Adapting To Change Through The Power of Dance

This year has been nothing but normal, but in the midst of chaos, we've grown so much. Our goal at Valeo has always been to keep people moving, and staying happy and healthy. The pandemic has changed a few ways we typically do that, but we have adapted. Here's how!

Virtual Workouts

We have always found a way to reach our Valeo family, even when we couldn't meet face to face. Virtual workouts have always been something we wanted to try, and we finally had the chance to go for it. Self-quarantine was the push we needed to jump-start our virtual workout classes, and we're so glad we did! Since then, Valeo Dance Fitness has grown with over 379K subscribers on YouTube, with over 80 million views worldwide! In addition, we've connected with people across the globe through our choreography. This truly shows how powerful and connecting dance can be!

Our online workouts vary, just like our in-person classes do. Our workouts focus on healthy weight loss, stress relief, and strength. You have the chance to burn up to 1,000 calories in one hour as you tone your entire body, define your waistline, and strengthen your core. We combine intense dance fitness cardio with interval training to meet the needs of each of our participants. We add variety to our dances through the use of weighted hula hoops, free weights, fitness drumming, and balance balls. Every muscle works while you sweat!

Exercise is known for its wonderful benefits for both your body and mind. As stated before, clients are burning up to 1,000 calories per session and releasing stress in a healthy way. Our choreography ranges in style and music genre, so there is something for everyone! 

To learn more about our styles of dance and our virtual workouts, check out ValeoClub on YouTube! We have hundreds of videos to meet your needs and mood for the perfect dance workout. You can always find more information on the benefits of dance and what we do on our website. Don't let this pandemic keep you from working out, and join us online today!

Three Reasons You Need Resistance Training

Resistance training should be a staple in anyone's fitness regimen. There are different workouts based on this concept, but it's essential to know why resistance training is valuable. Resistance training can makeover your metabolism, multiply lean muscle, and improve joint stability. When used correctly, it can prevent sports' related injuries. Fortunately, we're here to help you learn why resistance training is so beneficial to your health.

Metabolism Makeover

Did you know that the lean muscle mass in your body burns calories at rest? If you're performing resistance-based exercises several times a week, chances are your maintaining or increasing lean muscle mass. That means even when you're not doing those exercises, you're burning calories, and your body will easily store and use nutrients as energy.  For example, glycogen, a product of sugar, is made and stored in your muscles.  While you shouldn't just eat junk food on a daily basis, resistance training can help your body more efficiently use what you do eat.

Muscle Multiplier

 Lean muscle mass isn't necessarily looking like the Hulk. It also provides a sculpted look that many people want. If you wish to look like Arnold or a ballerina, you'll need lean muscle mass to accomplish this goal. Cardiovascular training can be done in a way that mostly burns fat, but may not necessarily provide a lean look if little muscle mass involved. Be sure to include exercises with a resistance focus, whether you take barre classes or hit the weight room. 

Joint Stabilization

Whether you consider yourself an athlete or not, the ability to prevent injury and maintain healthy joints is vital for everyday activity. Joints like your elbows and knees contain synovial fluid. This fluid should move around in the joint cavity to lubricate and provide shock absorption for the joints. Performing controlled resistance exercises is a great way to circulate synovial fluid. As a result, your joints will maintain a healthy range of motion. It also increases stabilization, providing a support network to keep your joints from going in directions in which they probably shouldn't go. That is important when it's time to break out your best dance moves. 

Resistance training has the potential to makeover your metabolism, multiply your lean muscle mass and improve your joint stability. Add that to your dance fitness routine, and you've got a winning pair when you're ready to hit the dance floor! 

If you're looking to add resistance training into your routine, check us out at Valeo Dance Fitness. At Valeo, we combine our love for healthy living with dancing to create invigorating workouts. Our workouts focus on healthy weight loss and stress relief that allows you to burn up to 1000 calories in one hour, tone your entire body, strengthen your core, and define waistline while having fun! To learn more about our group dance fitness, resistance training, and other classes, visit us online here!

Things You Can Do To Manage Your Stress

With everything going on in today's world, it is easy to get stressed out. Things are constantly changing, and though you might not have control of that, you can control the way you feel. At Valeo Dance Studio, we value the importance of self-care. Here are four things you can try to help manage your stress and feel your best! 

Outdoors

The outdoors is an excellent place to start when it comes to managing stress. According to The American Institute of Stress, spending time outdoors can help improve mental health. Their research shows that nature excursions can help alleviate feelings of time pressure and mental stress. Since COVID-19 began, many of us have been asked to self-quarantine and stay in our homes. As a result, mental health has gone down. A great way to combat that is to get yourself outside and move! The outdoors can improve your mood, recharge you, help you see the bigger picture, and feel productive! 

