DANCE STYLE IMPROVEMENT
I attach some basic advice
for improvement of your dance style for those who are interested. You can use
these exercises and practise them on your own either during your class or at
home.
Everyone who is led by teacher will agree with me, that you are
constantly reminded about several things, which you should do but - according
to your teacher - you are still not doing (e.g. not crossing your legs enough,
don’t have pointed toes, missing straight legs, etc.). But you are convinced
that you are doing all of these thinks, and what‘s more, you think that you
simply can’t do it better for any reason. Or am I wrong?
In cases like these, it is the best to go and find a small place in front
of a mirror (we all know, how we want to look like during dancing). Try to
concentrate more, piece-by-piece polish all what you’ve been told all the time
or that what you have a problem with while dancing.
Attitude
Basically the most important thing how to get your dancing better and
attain success and especially be happy with yourself is: practise, practise,
practise….
It’s very important to have ever-present positive attitude and patience
without which the „torment“ wouldn’t be managed.
If you attend classes once or twice a week with duration of 1-2 hours
with quite high number of dancing colleagues, you have surely figured out that
you are not improving as fast as you would like to. But if you find more space
for yourself (daily the best) out of the dance classes and will work on the
technique exercises and dances (which you know from your classes), soon you are
going to feel the improvement. And the more you manage to improve during your
self practise, the more you get from your teacher, who won’t have to remind you
(at least not so often) that you have to point your toes or open your position,
or perhaps you will not have go round and round over your steps, when you are
supposed to remember them already, but you will have time to concentrate on
specific parts of your dances which are not clear enough to you or even better,
you might learn another nice new steps!!!
IMPORTANT THINGS, WHICH SHOULDN’T BE MISSING DURING YOUR DANCING
1) BASIC POSITION
Irish step dancing is mainly about leg movements. Before you even start,
check that your legs are straight to the maximum, turned out and crossed into
fifth position (right leg in front, left leg behind - left leg toes must be
hidden behind the right heel and the left heel must be at least at the level of
right leg toes). Upper body plays the same important role. Grow up from your
waist, so your back is nice and straight, push your pelvis forward and pull
your stomach in, open your chest, keep your shoulder blades close together and
push your shoulders down. Have your arms by your sides, fingers lightly into
fists with thumb side turned forward.
2) Crossed and opened legs
Your feet and legs should stay crossed and opened with your toes out at
all time during your dancing. There are just few of us who have naturally
flexible hips, which allow this required position. For the rest of us, there
luckily exist some exercises that help to improve and keep opened and crossed
position while dancing. Important thing to know is that turnout comes from your
hips – which means that whole your leg should be opened not just your foot. If
you have problem with turning your leg out you are probably not flexible enough
in your hips or your hip muscles are not strong enough to keep the turnout all
the time. But everything can be worked out. Regular correct practising, best in
front of the mirror, will do miracles with your dancing…
3) Standing high on your
toes
Your heels should be high above the floor for the
whole time of your dancing, except when you have to use heels as a part of your
steps. But that will be mentioned to you when you learn the step. How high you
get up on your toes depends on how strong your calf muscles are. It is good to
put include some strengthening exercises in your practise as well as practising
your steps on high toes.
4) Arms by your sides
Your arms should stay straight, slightly turned out
and by your sides with hands closed into fists while dancing, no matter how
difficult your steps are. Remember that correct posture of your body during
your dancing is as important as the work of your legs.
5) Steps knowledge
Knowledge of your step is very important. If you are
not able to dance 99 attempts from 100 without any basic mistake (e.g. go in
the right direction in sidestep, remember the beginning of the first or second
step), then you should keep practising your steps and later whole dances all
the time, until you become confident enough to dance it without any mistake
even in the middle of the night or when you are very nervous (like at a feis or
a performance).
6) Connection of dance and
music
Every dance is rhythmically connected with special
music. Make sure, that you practise your steps and dances with correct music.
Practise them with music until every movement, every beat sounds precise at the
right time. If you don’t have any practise music, simply ask your teacher what
music he/she would recommend to you. There exist lots of good CDs recorded
specially for practising certain dances. It shouldn’t be a problem to get some.
Personally, I can recommend any CD by Dean Crouch or Bradley Brothers, FeisWorld etc., because
their music won’t leave you sitting down even for second. For modern sets I can
recommend The Final Round by Kevin Joyce.
