise here.
2. There’s a ‘Big Day’ – Or deadline, then again – wouldn’t be the best term to describe your wedding day
3. Artistic Direction – You meet with incredible, savant-like artists that reconstruct you in a way that would make the six million dollar man feel like chump change
4. Plenty of Appointments – As you get closer to your… ‘Big Day’, your appointments seem to gain in frequency. Before long, these extra appointments are necessary just to get through your day without heart palpatations.
The list goes on and on.

Now here’s a question. Why is there a honeymoon after a wedding?

Now, think for a second… (especially if you’re reading this at work!) OK, so how about a better question:

Based on conventional wisdom, what happens if a couple opts to skip their honeymoon?

The answer to that question can actually be found on and off the dancefloor. I’ll elaborate.

When it comes to our dance events, we set the date (*deadline) and that gives us the motivation to work extra hard to “get it in gear” for that specified event. We’ll call this a “Surge”. When we take the surge-approach we “front-load” our effort to get the maximum results on the Big Day. Yet, just like with a wedding, sometimes when it is over, we have lost our real goal.

Solution!

When it comes to any of the events we want to have two surges! That’s right! Just like the planning before the wedding and the honeymoon after the wedding. For a showcase it is no different. So if I were your wedding, I mean, dance teacher – here’s what I’d recommend:

PRE-EVENT SURGE
– Start planning early: This way you can start planning your “honeymoon” (aka – all the things you’re going to do after the event)
– Make sure to set the priorities clearly: Have an “expected” goal and a “bonus” goal. This way you never hold yourself to the “perfect scale” that the little judge on your shoulder loves to use so much.
– Combos! When you plan in advance you can get creative and start showing some more advanced technique and styling. The best approach for this is with small combinations. This is a great way to script out the important moves which your teacher can then layer with the appropriate style and technique. (*NOTE: These combinations are not for everyone. Followers may not need combinations because they are.. well, following.)

PART 2 = POST-EVENT SURGE (AKA ‘the honeymoon’)
– Get in early! – For every day that passes from the event the “little judge on your shoulder” gets louder and louder. He’s not the Paula Abdul, uber-positive judge either. He’s more the Simon Cowell type. So get back in as quickly as possible. This way you can work through things while it is still fresh in your mind, as well as your teacher’s.
– Build, Build, Build – All the “BONUS” objectives will now be your new “EXPECTED” objectives for the next event. So build on what you started. After all, you’re the awesome student that chose to do it the ‘right way’. So whether you’re adding new levels, dances, or routines. Make sure that you start building right now while you’re at your highest degree of momentum.
– Fight the BREAK-MENTALITY – The “old you” (you know, the version that never danced before) will want to take a break. A way of letting the air out to reflect on this big accomplishment. This old version of you may even start to say things like, “it’s just gotten so busy all of the sudden” or “and the kids have football, baseball, and basket weaving.” This is not the “DANCER” talking! So fight that urge.

Sure, you’ve just accomplished something incredible, but this is when the real fun begins. Like the wedding comparison – it would be horrible if the new “knight-in-shining armor” husband suddenly went from hero to zero the day after the wedding. Same thing! The events bring out the newest version of you as a dancer, but the magic of that event will fade quickly if you don’t build on it.

So if you want to make the most of the events at Arthur Murray, keep in mind that:

Everyone will plan and accelerate before the BIG DAY
But it’s the ones who really want to lock down that progress that will dive right back in and work hard afterwards

You could sell this to your kids and tell them not to take a summer vaca

So it’s not the PLANNING that makes the marriage (*or face it, guys would MOVE to Mars)..