Lauren of Art Intercepts follows our chat with Dr. Craig Westin with some pointers for dancers who are concerned about knee pain and/or injury prevention in this important, yet often fragile joint.
Help With Second Position Of The Arms
October 8, 2010 By 14 Comments
What to do and think for an improved second position de bras (of the arms), and the importance of proper alignment for creating the pictures we make with our bodies in dance.
Defining and Dissecting a Piqué Turn
January 22, 2009 By 13 Comments
A Jeté That’s Truly Grand
January 11, 2009 By 5 Comments
Talking Technique
December 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment
There are several posts here at Dance Advantage that offer understanding and tips on certain technical elements of dance. So far, I’ve offered a smattering of the basics. More recent posts have received quite a few hits but some older posts have gotten buried along the way. Because I think all of these posts could [...]
Vertically Challenged: Improving Your Jumps
August 18, 2008 By 4 Comments
The secret to jumping is not so secret, it is the same hard work that goes into most everything in dance: proper alignment, solid technique, and practice, practice, practice! These thorough, step-by-step pointers, however, will help you as you practice vertical jumping and can even be applied to traveling jumps or leaps.
Sickling and Rolling In
June 24, 2008 By 24 Comments
The terms sickling and rolling in are often used in dance classes to define issues with ankle alignment. However, I have found that many students do not have a clear understanding of the actions of the ankle and foot and, therefore, do not know how to correct these issues when asked. I hope this post [...]
Improving Pirouettes
April 28, 2008 By 3 Comments
I was recently asked about some tips on how to improve at multiple pirouettes. I know that lots of students are wanting to know the same thing, so here is my answer: 1. Engaging your abdominal/core muscles is necessary for maintaining good alignment during the turn. 2. Every turn is a balance, so work on [...]
Plié
April 9, 2008 By 4 Comments
I’ve heard somewhere that the beginning is a very good place to start. So let’s start with the alpha and omega of all dance movements – the plié. Plié means “Bent, bending. A bending of the knee or knees.” Here is the full definition of plié found at the ABT (American Ballet Theatre) ballet dictionary. [...]