7) Self-confidence
If you are more confident, your dancing will look more
confident. We can’t dance like Jean Butler or Michael Flatley right from the
beginning, but you should be more proud and confident just for the simple
reason that you have chosen this type of dancing, spend a lot of time
practising it and you are working very hard to get better. You will see that it
becomes much easier with a bit of self-confidence.
8) Smile
Show everyone, how much you like Irish dancing. All
that hard work and sweating during hard practising is not such a fun, but
thanks to a nice smile your dancing looks lighter. And that’s why you do it,
isn’t it?
EXERCISES
Generally for
building up your physical condition, strengthening muscles and shaping your
body it is ideal to do other exercise techniques besides Irish dancing, i.e.
exercises which engage the whole body. For example yoga, pilates, ballet and so
on. Combination of different exercises can be very beneficial. Appropriate
gadgets can by therabands or pilates balls of different sizes, which intensify
the exercises.
PRACTISE
Stand in basic
position, instead of the fifth position put your feet into first position-heels
are together and toes are turned out as much as your body allows it. Make sure
that your feet are not turned out more than your knees. You can check it when
you bend your knees slightly. Knees should be right above your feet. If they
are not, get them there.
Point your
right leg forward just above the ground and turn it out from your hip. Check
that your both hips are at the same level. Continue:
1)
Lift your leg
a little bit higher, hold it tight, stretched up to your toes to the maximum
and opened. Try to push your heel up, but make sure your hips stay still all
the time. If you are encouraged enough, lift your leg higher after a while and
hold. Make sure your hips and body are still, pelvis pushed forward, both the
standing leg and the one in the air is strong and straight. –
this exercise tones up, firms up and shapes your legs, firms up bottom and
activates abdominal muscles.
2)
Turn out your
lifted strengthened leg gradually to the maximum, and then slowly turn it in.
This exercise reminds a movement of a screwdriver. Make sure the opened leg hip
is not moving up and down and your bottom muscles are stiffen. Another variation
of this exercise is that you flex the foot of the opened leg – strengthens, firms up and shapes your
legs, firms up bottom and activates abdominal muscles, releases hips and makes
them more flexible.
3) Change the
uplifted foot from point to flex repeatedly – strengthens calf muscles, ankles, helps to perfect stretch of instep
and toes.
Don’t forget
to repeat all three versions of this exercise on left leg as well. All of these
exercises can be done while lying on your back. Passive leg shouldn’t move, it
should be bent and its foot should be as close to the body as possible. Keep
making sure your active leg is strengthened and stretched all over its length.
During this exercise you exert your front thigh muscle a lot. Don’t forget to
stretch it when you finish the exercise. Bring your toes to your bottom and
keep your knees together. Hold it for few seconds and then shake your leg
gently.
Popular
exercise for open and crossed position
is walking in the fifth position. Draw a long line on the floor or just use a
sticky tape. The rule is, that just the big toes are allowed to touch the sides
of the line or tape. At the beginning, just walk on high toes and straight legs
forward and backward, until you get more confident. Then work on your jumps and
landings so that every time just your toes touch the tape. This will probably
be difficult at the beginning, but when you get into this exercise, your
dancing will become a bigger delight afterwards.
Apart from
other things, these exercises strain Achilles tendon and calf muscles, so it’s
good to do stretches continuously. For example stand up in parallel position
(feet together, toes pointing forward), step back with your right leg and keep
it straight, bend your left leg and push your pelvis forward. Both heels should
lie on the floor. You should feel pulling in your back calf. Stay in that
position for few seconds until the pull releases a bit and then slowly swap
your legs.
All types of jumps play very important role in Irish
dancing. All jump combinations need a lot of practising and repeating until
they become light and look natural. They won’t be managed without strong calves
and abdominals, pointed toes everywhere in the air and good body posture.
Calf muscles are big support for Irish dancers. If they are not working properly and
are not strong enough, it can result in e.g. ankle sprain and simile injuries. There exists a very good exercise for strengthening of calf muscles, which
offers more versions of how it can be done. The basic movement is still the
same. Stabilize your whole body and stretch your legs, while going up on your
toes, where you can stay for a while and then slowly go back down on your feet.
Adapt the speed to yourself, but in my opinion the slower you do the lift and
down, with possible hold on your toes, the better result you will get. Execution is very important. Your weight
should be more on your big toe side. If you are more on the little toe side you
are doing it wrong. Neither ankle should be relaxed! Don’t forget to breath
fluently, because it might also be the reason why you are loosing the balance.
