Hey Spotlight fans!

The only way I can make it through a competition training season is to stay fully focused on the routines that I have set for myself. I have a hectic school schedule, immediately followed by an evening full of dance technique and choreography classes, followed by a late dinner and a couple hours of homework. Needless to say, my time training for competition is busy and I have very little free time.

I also have routines after each dance competition which are more focused on reflecting, refreshing and letting loose. Competitions, with or without convention, are very tiring and I am usually exhausted by the end of the weekend. So, when I get back home, I tend to surround myself with people that lift me up and love me for the crazy, adventurous person I am. Personally, I rely on people a lot and I am blessed to have a great family and friends to surround me.

I’m definitely a people-person and people are a big part of giving me energy during and after a big weekend. Immediately following a competition, I turn to my family. We often talk through my performance and they let me talk through how I feel about the competition in general. This is normally over dinner, which is of course at my favorite restaurant.

During other free time when I am home, I tend to go straight to my best friend. She’s been there for me through everything, from injuries to moments that make both of us laugh ridiculously loud. We normally go see a movie, then go get ice cream. Sometimes, I just head over to her house and we eat ice cream and talk for hours about everything. If you can’t tell, ice cream plays a big role in our friendship…but we both support each other, and our time together definitely refreshes me from a long weekend.

“There is something special about coming back to your home studio”

At the studio, after a long weekend, I tend to long for a combination where I can really let loose and let all my emotions out. There is something special about coming back to your home studio, being familiar with your team and the ability to just be vulnerable through the music and dances you’re portraying.

Improv especially allows me to be vulnerable and show people my true self. As a performer, sometimes it’s hard to be real. I see all these amazing dancers on social media or at competitions or conventions and all I can think about it how perfect they are, when really they have the same feelings and insecurities that you and I feel every day.

Overall, after a long weekend of dance, my routine is simply to let loose. Sometimes that means talking until midnight while eating ice cream with my best friend or my mom, or going to the studio and just letting go of everything.

I hope you guys are having a great start to summer! Don’t forget to set different kinds of routines to help keep your life balanced. Routines are great to help you grow as an artist and can help you stay grounded in your daily life as well.

I hope you will follow me on Instagram at @madelinevoigt_dancer

Maddie Voigt: Letting Loose with Routines

“There is something special about coming back to your home studio”