Your 2024 World Championships Training Guide is here! The 2024 World Championships are just around the corner. Whether this is your first World Championships or your tenth, take a second to be proud of your hard work and recognize that you have earned your place on that stage. As we head into the final days before the World Championships, you're probably feeling a combination of nerves and excitement. This training guide has everything you need to help keep your body and mind strong as you head to the biggest stage in Irish dance. Good luck to all competitors and happy training! Team Target Tr ..read more

When you imagine an Irish dance warmup, you may picture a half-hearted jog around a dance studio (or competition venue) followed by some light, static stretching and running through your steps. However, there is so much more to developing a well designed warmup that prepares your body and mind for dance. Research indicates the best warmups are well-planned, with exercises and content that directly relate to the goals of the training session (1). For Irish dancers, that means a warmup that will prepare your body for improved technique and the high demands of Irish dance. Ready to perform at yo ..read more

You’re working hard in dance class, but there’s an aching pain in the ball of your foot that just keeps getting worse as class goes on. You don’t really remember when it started but that ache right under your big toe gets harder to ignore every time you dance. If this sounds familiar, you could be experiencing pain in your sesamoid bones, which when left untreated, can become sesamoiditis, or chronic inflammation of these tissues. WHAT ARE THE SESAMOIDS BONES? When we talk about the “sesamoids,” we’re talking about two small bones in the ball of your foot that sit within the tendon of a muscl ..read more

"Where did you get ____ from?" Many times in our training videos, I use various pieces of home training equipment. And weekly, I'll get the question, "where did you get that piece of equipment from?" I'm very intentional about the equipment I use and recommend for all Target Training classes. I want equipment that is versatile and that typically doesn't take up much real estate. To compliment our blog, Simple Tips for an Inspiring Home Studio, I've compiled a list of my all-time favorite home studio equipment staples and splurges. Click on the name of each piece of equipment and it'll take yo ..read more

I've always been a huge fan of spaces - rooms with a purpose that feel good to be in.   As I write that, I feel like it sounds a little crazy. But do you feel that way, too? That sometimes you walk into a room say "oohhhhh!".   I've always felt that way about dance/training studios. I can't count the number of times I've walked into a studio space and said, "I would love to dance and train here".   Creating a practice/training space within your home can be a bit challenging because we don't always have the space. Many times for me, it's just been an area in my bedroom. But that ..read more

There isn’t one cure-all to keep your shoulders “back” in Irish dancing. Different imbalances in each dancer can cause the compensation that bring your shoulders forward. Three of the top reasons Irish dancer’s shoulders roll forward are: tight muscles on the front of the chest, weak muscles on the back of the body, and sinking in the hips when hopping. Let's keep it simple and take a closer look into why we make these compensations as dancers and most importantly, what we can do about it. "Tech Neck" Hours spent scrolling on your phone or tablet or sitting at the computer can cause some big ..read more

You’ve spent the last several months focused on, and tirelessly working towards, competing at an Irish dance major. With the competition behind you, NOW WHAT? How do you move forward from the highs and lows of the competition? How do you overcome the obstacles you faced at the competition? How do you learn from those experiences and continue building upon them? I’m here to help you. It's time to REST, REFLECT & REFOCUS. STEP 1: REST Rest your body After spending day after day in the studio or at home training your technique and strength, it's time to give your body some rest. Rest will hel ..read more

Crossing is one of the most fundamental aspects of Irish dance. The “over-crossed” look of hiding your back knee while you dance is unique to Irish dance and often sets the top dancers apart from the rest of the competition. To improve any Irish dance technique, we need to improve both mobility and strength of key joints and muscles–and crossing is no different. In this two-part series, we’ll break down exactly why and how to improve each of these areas for crossing… with an exciting announcement at the end! ,CROSSOVER | Part 1: MOBILITY FOR CROSSOVER Mobility is the range of motion a given j ..read more

“Sprained ankle” might be one of the most feared phrases in Irish dance (maybe besides “stamina!”) and chances are, either you or one of your dance friends have experienced the dreaded ankle sprain. But what exactly is an ankle sprain? What should you do if you sprain your ankle? A sprain is an acute injury (an injury that occurs suddenly) of a ligament–a structure that connects two bones. Ligaments work to prevent joints from going too far beyond their range of motion, so if they are suddenly forced beyond that range (like landing a jump wrong) the fibers in the ligament will stretch and tear ..read more

In this four-part blog series, we’ve talked about some common Irish dance injuries and how your core and hip stability plays a critical role in preventing them. In the last part in this series, we’re going to cover one more area in the body key to injury prevention: the foot and ankle! Because the foot is what actually bears the weight of your body while you dance, it acts as the interface between your body and the floor. This means it has to both distribute your weight evenly while also acting as a shock absorber and distribute the forces from landing. In order to play both of these roles, th ..read more