More difficult
variation of this exercise is lifting yourself on just one leg. The other leg
can be in front of you slightly above the floor. Of course, the best is to
practise it in opened position straight away to get your leg used to it better.
The most difficult variation is to close your eyes and try to hold between 30
seconds to 1 minute on your high toes without loosing your balance.
Take off and landing is dependant on calf muscles. It doesn’t make any harm if you correctly
practise any exercise intended for strengthening calf muscles. For better take off and landing you can
jump on trampoline, or simply skip over the rope. When dancing, just choose any
jump combination and keep repeating it preferably with the music. There still
exists another nice and not so complicated exercise. I got my inspiration from
ballet.
Stand up in
starting position with legs in first position, heels together, toes turned out
as much to the side as your hips allow.
Feet are stuck to the ground. Bend your knees as much as you can. Make
sure that they are positioned right above your toes. From that position lift
yourself straight up to your high toes and straighten your knees at the same
time. Firm up your bum, pull your stomach in and open your chest, keep your
back straight and breathe regularly. Keep changing these two positions in
middle speed, you can do it with music, but you should keep control of your
body. Be stabilized to the maximum.
STRONG ABDOMINAL MUSCLES
1)
DOUBLE STRAIGHT LEG – Lie down on your back and lift both your legs in 90°
angle (vertically to the ground and your torso). Place your hands under your
head as a support for the neck spine and pull your chin to your chest. Breathing in lower your legs down, but not
too far and bring them back up while breathing out. Make sure you are not
lifting your lower back off the floor while lowering your legs. Keep your legs
maximally strengthened. Have your feet pointed or flexed. This exercise
activates frontal abdominal muscle. 2) CRISS-CROSS – Lie on your back and place
your hands behind your head. While breathing in, bring your left knee to your
chest (leg is bent), the other leg is extended in the air (45-90° angle), when
breathing out bring your right elbow to your left knee. Change your legs with
the next inhale and turn your head back just above the floor. Breathing out
bring left elbow to your right knee. You can speed the whole combination up.
Keep your lower back stuck to the floor for the duration of the whole exercise.
This exercise (if done correctly) will strengthen the oblique abdominal
muscles.
EXERCISES FOR BETTER JUMPS
Generally, when
you are practising jumps, you should jump a lot. Simple hops on the spot are
all right, concentrate on good high take off, when doing it. You want to get
your body as high as possible. Also you can jump on one leg for a while, then
on the other one, or change fifth positions, but remember that you want to jump
up. When you are taking off, don’t forget to use calf muscles-you should
strengthen them regularly. Beside that you can also skip over the skipping rope
for few minutes every day or jump on a trampoline.
1) Sit
down on the floor in Jump over position (One leg is under your body-you are
sitting on it, the other one is in front of you). Straighten your back and roll
your shoulders back and press them down. Keep your arms beside your body (like
in Jump over). Then lift your front
leg as high you can without any change in your position. Don’t forget to: open
and straighten whole front leg including pointed toes. Hold for 10 seconds at
the beginning then slowly increase the time.
Don’t forget to repeat the same with the other leg. Stretch your front
thigh muscle immediately after the exercise.
During
this exercise you exert all the muscles that you need for holding your Jump over in the air: abdominals, thighs
and calf muscles.
2)
Before you start with the steps themselves, try to warm your legs up properly.
Stand up with your feet in parallel position. Jump up from both legs and
sharply bring them to your bottom. Keep doing this exercise for while, with or
without a small jump in between. You can try this with music. It is good for
better stamina and it also helps your legs get to your bottom more easily
afterwards.
3) Here
we have some exercise with music. :o) It includes three combinations each
lasting 32 bars. At the beginning, you might go through just one round, but
with regular practising of this exercise you might keep going over two or three
rounds. With correct execution you should notice improvement in your jump overs and increase your physical
condition. Keep your legs crossed for the whole time!
8 x jump, up, up, up combination
– stretch the front leg forward with every last Up, which becomes the beginning of the next jump (or jump over
without 2 3), therefore, you switch legs and start the whole combination from
your left leg, etc.
16 x Jump, up combination
– shortened version of the previous combination, just exclude two middle Ups and go straight in to jump over (without 2 3).
16 x jump over – a
series of single jump overs (without
2 3) and without any Up in between
With
every jump over, concentrate on maximally straightened front leg and try
to bring it higher with every exercise. Next, concentrate on sharper movement
of your bottom leg towards and under your bum. When doing Up, make sure your knee is high enough and every movement of your
toes to your knee is with a sharp swing.
