You never LOSE, you LEARN...what to do with those constructive critiques.

The 2017 competition season is officially about half over which means most every dancer and every studio has probably already competed at least once.  

I LOVE competition dancers.  I LOVE this time of year.  I LOVE that my news feed is filled with successes and pics of trophies and rhinestones and hugs.  But, I LOVE even more seeing pictures of dancers back in the studio working on technique and preparing for competition.  I LOVE seeing a studio that didn't win cheer genuinely for a studio that did...these are the dancers that GET IT.  They get what competition is really about.

This week I want to focus on what we learn from competing.  And how we can use what we get from competition to make positive changes.  Which brings me to my first truth bomb-

COMPETITION IS NOT ABOUT WINNING.  IF EVERYONE WON, IT WOULDN'T BE A COMPETITION, IT WOULD JUST BE PARTICIPATION.

Let that soak in.  The most valuable part of competition are the critiques you receive to help you get better.  Winning is fun and great but what are you learning from your losses?  What are you learning from the dancers that did win?  What experience did you have that will help you become a better dancer?

True story-There is a dancer very close to me that grew up winning everything.  Every competition, every Title, every overall, every year.  By the time she was a Junior in High School she was bored and wanted to quit.  When I asked her about it she said "I am tired of winning and I am not learning anything."  

Competition is designed for dancers to learn and get better.  All the way from the vocal and written judge's critiques, to the actual way the scoring is done.  You can learn a lot from critiques, you can learn a whole lot in the way you are scored.  Let's break down scores for a second...

Every competition varies, but basically you are being scored on the following-  Technique-turn out, straight knees, perfect passé placement, plié, no droopy elbow (do you see a theme here?  hint read my blog :))

Execution-are you falling out of your turns, did you remember the dance, did you flawlessly move through your transitions, how are you executing the choreography you have been given.

Performance-absolutely loving, feeling, living, every single bit of choreo through your expression and movement as a whole

Now here is how you can take these pieces and become the best dancer you can be.  Start with your vocal critiques.  Listen to all the judges once and twice, if needed, and write down everything you hear.  Once you have the vocal critiques written down, take each one and think about which category that falls into on your score sheet.  Once you have broken it all down and categorized it, go back through and make a plan of action for each item.  

Example-the judges make a comment during your Second Turns both about the working leg opening up too far AND about how you fell out of the turns and didn't transition out of the turns that well.  This information would fall into both Technique and Execution.  The leg opening up to far would be under technique and the transition under execution.  A good action plan for correcting the technique part, in order to improve your score for the next competition, would be to do some exercises to help work on the working leg (of course I have a blog about that :)).  An action plan for the execution part would be to either practice until perfect or, consider a different transition.  Use the critiques to make change, in technique or even choreography.  If you go to competition never adjusting or considering the critiques, you aren't learning...

I have heard dancers say they don't even listen to the critiques and I have seen dancers devastated when they don't WIN.  My next truth bomb-

USUALLY IT'S THE SAME PERSON...

Everytime you compete, if you are taking the time to write down and make an action plan for your critiques, you will grow as a dancer.  If you have taken advantage of the opportunity to compete by using the critiques to improve yourself then you have truly WON.

Need help with your action plan?  I would love to help and work with you on becoming the best dancer you can be.  Check out some of my videos regarding some pretty common technical things to help you with your action plan or you can email me lizborom@gmail.com.

Happy Competition Season to All, Win or Learn!

Take care of YOU dancers!
Liz

Perfect Passé Placement Please.

I will paint you the scene-Beautiful dancer starts his/her solo, elegant choreography, powerful jumps, and then...prep, turn, disconnected passé, incomplete double pirouette, falls awkwardly out of turns.  Just like that points taken away from what could have been a near perfect score.

While there are many reasons dancers "fall out of turns", a disconnected passé is a lead contender.  That goes for coupé turns as well.  When executing pirouettes the foot (I will get more specific in a sec) must connect to the support leg in order for the energy of the turn to stay towards the center of the supporting leg.  

Let's talk just pirouettes in passé...In a turned out pirouette (or ballet pirouette), the big toe needs to rest to the inside of the knee OR the pinky toe needs to sit on the side of the knee.  In a parallel pirouette (or jazz pirouette),  the big toe sits to the side of the knee.  In both positions there needs to be energy in the toe that is connected to the supporting leg to help initiate better turns and a stronger pirouette position.  I.E.  in turned out pirouettes, the toe presses as the knee rotates out.  In parallel pirouettes, the toe presses and the knee squeezes in.

Paper plates are perfect for perfecting perfect passé placement.  

