Ambassador Julia: Personal goals supported development

A Spring Full of Development – Experiences from Hot Heels Intensive and Come X Heels Course 💜

Hello and happy start of summer! ❤️

My past spring in dance has been full of development, new challenges, and amazing experiences! This spring, I trained at Wonder Club in Pirita's Hot Heels Intensive group. This is an advanced heels class designed for dancers who have been practicing the style for a longer time and already have a good grasp of the basic heels technique.

In the Intensive, we delved weekly into the basics – technique, balance, and body control – without forgetting choreographies. Practicing the fundamentals included, among other things, strength training for the supporting muscles specifically needed in heels to achieve the correct technique. In my opinion, this was one of the most important aspects of the entire season, as more demanding choreographies require good body control, mobility, and balance.

Early in the season, we practiced a special technique choreography that combined, for example, heels walking, turns, balance-demanding movements, and floor work. It was great to notice how much even seemingly small technique exercises influenced my dancing during the season.

Personal Goals Supported Development

One of the best aspects of the Intensive was that everyone set their personal goals at the beginning of the season together with Pirita. I particularly wanted to improve my balance and range of motion, as I felt there was still room for improvement in those areas.

Pirita gave many concrete tips for achieving these goals. For example, in developing balance, it's important to identify which muscles need to be activated to support the body. At the end of the season, I am happy to say that progress was made in both areas.

The smaller group size also allowed Pirita to give individual feedback to everyone in almost every training session. This kind of personalized guidance makes training really motivating and helps in developing faster.

Spring Culminated in a Video Project

The Hot Heels Intensive spring culminated in the filming of a video project at IKH Areena. We practiced for this project for almost the entire spring, so the filming day felt like a real reward for the long-term work.

It was a joy to do this project with an amazing group. Everyone encouraged and cheered each other on from the first rehearsals to the last takes of the filming day. I was already very excited about the project when I first heard about Pirita's vision, and I am incredibly happy that we were able to realize such a large undertaking together.

Working on the video project was also a completely different experience from a regular weekly class. It was inspiring to practice consistently towards one complete piece and to get to experience what dancing for the camera is really like.

Come X Heels – The Perfect Combination of Two Favorite Styles

During the spring, I also participated in Anni's Come X Heels course, which was part of Wonder Club's Beginners Friday concept. The beginner courses on Friday evenings offer a low-threshold opportunity to try new styles and develop one's own dancing at a relaxed pace.

I wanted to join especially because the course combined two of my main dance styles – what could be better! ❤️

Each class began with a thorough warm-up, which included, for example, ankle activation and balance development. The choreographies consisted of clear movements and important lines in heels, which could be refined at leisure without rush.

I felt this helped particularly in developing my own body control. When movements could be completed to their full range of motion, dancing also felt significantly more confident.

Anni's teaching style suited me perfectly. The movements were gone through very clearly step by step, and Anni has an amazing ability to help students understand their own body's movement patterns. In addition, the choreography was repeated a lot, which for me is one of the most important ways to learn new movements and commit them to muscle memory.

So, a warm recommendation for Anni's classes – for both beginners and more advanced dancers!

If You've Been Thinking About Starting to Dance…

If you're still considering starting to dance, then perhaps this is exactly the sign you've been waiting for. 😉 You've already made it this far to read this text!

Check out Wonder Club's upcoming autumn season classes, gather a pinch of courage and a lot of good vibes – and come dance. You might be surprised how much joy, self-confidence, and new experiences dance can bring to your life. ❤️

– Julia