Wake up your body: dancers' favorite warm-up moves.If you stroll into class moments before the first barre exercise begins, you aren't doing yourself any favors. Even if you're as limber as Gumby, you need to warm up. You'll be less prone to injury, have full range of motion and you'll be ready to dance freely and fully. And by taking fire time to properly prepare you're showing your directors, teachers, and choreographers This is a list of choreographers A
Physio-therapists recommend an aerobic start. Sitting on the floor in a big "V" while leaning forward to stretch your inner thighs may feel productive, but you aren't creating warmth and you aren't lengthening the muscle. "Warming up is an active, full-body, multi-area process," says Katy Keller, clinical director of physical therapy at the Juilliard School Juilliard School Internationally renowned school of the performing arts in New York, New York, U.S. It has its roots in the Institute of Musical Art (founded 1905) and a graduate school (1924) founded through an endowment from the financier Augustus D. . "Stretching targets muscles and regions to lengthen muscles that are already warm. If you aren't warmed up, it isn't useful." Light activity like prances, small hops, or brisk walking increases the temperature of your tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and makes you breathe a little faster. Keep it simple. You don't need to run a marathon, just do something to increase your pulse and rate of respiration Noun 1. rate of respiration - the rate at which a person inhales and exhales; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health respiratory rate . If your heart and lungs are working a little harder, you're getting a little warmer. Now that things are beginning to flow, move on to your joints. "A warm-up will lubricate lu·bri·cate v. lu·bri·cat·ed, lu·bri·cat·ing, lu·bri·cates v.tr. 1. To apply a lubricant to. 2. To make slippery or smooth. v.intr. To act as a lubricant. them," says Keller. Try bending and straightening your knees and elbows. Do some shoulder rolls and hip, arm, wrist, and ankle circles. You are waking up your mind/body connection and putting in place the patterns and paths your movements will follow for the rest of the day. "Dancers run a risk of falling into certain patterns that might neglect certain regions of the body," says Keller. So try, to cover all of the different planes of motion--up and down (vertical), side to side (lateral), and front and back (sagital). Since your body is completely different than anyone else's, what's great for your best friend may not work for you. "It's so individual," says Keller. "There isn't one perfect warm-up." Steal from technique classes, physical therapists, experienced teachers, or colleagues. DANCE MAGAZINE interviewed 10 professional dancers on their favorite warm-up routines. Maybe you'll recognize some things that you do, maybe you'll see something new that you want to try. And get to the the studio a little early tomorrow! ROXANE D'ORLEANS Artistic Associate Limon Dance Company I try to move throughout the day in the healthiest way possible with the least amount of tension. Tight muscles get in the way so I work on doing less and releasing. What I really like to do is to have vibration or movement that oscillates. If I have my arm down, VII shake it or just move my little finger towards my thumb, in and out. It gets my blood going. Undulation undulation /un·du·la·tion/ (un?ju-) (un?dyu-la´shun) 1. a wavelike motion; see also pulsation. 2. a wavelike appearance, outline, or form. makes me feel relaxed and ready. It unlocks my body. It's movement that creates energy and heat, which is good. I love to shake out tension! SONIA RODRIGUEZ Sonia Rodriguez is a Canadian ballet dancer. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she moved to Madrid, Spain, at age five. Rodriguez received dance training there with Pedro de la Cruz and also at the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. Principal Dancer A principal dancer is similar to a soloist in dance. However, principals are hired by a ballet or dance company to perform not only solos, but also pas de deux. A principal may be male or female. National Ballet of Canada National Ballet of Canada, the leading Canadian ballet company. Based in Toronto, it was founded (1951) by Celia Franca (1921–2007) and modeled on Sadler's Wells (now the Royal Ballet). I like doing Theraband exercises and using the balance board to get my lower legs warmed up. I stand on it and do small rotations with the board making a circle. Without touching the ground, I go all the way around in both directions. It's an exercise that you can walk in and do without thinking too much about it. So, it's good for first thing in the morning! It gets all the small tendons, ligaments, and muscles. All the little things you don't normally use ore targeted. Everything gets strengthened and awakened. KENNA DRAXTON Dancer Ballet Arizona Everyone has something to work on. My weakest point is my turnout. I need to make sure my hips are warm and stretched out because if they aren't loose, they feel strained. My hips are extremely tight. I find myself in the frog position a lot. I sit with my back against a wall and let my knees fall open to the side. I really notice a difference when I don't do "I Don't Do" was the debut single by glamour model Michelle Marsh, released on 6 November 2006. The single reached 27 in the UK in its first week, selling only 9,000 copies and over 16,000 copies as of January 2007. The single spend a total of four weeks in the Top 75. it. I'm not able to achieve my fullest turnout and extension. Another thing I do all the time is write the ABCs with my