(like what I did there :))  

Use them either standing or on the floor (see attached video).  Place the plate at your ankle and place your toe on the plate.  Turned in or parallel (make sure the supporting leg is also turned in or parallel respectively), travel up from coupé to passé making sure to keep your foot pointed.

Check out my video and try it at home or in your studio!  Have questions?  Reach out lizborom@gmail.com.  Oh, and I am now booking for summer intensives, classes, and workshops and I would LOVE to work with you and your studio :)...

Take Care of YOU, dancers,

Liz

Plié-If you don't use it you lose it...

Well you don't really lose it but I thought it would be a great way to grab your attention.:)  "Use your plié", "push through the floor", "ground yourself"...common things heard in an adjudication.  No matter how you say it they all mean the same thing-MORE PLIÉ!

As dancers, we have the tendency to always "pull up".  We are constantly being told to get a higher relevé, higher passé, up, up, up...we forget we have to also work on the "down".  Developing a strong plié is key for jumps, leaps, and transitions, just to name a few.  

Here is a little analogy for you:  Essentially the stage is your paper that you are drawing your choreography on.  The harder you press down the darker and more impactful the color you are drawing with becomes.  When you combine the darker colors with the light colors it creates a beautiful blend, like shadowing, and creates more layers to the art you are creating.  Texture, layers, accents, design...all important to creating beautiful art.  Being able to pull up is equally as important as your ability to get down.  In today's most popular styles of dance, hip hop and contemporary, the ability to push into the floor, stay low, ground down, and push are all part of the technique.

So let's get to how to start feeling the connection to the floor and using your plié.  Here are just a few things for starters:  First, your demi plié stops the moment you feel as if your heels would disconnect from the floor if you went any further.  Don't cheat your demi plié.  Secondly I have included a video and exercise you can do to practice actually pressing into the floor through transitions.  It uses my fav cheap dancer tool, the paper plate.  It's a simple exercise that is perfect for all levels and can be modified.  In more advanced classes, I like to more complex across the floor combos to change directions and work with more positions.  The goal is to stay in pilé and push the plates under your feet to feel the connection to the floor.

Can't wait to see more art on stages across the US!!!  As always email me lizbdance@gmail.com for any questions!

Take care of YOU, dancers!

Liz

Getting right down to the Core...of your pirouettes.

Over and over again we use the words "engage your core" and "pull up your center", but what the heck does that really mean and what does it have to do with dance?  Glad you asked.  Because the answer is EVERYTHING.  

The core, your abs, your back, your center...call it what you like just make sure you are strengthening it DAILY!  Core work should be a part of every class and, especially in your pre-competition/performance warm up.  When your core is activated and warm you will dance stronger, have more control, and be more "on your center".  I can ALWAYS tell when a dancer has not warmed their core before jumping on stage the moment they hit their first pirouette...which brings me into my next discussion of "why is my core so important?"

We call it the CORE because it is literally the center of your body where all your movement is initiated from.  Your core is important to everything you do in every form of dance.  But today we are going focus on your core and how it helps your turns...

Other than the one million things dancers must think about to execute the perfect pirouettes, the core is, in my humble opinion, the most important.  For the sake of this blog we are talking about the main part of your core-your abdominals.  

There are 3 main sections of your abdominals-lower, obliques, and upper.  

In your pirouettes, all three sections play an important role-the lower abs will help pull up your passé and make sure it's locked into place, your obliques are used to "wrap" or "pull" everything onto your center for more balance and torque, and your upper abs help pull you up and keep your weight forward so you don't fall backwards off of your relevé which will ultimately limit the number of rotations you will get.  

The best exercise to tackle all of these abdominal muscles as well as build your center specifically for your turns is... (drum roll please)... the PLANK!  Yes, everyone's favorite abdominal exercise focuses on all the abs (and even your shoulders, back, glutes, and legs...but we will talk about that on another blog).

Dancers, just like eating veggies, you should be doing planks everyday.  Check out my video on my favorite plank exercise for stronger balance and passé for your pirouettes.  There are so many other options to choose from so have fun with it.  Just stick by these rules-make sure your back is flat and is not dipping or lifting, stay in your plank a MINIMUM of 2 minutes.  You can work up to longer as you get stronger.

As always, reach out with questions lizborom@gmail.com.  See you at a competition soon and tag me in your pics doing your planks to win a free online session with me :)!

Take care of YOU, dancers,

Liz

"Just point your feet."-Adam (adjudicator, dancer, friend, and straight shooter)

There are only so many ways I can say "Point your feet" during a weekend of competition before I start to feel like a broken record.  Learning how to point and flex should be engrained in the dancer from the first time they put on their ballet shoes and step into a classroom.  The problem is that once they advance, and we start working on more and more technical things, we forget to go back to the basics every now and then and work on feet.