Exercise

Exercise is another excellent way to manage your stress. A great option for exercising and managing stress is dancing. Dancing requires your full attention, so you don't have time to worry about anything else. It is an excellent way to release some endorphins while staying fit at the same time.  Endorphins are the happy chemicals in your brain that help to relieve stress and pain. Also, exercise and endorphins help lower the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress! So don't waste any time, get up and get moving!

Human Interaction

Other great ways to manage stress include human interaction and a positive mindset. After months of being self-quarantined, it’s great to be around others again. All of these things help boost our immune systems and keep up healthy for whatever we face next. An excellent way to reap these stress-busting benefits is to combine them all! At Valeo Dance Studio, we offer outdoor group dance fitness that keep you feeling good, strong, and healthy.

We know the tough effects of stress, which is why we reopened with new outdoor workouts. By coming to one of our classes, you will experience the outdoors, friends, exercise, and endorphins. In addition, you will experience all of these things in a healthy and safe environment that follows the CDC guidelines. For more information on our classes, visit us online here! If you can't make it to one of our classes, that's okay! We also post online tutorials for those at home to follow along. For the online tutorials, please click here! Don't wait any longer and get your body moving at Valeo Dance Studio! 

The Foundation of Ballroom Dancing

The key to dancing well with a partner and enjoying it is the right balance of leading and following.  Although choreographed routines are used in competition and performance, ballroom dancing is, at its core, social dancing, which means that it relies on communication between the dancers.  One leads, determining the direction they go and how far they move, and the other follows, keeping up with the changes without overstepping.  It can be challenging, but with practice, you can make it look just as effortless as the professionals! 

Leading 

In ballroom dancing, the man generally leads.  He almost always steps forward first, usually on his right foot.  The man leads his partner through a variety of small movements and weight changes.  For example, a slight backward pull of his shoulder indicates that she should step toward him, while a press against her raised hand tells her to step back.  It's crucial to maintain a proper dance frame because, without it, those communications can get lost. 

The lead has a lot of responsibility in the dance.  It's his job to take his follower through every step, which means he has to make decisions on the fly if there's no choreography.  This can be daunting, especially for beginners, but leading is just as important as knowing the steps.   

Following 

It's generally the woman's role to follow in a dance.  That sounds easy, but it requires just as much skill as leading.  She's just as responsible for maintaining the dance frame, and she must pay attention to all those small changes in her partner's hold.  If she gets too close or too far away from him, their connection will be lost, and they'll lose the ability to dance together smoothly.  

For many women, following is the hardest part of ballroom dancing.  The follower shouldn't move at all until she gets a signal from her lead, regardless if he's off the beat or out of time.  Every move she makes should be dictated by the lead, which can be difficult.  Following requires trusting your partner to communicate well and make you look good.  

Valeo Dance Fitness Studio offers private ballroom dance lessons with Asiya Khasnutdinova, voted Best Ballroom Dance Instructor in Atlanta.  From salsa to swing, tango to foxtrot, we have the style for you!  To start learning the art of lead and follow, contact us today!

Our New Virtual First Dance Consultations

We are so excited to offer a new and updated way to meet the needs of our engaged couples. Are you looking for a first dance class to prepare you for your big day? Look no further! In light of COVID-19, Valeo Dance Studio has decided to offer virtual consultations finally. Here's why and how it works!

Why Virtual?

This is something we have wanted to do for a very long time, and now have the chance! Since the pandemic has begun, we have wanted to find a way to still meet with engaged couples. Your wedding day is one of the biggest days of your life, and we want to make sure you feel confident in those first steps onto the dance floor. All the first dance intro consultations will be via Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime! We want couples to save time commuting and keep everyone healthy as well. 

How It Works

As stated before, there will be a few different ways to make this possible. You can choose to meet with Asiya via Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime. You will schedule a consultation by visiting our consultation page online here. The consultation will consist of a 30-minute introductory session where we discuss all the details of the dance. Asiya will help you in selecting the perfect song for your first dance, discuss your goals, and choreography ideas. Ideally, the couple is together in front of the computer so we can get a feel for how you move, but it's not required! It helps couples tremendously and makes things a lot more efficient, but if not, we can find other solutions.

If you are interested in our virtual first dance consultations, we encourage you to schedule it as soon as possible. This is essential for all summer and fall lessons. We realize a lot of couples have had to change their wedding dates due to COVID-19, so we want to make sure we meet with everyone. So sign up as soon as possible! To schedule your consultation online, click here. In addition, ALL private dance lessons will be in person starting June 1st, and this will not change! We ensure you will get the best service during your dance lesson. Again, we want to make this memorable for you! 

For more information on our studio and the type of services we provide, check us out here. We also want to give a huge thank you to all our couples who have already joined us for online consultations! We love seeing you and hope to see new faces soon. Stay well!