After building strength, here are my top seven tips for learning a pirouette itself.
Learning the Turn
1. Practice by going onto releve and posse, without turning first. Prep count 8, up on count 1 in posse, hold for count 2, down on count 3. If you achieve that with a solid balance, hold counts 2 and 3, and come down on count 4. If you can balance in posse on releve, you'll be able to turn better.
2. Balance by engaging your entire standing leg all the way up into your hip/butt muscles and engage your core. If there is a weak or non-engaged muscle in the chain or alignment, it will be the weak link that makes your balance not as rock solid.
3. Do not twist your back. Shoulders and hips should stay in line. And make sure your shoulders and hips are both parallel to the ground both when you start, and during the turn. If not, it will cause you to go off center.
4. Launch your turn from a balanced, centered pile. Feel grounded before the turn and feel the energy that you need to push off the ground into the turn.
5. Withdrawl your working leg quickly and get it into posse right away. It will make the turn look cleaner.
6. Make sure your working leg is turned out and the toe is at the knee. Depending on the technique or school of thinking (or in guard, the choreography!), you could have your toe on the side, the front or the back. NEVER put your arch on your leg. Ick!
7. Practice the turns slowly! If you can turn a pirouette slowly, you can do them controlled quickly. You'll also be able to know which way you're leaning if you fall off balance and should be able to analyze your standing and working legs better.
Do you have any other tips for pirouettes?
Showing posts with label Modern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modern. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Color Guard: Tips for Turning - Building Strength
At Stonewall Independent auditions, I taught pirouette turns and thought I'd share some of the tips we used to help everyone learn how to do them properly. In this blog I'll cover how to build muscle strength to prepare you for turns such as pirouettes. In a future blog, I'll cover some tips on the turns themselves.
Strengthen Your Muscles
1. Build Ankle Strength: Your ankle strength is key to avoiding that wobbly-ankle look when you releve or turn.
One exercise it to use a bar or the back of a chair, and standing up very straight on one leg (turned out), coupe the free leg. Slowly go into releve and back down 10 times. Then switch legs. Your ankles should feel tired. If not, try doing 15 or 20 in a row. Be sure you are maintaining control and engaging your core. You also need to ensure proper alignment to bring your weight over the middle of the ball of your foot - don't roll out or in or you'll actually start straining the tendons and ligaments around your ankle.
A second option is to scrunch a towel in your foot. Stand up, and put a towel on the ground. With your bare feet, grab the towel with your toes and lift it off the ground. Control the release back to the ground. Repeat 10 times, and then switch sides.
2. Build Calf Strength: When I was at Crown, I believe it was in 2000, the horn line had a marching exercise to build calf strength. They would backwards march a yard line (10 yards) in 8 counts and then stay on that yard line 8 counts, up in releve, while lifting one foot at time (so their body stayed at the same height but their ankle would bend so one foot would come off the floor, then they'd switch feet). As I explain this, I think I need to make a video!
Strengthen Your Muscles
1. Build Ankle Strength: Your ankle strength is key to avoiding that wobbly-ankle look when you releve or turn.
One exercise it to use a bar or the back of a chair, and standing up very straight on one leg (turned out), coupe the free leg. Slowly go into releve and back down 10 times. Then switch legs. Your ankles should feel tired. If not, try doing 15 or 20 in a row. Be sure you are maintaining control and engaging your core. You also need to ensure proper alignment to bring your weight over the middle of the ball of your foot - don't roll out or in or you'll actually start straining the tendons and ligaments around your ankle.
A second option is to scrunch a towel in your foot. Stand up, and put a towel on the ground. With your bare feet, grab the towel with your toes and lift it off the ground. Control the release back to the ground. Repeat 10 times, and then switch sides.
2. Build Calf Strength: When I was at Crown, I believe it was in 2000, the horn line had a marching exercise to build calf strength. They would backwards march a yard line (10 yards) in 8 counts and then stay on that yard line 8 counts, up in releve, while lifting one foot at time (so their body stayed at the same height but their ankle would bend so one foot would come off the floor, then they'd switch feet). As I explain this, I think I need to make a video!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Dance: Teaching Turnout in Color Guard
Not all dance instructors can teach dance to color guard students. Similarly, not all dance choreography works with color guard shows. Over the years, I have learned to mesh what I know about dance technique and choreography with the requirements of what works in and what is needed for color guard shows.
Color guard is interesting. Nearly everyone I've ever taught had little to know dance experience so you have to start at the beginning. However, you also have some folks who are great performers and don't want to spend hours on super basic technique! So that means I have to teach the basics in a new way, and quickly.
Teaching Turnout
My preference is to get in front of the color guard during auditions and start from scratch every year, no matter how many vets or rookies there are. When teaching movement, I try to start with functions rather than steps. For example, when I teach turnout (usually the first thing I talk about), I don't say to the students that they should stand in first position and their toes and knees point on the 45, which is what I notice most color guard instructors do.
Instead, I start by working from the hip without explaining the end result we will get.
I have them stand there, and ask them to stand on one foot, and flex their free foot with a super straight leg. I ask them to rotate the leg from the hip in and out a number of times, then I ask them to place it down into the turned out position. Then we repeat on the other side, so that they are standing in first position once we finish both sides!
As I ask them to rotate, I talk about how the hip is a ball and socket joint. When I ask them to turnout over the first few weeks/months of the season, I remind them that they turn out from the HIP only, not the knee, not the foot. I also talk about the inner thigh rotating forward, the inside of the heel pulling forward, and the butt cheeks working by rotating in towards each other (no wonder ballerina's have great bums) not clenching together.
Future Technique Posts
I'd like to hear from you! What other things would you like me to explain about how I teach dance technique to color guard students? Leave a comment, and if I explain that technique, let me know if you want me to link to a blog or website of yours!
Color guard is interesting. Nearly everyone I've ever taught had little to know dance experience so you have to start at the beginning. However, you also have some folks who are great performers and don't want to spend hours on super basic technique! So that means I have to teach the basics in a new way, and quickly.
Teaching Turnout
My preference is to get in front of the color guard during auditions and start from scratch every year, no matter how many vets or rookies there are. When teaching movement, I try to start with functions rather than steps. For example, when I teach turnout (usually the first thing I talk about), I don't say to the students that they should stand in first position and their toes and knees point on the 45, which is what I notice most color guard instructors do.
Instead, I start by working from the hip without explaining the end result we will get.
I have them stand there, and ask them to stand on one foot, and flex their free foot with a super straight leg. I ask them to rotate the leg from the hip in and out a number of times, then I ask them to place it down into the turned out position. Then we repeat on the other side, so that they are standing in first position once we finish both sides!
As I ask them to rotate, I talk about how the hip is a ball and socket joint. When I ask them to turnout over the first few weeks/months of the season, I remind them that they turn out from the HIP only, not the knee, not the foot. I also talk about the inner thigh rotating forward, the inside of the heel pulling forward, and the butt cheeks working by rotating in towards each other (no wonder ballerina's have great bums) not clenching together.
Future Technique Posts
I'd like to hear from you! What other things would you like me to explain about how I teach dance technique to color guard students? Leave a comment, and if I explain that technique, let me know if you want me to link to a blog or website of yours!
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