Another version of this exercise is that you change Up for Point. After every jump over
you should finish with strengthen, opened and pointed leg just above the
ground.
Stamina, physical condition
All dancers,
beginners or advanced ones must work on their physical condition all the time,
as it is absolutely necessary for long dances. Everyone looks very fresh and
ready at the beginning of a dance, but at the end (which usually comes after
half a minute) everyone starts dropping out, catching their breath and their
legs are getting out of control. Advanced dancers can hide it better
(especially at the feis). If our energy lasts longer while we are dancing, we
will enjoy it longer and our dance execution will be more thorough and precise.
Successful
exercise for building up your stamina
must be the well-known „Circle of death“ :o) Anyone who has ever tried it, will
agree that this exercise is absolute killer, however it is very effective.
This exercise
lies in dancing to the music in a circle for e.g. in promenade step (which is
the easiest version) and trying to keep the rhythm as well as your stamina in
movement for as long as possible. Of course you have to do the step execution
technically correctly. At the beginning
I can guarantee, you will be dead in a minute and possibly you will try to
catch your breath for the next ten minutes. But I recommend you not to give up
and try it again next time. Extend the dancing time gradually.
Next
possibility, which has good influence on your hard shoes, is to go through your
whole dances with full energy without stopping. If it is not enough for you,
add one more step. For example, heavy jig consist of 3 completed steps from
right and left leg. After you add one more step (whichever you choose) from
right and left leg, it makes together 4 completed steps from right and left
leg, and so on.
Ankle and Instep
During
dancing, a lot of stability and strengthening or on contrary loosening of the
ankle area is required. That’s why it is good to practise regularly and at the
same time to care about them, so they are able to work properly. Ankle injuries are generally very painful and
their recovery lasts for a long time. It is very important not to underestimate
treatment and hold it out for as long as required otherwise the not completely
recovered ankle and also whole foot is liable to new injury, which can be even
worse and can cause permanent problem, which none of us dancers really wish to
have. Again I give a few examples of suitable exercises.
Ankle circles are very useful exercise. You can do it almost everywhere – when you
are watching TV, while you’re waiting for a bus, when cooking… You should make
circling movement with your ankles to both sides, inside and outside, in other
words to the right and to the left.
Similar
exercise is „drawing“ an alphabet.
Try to write the whole alphabet from the beginning to the end and backwards by
your toes (movement starts from the ankle), if you want to, you can do it more
times. Don’t forget to repeat it in the same length with the other foot.
Another
effective exercise is toe-and-flex.
Whether you are standing, sitting or lying during this exercise, straighten,
strengthen and lift one leg slightly above the floor. In opened position
fluently point your foot and toes as much as you can and then go back into flex
position. I can recommend you not to rush and enjoy the stretch at both end
positions better. Do not forget the other leg!
Inner thighs are used during jumps very
often. Probably the most effective exercise for strengthening your inner thighs
is to lie down on your back and place big fitness ball between your bent knees.
If you don’t have this special ball you can use big folded towel or cushion
instead. All you have to do is to press your knees against each other for few
seconds.
The next
exercise is just the right thing for Irish dancers and also works well for
hips. Lie down on your back, straighten your legs and lift them up so that they
are vertical to your body. Make sure your legs are strong (that you use all
your leg muscles) and straight for the whole time of the exercise and that your
back is touching the floor along its full length. Keep crossing your legs -
right leg in front and then left leg in front (as if switching fifth
positions). Change should be executed quickly. Very soon you should feel heat
in your leg muscles as well as in abdominals, which are activated during these
movements too.
What you should concentrate on during hard shoes practise?
Basic
requirements are rhythm, power of the
beats and their loudness. Sound
should be sharp, distinct, clear and in the right time with the music. Sound of
your beats get louder when you lift your legs more off the ground. Leg
movements should be distinctive and should look light, not lazy and heavy. Try
to relieve the weight of your body and do hops instead of steps in your step
combinations (e.g. instead of „treble
down“ do „treble hop“). Just as
with the soft shoes you should dance high on your toes, not to let your heels
touch the floor when they are not allowed to. Crossed and open position of your
legs is very important too. Keep checking that your back leg is opened,
sometimes dancers forget about it when their mind is occupied with all the
other things while dancing. Also you should think of your posture – apart from
other things, try to concentrate on straightening your knees in every movement
– return legs back under your body in combinations on the spot, in space
combinations carry your weight (whole body) faster. Every time your legs get
off the ground, your toes must be pointed. Try to use more space during your
steps.
