Dance Flexibility and Strength Essay
Rachel Stansfield
Q – Flexibility and strength are two key components of a dance performance. Explain how you have developed your own flexibility and strength to enhance your dance performance.
In this essay I am going to discuss the importance of strength and flexibility to a dance performance. I am going to make reference to my personal experience, and explain techniques used by dancers to improve strength and flexibility. To briefly conclude, I will state how these methods have enhanced my overall performance.
Flexibility is the maximum range of movement available around a joint. For example, in the spine, it refers to the amount a person can curve their spine in each direction.
Strength is the maximum force that can be exerted in a single movement.
In a solo I was choreographing, I decided to plié in second as I did a motif. At first I struggled to hold this for the required length of time, and was not happy with how deep my plié was. To deepen my plié, I used the ‘frog’ exercise. Here you sit with the soles of your feet touching, grabbing your ankles and leaning forward over your legs, pushing your knees towards the floor with your elbows. This improves rotation in the hips and extends the gracilis. Now my plié looks more impressive as it it deeper.
To improve the length of time I could hold the plié, I decided to improve my core strength. I used the ‘plank’; here you get into a press up position and hold yourself there, or can do a half plank, which is on your elbows. I used progressive overload, where you gradually increase the amount of time you hold the exercise for. This improved the amount of time I could spend in plié, but also improves how I hold myself in turns, and means I can be lifted without putting too much weight on my partner. The fact I can hold myself better means my performance looks more continuous and I look surer of my movement.
In a duet I was choreographing, we decided to do a synchronised backbend. As I could not go as
Q – Flexibility and strength are two key components of a dance performance. Explain how you have developed your own flexibility and strength to enhance your dance performance.
In this essay I am going to discuss the importance of strength and flexibility to a dance performance. I am going to make reference to my personal experience, and explain techniques used by dancers to improve strength and flexibility. To briefly conclude, I will state how these methods have enhanced my overall performance.
Flexibility is the maximum range of movement available around a joint. For example, in the spine, it refers to the amount a person can curve their spine in each direction.
Strength is the maximum force that can be exerted in a single movement.
In a solo I was choreographing, I decided to plié in second as I did a motif. At first I struggled to hold this for the required length of time, and was not happy with how deep my plié was. To deepen my plié, I used the ‘frog’ exercise. Here you sit with the soles of your feet touching, grabbing your ankles and leaning forward over your legs, pushing your knees towards the floor with your elbows. This improves rotation in the hips and extends the gracilis. Now my plié looks more impressive as it it deeper.
To improve the length of time I could hold the plié, I decided to improve my core strength. I used the ‘plank’; here you get into a press up position and hold yourself there, or can do a half plank, which is on your elbows. I used progressive overload, where you gradually increase the amount of time you hold the exercise for. This improved the amount of time I could spend in plié, but also improves how I hold myself in turns, and means I can be lifted without putting too much weight on my partner. The fact I can hold myself better means my performance looks more continuous and I look surer of my movement.
In a duet I was choreographing, we decided to do a synchronised backbend. As I could not go as