Wednesday, April 27, 2016

ipaccblog#3: Healthy Snacking On the Run


 School – Homework – Afterschool Activities – Bed – Repeat.

As a student, you know what it’s like to live a busy lifestyle. Sometimes, the rush from place to place can leave little time to grab a healthy snack in between– making us vulnerable to the tempting calls of our favorite fast food places. To help combat the urge to grab unhealthy foods in a rush, here are some healthy, portable snack ideas to keep you fueled and satisfied throughout the day.

When looking for a snack to give you the nutrients and energy you need to make it through your busy class and rehearsal schedule, look for these three things:
¨     Lean protein - repairs and builds muscles
¨     Healthy fat - for muscle recovery
¨     Complex carbohydrate – provides fiber and energy

Unlike their fast food counterparts, foods with these components won’t slow you down or make you feel tired during the day. Try packing some of these snacks to go:

To-Go Wrap
-Canned tuna
- Plain 2% Greek yogurt
-Chopped celery
-Whole grain wrap
OR
-Hard-boiled egg

-Plain 2% Greek yogurt
-Avocado
-Whole grain wrap


Homemade Trail Mix
-Raw or roasted nuts such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
-Dried cranberries, apricots, mango and pineapple
-A sprinkle of dark chocolate chips - dark chocolate is a great source of antioxidants and can help reduce blood pressure!


Nut Butter Sandwiches
-Natural almond butter
-Banana slices
-Ezekiel bread – this health bread is full of protein and amino acids, crucial for muscle repair.
  OR 
-Natural peanut butter
-Apple slices
-Ezekiel bread

Fresh Veggies and Hummus
-Carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and celery
-Your favorite hummus

Prepare these healthy snacks at the start of the week so that they will be easily accessible to grab on your way out in the mornings during the week. Keep the 3-part formula of lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbs in mind when snacking and you’ll be energized and fueled for the busy show season ahead! #BeTheInSpiration

Pauline Braxton
Community Outreach Coordinator


Friday, April 22, 2016

ipaccblog#2: Hit Your Target


We’ve all been there – set goals for ourselves only for them to sit on the back burners of our daily activities. It’s true: setting and managing goals can be challenging. But with these helpful guidelines, you’ll be sure to achieve those long-desired dance and music goals.

Make Visuals
Visually depicting your goal can be an extremely valuable tool in seeing it through to the end. Write your goal down on something that you see every day and use it as a daily reminder of your plans. Record it in your planner, on your bulletin board or on a sign that hangs over your bedroom mirror. For extra motivation, get creative by adding eye-catching color and design.

Set a Reasonable Time Frame
Be sure to set a deadline for accomplishing your goal. When doing so, give yourself enough time to accomplish it. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day! This is one of the best methods to ensure concrete results. Also, consider setting up a few checkpoints along the way where you can track your progress and reward yourself. Acknowledging your hard work during the journey is a great way to stay encouraged as you march towards that end goal.

Tell Someone
Share your plans with a friend, a family member or a mentor who will hold you responsible for completing your goals. Find someone who will encourage you in those challenging moments when you’re running out of steam or feel like giving up.

Be Diligent
Lastly, the key to accomplishing your goals is to be consistent with the plan you’ve designed. Pursue your goals daily, deciding for yourself that you want them badly enough to follow through to the end.

Remember: With persistence and hard work, there is nothing outside of your reach. Stay motivated and hit your target! #BeTheInSpiration

Pauline Braxton
Community Outreach Coordinator

Friday, April 15, 2016

ipaccblog#1: Becoming an Artist (Not Just a Technician)



An instructor once told me that a performer’s impact on the audience is 65% upper body and face alone. This meant that the audience notices a performer’s expression and upper body carriage more so than anything else!

 As a dancer, I was immediately deterred by this. Why trouble myself with turnout and “working through my feet” if no one would notice? I later understood that my teacher was not, in fact, giving me the green light to abandon ballet class; but rather she was drawing a defining line between what it meant to be an artist versus simply a technician. This was a distinction, I would later learn, that separates the good and the great performers.

Thinking about the Greats and why I admire them as artists, I always come back to how their work made me feel. I think about how seeing Alvin Ailey’s Revelations revived memories of visiting my grandmother’s southern Baptist church. And I think about how the melancholy piano sounds of Billie Holiday’s I’ll be Seeing You made me homesick for the familiar faces and places of home while I was studying abroad in Spain.

That is what artists do. They create the space for people to feel, to connect to and to relate to shared human experiences. An artist is real, raw and relatable.

Being an artist means staying true to the story you have to tell. It means being vulnerable and courageous enough to then expose it to a world of teething critics. And it means recognizing the power and responsibility that true artistry has to inspire change and to breathe life back into a dying world.

As show time here at InSpira approaches, begin to think about the ways in which you can grow in your artistry. Discover your intent and consider how your movement or your song can make an impact on an audience member. Marry your technical training to your individual story and discover your power as a true artist.

Pauline Braxton
Community Outreach Coordinator