TECHNIQUE
This section
is meant for those, who have already tried Irish dancing and are interested in
improving their dancing style. There exist many dancing combinations in Irish
dancing. I chose a sample of probably the most used ones throughout all levels.
Each
step is accompanied by not only a description but also by exercises, which
should improve each step by regural practising.
Most of the steps are followed by pictures to give a better idea.
It’s
definitely good to watch some video, if you haven’t already seen any of the
listed steps. For
beginners, any tutorial video by Olive Hurley is interesting, as it gives you a
chance to learn all basic dances in soft shoes and hard shoes, for any Irish
dancer I can recommend a DVD by Jean
Butler, which will not teach you specific dances, but will explain and show
many steps that are often used in soft shoes and hard shoes as well as other
interesting things related to Irish step dancing.
There are two
basic positions in Irish dancing – the fifth
and the first.
SKIP 1 2 3 (PROMENADE STEP)
Hop on your left
leg and at the same time stretch your right leg in front of you (just above the
ground), but keep your left (back) leg straight. Follow with 3 steps. First,
put your weight on your right (front) leg, then bring and close your left leg
just behind your right leg (in crossed position) and for better effect lift
your right leg and stretch it forward above the ground at the same time. For
the third step carry your weight on right (front) leg and gently lift your left
leg, so that you know where your weight is. Continue the whole movement from
the left leg except that after the first hop on right leg, your left leg which
is coming from behind is kicking your bottom, then keep going right in front,
pointed and above the ground (left leg must get through the skip during the hop
on right leg). Make sure your left knee moves forward with your left toes, when
you are skipping it forward. Left leg should be maximally strengthen, which
helps to faster skip, needed in such a quick movement. Make sure your legs are
in crossed position and also that you are lifting your legs of the ground with
every step rather than sliding them.
To improve
this basic step, I can recommend repeating it continuously. If you have a
mirror, get in front of it and practise your promenade step on the spot with
every detail. Practise slowly without the music first, so that you get every
movement right – crossed and opened position of your legs, straight legs,
standing on high toes – then speed it up. When you practise with music, work on
sharpness (when changing your leg, when doing skips) to keep the right rhythm.
If you loose yourself in the music, stop and start again. The more you dance
without a break, the better your stamina will get.
SEVENS/SIDESTEP
This step is
unique to Irish dancing. You won’t find it in any other dance style. Mostly it
is connected with for e.g. two jump 2 3s,
which are called „threes“. It is a basic
step, which is danced in solo dancing as well as in ceilí dances. Its name is
derived from the motion, as you touch the ground seven times. It is a
combination of one jump and six steps, which are led sideways. Jump can be a
simple take off and landing on both legs, or Up or Cut etc. Important
thing to remember is that if you are dancing seven to the right, your front leg
must be your right leg, if you are dancing seven to the left, your front leg
must by your left leg. An example of seven to the right is (watch out, steps
order is atypically shown from right to left from your view):
1. Up (right leg)
2. Step to the
side on the right leg
3. Left leg
step, finishing in the fifth position behind the right leg
4. Step to the
side on the right leg
5. Left leg
step, finishing in the fifth position behind the right leg
6. Step to the
side on the right leg
7. Left leg
step, finishing in the fifth position behind the right leg
RISE AND GRIND/RISING STEP
Start with a
hop on left leg, and at the same time lift your right leg up in front of your
left knee (Up position), continue
with another hop on left leg while you are kicking your bottom with your right
leg, follow by step back on your right leg (close behind your left leg), then
hop on your right leg and lead your left leg up in an arc movement and then
back finishing with kick to your bottom. Whole combination is finished with
four quick steps from left leg (behind), right leg (in front), left leg
(behind) and right leg (in front). Body weight finishes on front leg. Repeat
the whole combination from the other leg.
POINTS
Point is dance step, which is used at all dance levels in
different variations. That is why it is good to automate this step right at the
beginning. Point is always
accompanied with a small hop. Its description is as follows: legs are crossed
in fifth position on toes with right leg in front. Hop starts from left (back)
leg, at the same time a straightened right (front) leg goes forward-finishes
just above the floor in such a distance that keeps the back leg straight. Don’t
bend your back knee only because you want to get your front leg as far as
possible. Then follow with the point itself, which is a pure „knock“ by right
(front) leg toe on the floor and then quickly lift it up to the previous
position (above the point). The reason why you lift your leg after the point is
not to be tempted to drag it back on the floor and also to make the overall
execution look sharp. Both movements – leg transfer forward and Point – should be executed with a swing.
