Name: Liesl Balderas

Hometown: Taylorsville, Utah

Major: Dance Performance

Engagement Track: Leadership

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Dynamic Stretching Club

 

              For my project, I started a club on campus in which the members learn and practice stretching techniques and different stretching positions. We met twice a week, though three times a week would have been better because stretching requires more consistency than just two days per week. Our meetings were Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Multipurpose building. The goal was to help the members become more flexible, to feel more relaxed, and to learn new stretches that they could later do on their own. It was an opportunity for members to practice stretching outside of class where they could focus and their flexibility.

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              I began my project by submitting a club application to SUUSA through my portal. The application included writing a constitution that explained how the club would be managed, when and where meetings were held, and what each meeting consisted of. I made flyers to promote my club and made announcements in my dance classes to spread awareness of its existence. Before each meeting, I prepared for the meetings by researching different stretches that I would teach my members in the club. In each meeting, we did a ten-minute warm-up and then took as much time as we wanted to practice isometric stretches.

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              The idea for my project began with a desire to improve my own flexibility as a dancer. In my technique classes, professors just didn’t take the time to stretch for flexibility, they only stretched enough to warm-up. I found that my flexibility was decreasing, and many of my  fellow dancers were feeling the same way. I decided to schedule a set time and place in which dancers could attend stretching sessions so they would have a community and support for stretching outside of class. The goal was to promote taking time to take care of your body by being able to put it into your schedule.

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              Throughout this project, I encountered many challenges, and sometimes I wished I could just give up and try something new. The first challenge was the amount of time it took for SUUSA to approve my club. We were already four weeks into the semester by the time I could officially start it, and by then everyone’s schedules were pretty much set, and they didn’t have room to fit in my club. I worked around this by holding practice sessions prior to approval, but it was mostly just me and my very patient husband. Once I had approval, it was a lot easier to get members.

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              The second biggest challenge was that I didn’t feel qualified to lead the club. I had eleven years of experience and research to back me up, but I still doubted my abilities. This resolved itself as I conducted meetings and learned that I was totally capable of teaching my peers how to stretch. Lastly, attendance was totally inconsistent, but that was due to the nature of a dancer’s schedule and the time I scheduled my club. There wasn’t anything I could do about that, and I was just happy when members did come.

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              Even though attendance was scarce, almost all my members benefitted from the meetings. They reported feeling an all-around sense of relaxation and they were all more limber at the end of stretching. One member had hated stretching throughout all her years of dance training, and the techniques I was able to share with her helped her not only enjoy stretching, but to feel like she was actually benefitting from it. The look on her face when she could bend without hurting was priceless. The best part is that she will be able to incorporate the techniques with all the stretching she does in future classes, and it will continue to free her mobility.

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              Though this project was challenging and time-consuming, it was well worth the effort. I developed confidence in my teaching skills, and gained experience instructing other dancers. I learned a lot about stretching and stretching techniques, which makes me more valuable as an instructor in other dance classes as well. This project also fulfilled its purpose, which gave me a much-needed sense of accomplishment. Knowing you put something good in the world, no matter how small, gives you greater motivation to do it again. If that’s not worthwhile, I don’t know what is.

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