Having seen Kendall Baab, a dance scientist and certified trainer, suggest keeping a dance learning journal, I decided to try it and was pleasantly surprised by the experience. If you don’t already have the habit of journaling I would recommend it too. It truly is a great tool to help you reflect and progress on your dance journey. I will share what the benefits of journaling are in this article as well as some ideas for writing simple journal entries.
What Are the Benefits of a Dance Learning Journal?
Keeping track of your classes and what you practiced is a form of reflection helping you to consolidate your knowledge. This means you will be able to integrate the knowledge better and become more self-aware of your skills and I definitely experienced that.
I found that firstly, it helped me see how often I realistically train, which was sometimes not as much as I thought. Seeing certain moves on my “to-practice” list over and over again was also a good wake-up call, signalling that I needed more help with them, perhaps in the form of a private class with an instructor. Thirdly, I loved that it helped me celebrate the wins and acknowledge when something turned out well, which was a great motivation to continue.
What to Write in a Dance Journal Entry?
To build a habit of journaling and to not get overwhelmed I knew I had to keep my journal entries simple. I would write down the essentials and whenever I felt like reflecting more, I would add more thoughts.
I write in my journal the following:
- Date, location, duration, and type of training.
- Name of my dance partner if it was a partner dance session.
- Moves or techniques I trained.
- Comments on what I did well versus what I struggled with.
- Whenever I feel like reflecting more, I’ll share any a-ha moments or general thoughts.
- Wishlist of moves/techniques for the next training session.
Here’s an example of how a journal entry would look like if you are a social dancer and practice with a partner outside of your regular group classes:
Your journal entry prompts will vary depending on whether you are participating in a guided class or just practicing with your partner. Feel free to modify the prompts as you see fit. Some people really go all out with apps and crazy databases to track their progress but I feel like it’s best to start simple.
Where to Keep the Journal?
I felt like a digital document would give me better searchability and organisation than a paper notebook, which is why I chose to keep my journal as a digital Google Doc file. In addition, I like the fact that I can access it from both my phone and desktop computer.
I have one Google Doc per year and it is organised by headings. I have a big heading for each month of the year and then each training is a sub-heading under the month. Having this format allows me to see how often I train each month. If you train almost every day or multiple times per day, you might want to divide training sessions into weeks as well as months.
If you want to minimise your screen time, using a paper notebook is also a great idea. For better organisation you can buy thinner notebooks and have one for each type of training you participate in, e.g. one for group classes, one for practice sessions with your partner, one for private lessons etc.
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Hope this inspired you to start logging your training sessions and gave you ideas on what to write in a journal entry. I personally saw the benefit of more clarity on the frequency of my trainings, as well as on what I am succeeding or not succeeding at.
If you already have a training journal, please let me know where you keep it and how you organise it, I would very much like to know! It can also serve as inspiration for others 🙂