A combination, which is used very often, is hop Point hop back. After the right point roll your right leg sharply under your bum,
without lifting your knee up and hop on the left leg at the same time. After
that you just step on your right leg closely behind your left leg.
JUMP OVER 2 3 (advanced version)
Fast start and high jump is essential.
Front leg goes ahead, quickly followed by second (bottom) leg. When you
practise Jump overs, you have your front leg under the control, because you can
see it. Make sure it’s strengthened, maximally pointed right to the end of toes
and opened. Before you jump, kick your leg as high as you can, which should
help a higher jump. Nowadays, the front leg shouldn’t form an angle of more
than 90° to your body, in other words the higher you get your front leg, the
better your jump is. On the other hand, the bottom (spring) leg should be
quickly tightened under the body. Concentrate
on kicking your bottom right after the take off. Once you are able to combine
the work of both legs like that, use your abdominals to keep your legs up for a
while, it’s guaranteed you will manage to hold your jump over. After that you
just need to land down. Swing your bottom leg forward on the way down
(straighten it), land on your initial front leg and stretch it right after that
and then quickly carry your weight to the front on to the other leg. Then you
just have to step with your „new“ back leg behind the front leg. That is how
you manage your nice sharp finish. Of course, whether you are in the air or on
the ground don’t forget to cross your legs everywhere.
DOUBLE UP
Is an advanced version of Single Up – where during the jump you pull your toes to the other
leg knee (Be careful not to touch it!). During the Double Up toes must be pulled to the other leg knee twice – as if
knocking on your knee twice (in actual fact you just get very close to it).
Whether we talk about Single or Double Up, there are few things we have
to think about during the jump so that the execution looked good. Certainly it
requires an enormous jump up (take off from back leg). When you get in the air,
point your toes immediately. Bottom leg must be maximally extended. Lift the
front leg knee up as high as you can, as if trying to pull it to your chest.
Today’s‘ Up at 90° height is not
satisfying. Besides, the higher your knee is, the easier the fluttering of your
leg will be. The leg must be strengthened to the maximum during this vibration
otherwise it looks untidy.
Another
example of an easy exercise using space in reel rhythm can be Skip 1 2 3 step Double Up down. Its
beginning is actually a promenade step
followed by one more step behind on back leg, from which you take off to the
jump, front leg draws a half-circle up, stops with knee lifted in front of the
chest, flickers twice in front of the bottom leg knee and ends with a step
forward on it. After that step you should quickly lift whole your body up and
straighten your front leg down, lift your back leg to your bum and skip forward
with which you continue the whole combination from the beginning.
DOUBLE BACK UP/DOUBLE KICK BEHIND
It is the same movement as
in Double Up, except this time the flickering is performed by the back
leg behind. The jump usually starts from the front leg and the back leg goes
quickly up. Double flicker should be executed between the bum and approximate
angle of 90° to the front straight leg.
Second kick of your bottom should happen simultaneously with landing on
the front leg, which is followed by a step on the back leg behind. Again, your
legs should be maximally pointed and strengthen during the jump. Be careful and
don’t lean forward and don’t forget to cross your legs for the whole time!
The easiest way how to master this step is to try to jump from both
legs instead of just from the front one. You get better height, which is very
important for executing Double Back Up and you will concentrate on back
leg double flicker better. Make sure that your flicker doesn’t start by your
ankle. First, you need to kick your leg up and then you can start the Double
Back Up itself.
BICYCLE JUMP
This quite a
new step looks a bit like paddling on a bicycle. That’s probably where the name
for the step comes from. Prepare your right leg under your bottom. Jump from
your left leg, paddle once in the air – kick your bottom three times, in this
example kick it first with right, then left leg and when your left leg goes
back on floor, kick it one more time with your right leg. Then land back on
your left leg. I have to point out that all three kicks are happening during a
single jump, so you are not touching the floor in between. When doing a Bicycle Jump don’t forget to jump high,
because it is about the jump not just rolling legs under your body.
