The Secret Message

Is there a secret message to make all your dancers turn like Sophia Lucia? Sorry, I don't think so. However, reminders that build muscle memory are the key to having consistently strong turners. Below are bullet points to remind your dancers of every class as to what to think of while turning. One of my favorite tactics is asking my class what they need to think about while they are turning. My dancers will raise their hands and we won't stop until all of the bullet points have been checked off.

High relevé
Straight supporting knee
High passé
Shoulders down (out)
Strong spot (spot your own eyeballs or a point in the room)
Strong arms (like holding oranges under your armpits)
Utilizing your closing arm
In second turns, turning out both your supporting leg and your working leg
Closing into a high, strong croisé and not swinging your leg
Leading with your heel and not gripping your turnout muscles
Not dropping your heel too hard in second turns or fouettes
Pulling straight up, not around
Engaging your center
Keeping your center directly over your turning foot
Get your power from your closing arm and your spot
Pulling up as you pull down to create opposition
PREP IS IMPORTANT!!!

By your dancers implementing all of these reminders into their muscle memory when they go to turn, they will not need to actively think about them. Therefore, your dancers will become strong, c onfident turners in no time.

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The Physics Behind Ballet

This is an extremely interesting video from Ted Ed, which explains the physics of doing fouetté turns on pointe! I highly recommend showing this video to your dancers. There are extremely important elements in which reinforce their training with actual facts, like why your spot and your relevé are important.

Are you properly teaching the "Frog"?

While attending Velocity Nationals in 2014, a workshop was provided for the individuals at Nationals with a director or instructor pass. This workshop was taught by Shannon Mather. With more than a plethora of experience and a resume as long as an encyclopedia, Shannon Mather is more than qualified to speak to dance instructors and share her experiences and knowledge. One go-to that many of us use after sliding through our middle splits during warm-up is the "frog" stretch. By laying on your belly, slapping your feet together behind you, and letting gravity do the work on your feet (like pictured above), many of us may think that we are stretching out hips. However, as Shannon Mather noted, this stretch is actually just twisting your knees into an unnatural turned in position. However, the correct way to do this stretch is to ensure your students' knees are in 90 degree angles. With their feet right below their knees, they will sink their hips as low as possi...

Ballet Music

If typical ballet barre music puts you to sleep, there is a CD with a variety of music that may be a bit more your speed. This article highlights an album for ballet barre and center music that is engaging for the listener, with a variety of moods and arrangements from different ballet scores. Also, the selections for barre run two times consecutively so your students can do both right and left side without you having to restart the music. This CD is definitely a huge asset for every ballet teacher who'd like to mix up their music selection!

The Instructor's Dance Floor

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