feet. I learned it when I had a minor strain. Nothing warms up my ankles like that one. MICHAEL TRUSNOVEC Dancer Paul Taylor Dance Company Paul Taylor Dance Company, is a contemporary dance company, formed by Paul Taylor, an American choreographers of the 20th century. One of the early touring companies of American modern dance, the Company has "performed in more than 500 cities in 62 countries"[1] I have shoulder problems so I do a lot of stabilization exercises before class. The most important one for me every day is the plank, where I'm in a push-up position and I hold it. I do it with extended arms, sometimes on my forearms, sometimes with twisting, maybe even some small push-ups. If I do that then I know that I'm set up so when we start moving I don't have to think about it much. I'm ready I'm Ready is the double platinum second release from R&B singer Tevin Campbell. I'm Ready yielded the biggest R&B hit of his career the #1 R&B smash "Can We Talk", and produce 3 more successful hits in "I'm Ready", "Always In My Heart" and "Don't Say Goodbye Girl". for the day. ELIZABETH KOEPPEN-MCDOLE Associate Artistic Director, Rehearsal Director, Dancer The Parson's Dance Company David Parsons' movement is extremely airborne. We have to get ready to play basketball--it's really that athletic. There's so much air time and jumping. I need to focus on warming up the jumping part, including my back, core, and everything that entails. I do about a hundred sit-ups. That gets my blood flowing so I don't feel lethargic. For me the warmer I get, the better. JON LEHRER Associate Director, Dancer Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago I am a huge advocate of the push-up. I tell people that if they are only able to do one thing far the rest of their life, do a push-up. It gives you full body strength because if it's done correctly, you are engaging pretty much every muscle in your body. It keeps your spine long and it gets very aerobic. I finish up in the plank position and hold it for 30 to 45 seconds to emphasize correct form. It's killer. RIOLAMA LORENZO Principal Pennsylvania Ballet The Pennsylvania Ballet is a ballet company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, established in 1963 by Barbara Weisberger. The company became a regionally important institution, and performed in New York for the first time in 1968. Warming up my feet is the most important thing for me to do every day. I always do Theraband exercises before class. I put the Therabond long-ways on my entire foot (not just the ball and toes) and flex and point 30 to 40 times. I also do inversion and eversion eversion /ever·sion/ (e-ver´zhun) a turning inside out; a turning outward. e·ver·sion n. A turning outward, as of the eyelid. where I'll sickle and wing my foot using the band for resistance. If there is a particular part of my body or a particular muscle that is sore, that's what I will focus on first. But still, I'll always do my Theraband exercises no matter what--every day. LAWRENCE RABSON Swing/Eddie and Tony (Understudy) Movin' Out (Broadway Cast) There have been times that I had to jump into the show wife just 10 minutes left. One thing unique to the show is that we have to give our calves special attention. They get really tired. We're dancing in contemporary running shoes so we can't articulate our feet as if they were ballet shoes Ballet shoes, or ballet slippers, are specially designed lightweight shoes for ballet dancing. Ballet shoes are soft shoes worn by ballet dancers until their bones are ossified and their muscles strong enough for them to use pointe shoes, which allow them to stand on the , and we can't paint our feet when we jump. I use a Feldenkrais foam roller to massage my entire leg. If I stretch my legs before I do a fast barre, it's always gentle and very slow. LORNA LORNA List of Really Necessary Acronyms FEIJOO Principal Boston Ballet History The Boston Ballet is a professional ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Pilates is great--it uses your entire body and it works everything. I have a little problem in my back, and I have to give it more attention. But for me it's important to do Pilates not only when I have a problem but all the time. Because if I focus on warming up one thing and not the other, before I know it the other thing is giving me a problem. All dancers have pains and injuries and how you take care of your body determines how long you will dance. You have to make yourself stronger. Pilates warms you up and strengthens you at the same time. RENEE ROBINSON Renee Robinson is an American dancer from Washington, D.C., and performs as a Principal Dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She began her dance training in classical ballet at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet. Alvin Alley American Dance Theater The German Tanztheater ("dance theatre") grew out of German expressionist dance. Its most influential performers are Pina Bausch and Susanne Linke. I believe in cross training and I like to read about what others do. I'll pick up a magazine about runners or body builders just to find out about how other athletes take care of their bodies. I'll see if there are some things I might be able to incorporate. It broadens my thoughts so even if I don't use their techniques, my mind is open. I even hang out in the physical therapy room and I ask tons of questions. It's important to remember that you are a part of the process. It's not just people pouring things into you. You have to take things and make them happen! Khara Hanlon, a former dancer, is a freelance writer based in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . |
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