Probably the
best way how to achieve this interesting step is that you stand between two
chairs, using them as your support, and try the whole movement slowly, so you
legs realize, what they are supposed to do. When you get the speed and
confidence, try it without the chairs.
Such an
example of an exercise in space can be: hop/skip
1 2 step Bicycle Jump (in music: one and two and three and four). With the
first bar of music in reel rhythm, jump on your left back leg, simultaneously
skip your right leg forward, follow with three steps from right, left and right
leg, take off into the Bicycle Jump
and land on your right leg. Repeat the whole combination from your left leg.
ENTRECHAT/BALLET JUMP/FRONT-TO-BACKS
The key to
conquering this step is a total control of your legs. Your inner thigh should
be strengthened which helps during the legs exchanging. Understandably high
jump is important, which is enabled mainly by strong calf muscles, and
maximally pointed toes and opened legs from the take off up to landing make it
look pretty. Correct posture should be a matter of course.
To master this
step correctly, it is good to practise it slowly between two chairs or lying on
your backs with legs vertical to the floor. Accelerate step-by-step to reach
the required swing. To get more confident and comfortable in executing this
elegant jump I can recommend nothing else but practising it over and over. It
can be very well practised in a swimming pool too.
If you
practise it in space, position yourself in front of a mirror and do a little
hop in between every Entrechat for
better take off in this jump – little
hop, entrechat, little hop, entrechat… Try to lead your leg very closely
around each other. Try 16 of them at the time, but with maximum precision.
TWISTS
Twists are
very nice dance steps, but it takes quite a long time to learn them. This
movement doesn’t require much space; on contrary it is very important to keep
your legs tightly together. It is mainly about quick, loose movement in ankle
area, which creates a good-looking curly move. Before your start with Twists make sure that your ankles are
warmed up and well stretched.
Whole move
reminds walking in fifth position on toes. With every step forward or backward,
quickly turn both your feet in and out. Legs are transferred closely above the
ground and tightly around each other. When you place transferred leg on the
ground, try to cross it as much you can. When you dance a combination of
several Twists try to keep your
weight right above your legs – try to keep the whole movement under your body.
If you decide
to practise Twists slowly first,
remember that even in slow speed the change of your legs should be very agile,
because the key to nice execution is the speed in this particular part. I
recommend to start practising with a combination of three Twists with a small hop (on front leg, if you move back; on back
leg, if you move forward) always at the beginning of the combination – hop, twist, twist, twist. Preferably
do this in front of the mirror for self-control. To get your ankles used to
this step you should practise it over and over at least thousand times :o) Twist is not really a hop, but it should
look very light. Try to lighten every Twist.
Pull your whole body up.
ROCKS
For the
execution itself you should start from crossed position on toes, beginning with
right leg in front. Legs should be “glued” together all over their length with
no gap even between feet for the whole time of execution. Try to rock to the
right with certain control, where your weight more or less falls over the back
leg, but avoid touching the floor with your heels. Then go back over the
crossed position on toes and rock to the other side. This time, the weight
falls over the front leg. Don’t try to reach the floor. Follow with moving back
into the starting position. Go over the whole movement fluently. Beside that,
you should be totally stabilized and grow up from your waist to lighten the
whole step.
If you decide
to improve your Rocks, try not to
practise it for too long in one go.
Ligaments in ankle area would get too loose and in the first jump, when you
need your ankles strengthened, you could cause yourself a painful injury.
Nevertheless,
to make getting used to this step better, hold the bar or stand between two
chairs so that your don’t put full weight on your legs and are able to
concentrate on „gluing“ legs together with rocking from side to side. Also try
not to wriggle in your hips, it suggests that you are not lifting yourself high
enough, which this step requires and therefore you are experiencing the whole
combination incorrectly.
CROSSKEYS
BUTTERFLY
is very
similar to Crosskeys except that it
is done in the air during a jump. Start with a jump from both legs placed in
the fifth position. Take off as high as you can. When legs get in the air, toes are pulled up
– flexed feet – legs turn in with toes touching, then turn out with heels
together and toes outside and originally front leg becomes back one in the end.
Then you land on beautifully crossed fifth position on toes. During Butterfly
execution knees are straight and legs totally strengthen.
The best
practise of this movement is probably while lying on your back. Lift your legs
up into vertical position for a better control, cross them into the fifth
position and try the Butterfly
exchange first slowly and when you get the speed, try it faster several times.
Or you can practise the whole step between two chairs.
HIGH CLICK / SCISSOR CLICK
Basically, it
is a high leg change in a jump, during which the heels hit each other and
produce a clicking sound (click). The right leg swings sharply up (like in a
Jump over), the left leg provides a take off, then goes up nice and straight,
while the right leg already goes down. When both legs meet, the click with
heels should happen. The landing is on the right leg. Left leg then closes
sharply in front into fifth position on toes. Ii is important to have legs and
feet maximally opened, straighten and strengthen to be 100% sure of clicking
and clear execution. Sharp swing with legs up and down is very important for
the rhythm apart from other things. Don’t forget to control your body posture.
It should stay nice and straight and not move even a bit towards the legs. Also
your arms should be still by the sides. Abdominal muscles should be activated,
as they help lift the legs up.
To improve
your click, it is just enough to sit on chair and open and stretch your legs in
front of you. Try only a small up and down movement with your legs, but
concentrate on the click itself. Make sure that your heels are turned to each
other and toes are pointed.
When standing
up again, you can practise a combination Click
2 3. After High click you step on
front leg and then on the back one. Repeat the whole step from the other leg
and then keep going. Do a combination of eight Click 2 3s with your best execution every time. Concentrate on
landing of your legs. They shouldn’t be just dropped down, but the movement
should be maximally controlled. If you
can do it, your High clicks will look
80% better.
An ideal
combination of High clicks in soft
shoes is Skip(R) down(R) skip(L) down(L) and(R) HIGH CLICK(L) down(R). Skip down means beginning of promenade
step – hop with skip forward and stepping on it. And means stepping on your back leg closely behind the front one.
Repeat it all from the left leg.
One specific
exercise from pilates called Pilates Advanced Scissors or Single Straight Leg
is a very good exercise for abdominal muscles as well as for swing and leg
exchange. Lying on your back lift one leg up to 90° angle and the other one up
to 40° angle (slightly above the floor). Hold the nearer leg with both hands
around thigh, calf or ankle (wherever you can reach comfortably). Lift your head up and start pulling the legs
towards you one by one – they should be completely straight and strong. First,
bring the closer one, and then switch them with a swing. Carry on like this for
some time. Don’t forget to breath regularly and check that your lower back
doesn’t come off the floor. Abdominals are active.
DRUMS
For better leg
turning in and out between toe and heel:
BLOCKS and TOE WALK
Standing on high toes and walking on toes belong to
more complicated combinations. Under 13 dancers are forbidden to have high toes
combination in their steps at Feis. They can be dance in hard shoes only, as
these shoes allow this movement. It is
all about standing on front of your shoes – the same as in ballet dancing.
During the execution, it is necessary to have maximally straight and strong
legs as well as warmed up and stretched ankles. Hold the buttock muscles. Have
good balance. And especially ideal shoes. If you own a new pair of hard shoes,
you should first work on their flexibility until they allow you to maximally
curve the instep. Fold them, squeeze them, roll them etc. with your hands.
Wearing your shoes try slowly to stand up on your toes for a second. Or just
rest your foot on the front of the shoe. If you are scarred to stand on it in
without a support at the beginning, ask someone for help, stand beside the
wall, or use two chairs as a support. Whatever helps you to concentrate on
standing itself. When practising walking on toes, first try it slowly and then
speed it up gradually until you are able to dance it to the music. Wherever you
try to move, use the space, straighten your legs far and don’t forget the fact
you wearing the hard shoes and every step must make a proper sound. If you
manage this complicated step correctly, it is guaranteed to become a decoration
of your dance.
IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END: GIVEN DESRIPTION OF STEPS AND MOVEMENTS IS NOT MEANT AS A MANUAL TO SELF-EDUCATE PEOPLE. TEXTS ARE DESIGNATED TO ALL ADVANCED DANCERS AS AN INPIRATION AND INDIVIDUAL CONTROL OF THEIR OWN DANCING EXECUTION. IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HOW TO WORK ON IMPROVING A CERTAIN STEP, WHICH MAY BE PART OF YOUR STEPS AND NOT HOW TO LEARN THIS OR THAT MOVEMENT. THEREFORE, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EXECUTION OF ANY OF THE STEPS, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU TO TRY IT IN FRONT OF YOUR QUALIFIED TEACHER. OF COURSE, IF YOU USE THIS TO SELF-EDUCATE YOURSELF, YOU CAN EXPERIENCE BAD HABITS AND WRONG EXECUTION, WHICH EVEN CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS INJURIES.