Dancers should be focusing on feet everyday.  Let's face it, they don't call them "Dancer feet" for nothing.  

Let's start with the basics.  There are 2 parts to a beautiful pointed foot.  1.  The stretched ankle and 2. the pointed toes.  Both parts have to be strengthened and stretched in order to achieve the perfect polished point.  Because I could go on for days about feet, I will simply start with Number 2...the toes.

Strengthening the toes and being able to "finish" the end of a beautiful stretched ankle with beautifully pointed toes is perfection!  Not only is it crucial in completing the line of a pointed foot but strong toes are needed for so much else.  The toes are used to "push" off the floor and will help dancer's in their jumps, turns, transitions, etc.  Anytime the dancer is doing something where they need to project the energy UP.  Often dancers lose the connection with the floor and forget to articulate the foot from the metatarsal (ball of the foot) to the tip of their toes.

If you have strong toes and are using them for your final push off the floor, you will be ahead of the technique game and you will be dancing to your full potential (from head to toe :)).

Now, "what can I do?" you ask.  Lots.  But let's start cheap, easy, and can do anywhere.  This week's exercise uses the floor for resistance which means you have to really push into the floor with your feet to get the benefits.  All you need is a paper plate.  All you do are Tendus.  Tendu literally means "to stretch" so the whole exercise is all about stretching the feet.  The biggest mistake in Tendus is not using the floor and pushing through the toes at the end.  So by using the paper plate it forces the dancer to push into the floor in order to glide the plate out and in.

Of course I have made a video for you to demonstrate!  Feel free to reach out with questions.  As always, thanks for reading, sharing, and liking and I hope to say "point your feet" less as the competition season rolls on :)

Take care of YOU, dancers!

Liz

Now just wait a second(e)...let's discuss the a la seconde turn.

I have seen thousands of dances in my career, maybe millions, but my favorite dances rarely include an a la seconde turning section.  What I am saying is that I appreciate a very well executed a la seconde used in a dance that is choreographed to really show off and highlight the level of technique the dancer(s) have but, if they are not done well then they are not needed and often hurt the scoring of the dance.

They are a more advanced turn and dancers need to be taught exactly how to properly execute them rather than just "going for it".  There are so so many things involved-the supporting leg, the working leg, arms, the plié, the relevé, the spot, the core, the feet, ribcage, back, hip flexors, adductors, abductors...the list goes on!!!!

What to talk about first?  Let's start with the working leg, otherwise known as the leg that actually opens to Second position.   Three things are super important here 1.  keeping the leg at the same height, 2.  NOT opening the leg out too much, and 3.  rotating the leg so that the hip doesn't lift and the heel pulls forward and up.  And though those are only 3 things, they can make or break your turn.

Let me help you!!!  Here is my fav exercise for the working leg (oh and of course make sure to watch my video for complete demo!).

-Lie on your back with your supporting leg flat against a wall (as if the wall is the floor).  Make sure that your supporting leg is rotated, your heel remains on the wall, and your entire leg is straight and "engaged".

-The same arm as supporting leg opens straight out and flat on the floor at shoulder level.  Since we are only focusing on the working leg, the arm will just be used for stability.

-Activate your abdominals so that your supporting side stays connected to the floor, reminder that the core plays a huge role in turning especially for stabilizing.

-Bring your working leg to a front (deviant) position 90 degrees above your hip.  Make sure you are using your rotation from the hip socket to pull your heel towards you.  Your working arm will also lie flat on the ground for support.

-Now, VERY SLOWLY (this is key) carry your working leg and arm out to Second position, the supporting side should be still engaged to the floor.  Now, VERY SLOWLY bring your leg back to the starting point.  REPEAT 

-Emphasis is on the supporting side for stability and the working side for rotation and range of motion.

Once you are able to maintain the height, range of motion, and rotation of your working leg the rest will be easier!  Please remember that the choreography for competition should highlight you and your strengths.  if you are still working on the perfect a la seconde turn then consider removing it from your dance and replacing it with something that looks great on you!  It could be all the difference in scoring your best!  And in the meantime keep practicing!

Take care of YOU dancers!

Liz

Those droopy arms though...

Well it's officially Competition Season 2017 so time to tackle some of my judge's critiques that I feel like I say on repeat solo after solo, dance after dance...

Let's start with arms.  Once I overheard a dancer at a studio say, "why do we need to do pushups we don't need strong arms to dance".  (gasp in disbelief and shock but yes I really did hear this)  Upper body strength is oh so important I don't know even know where to start...

Actually I do know where to start...arms in First Position and Second position and a little something called SCAPULAR STABILITY.  In other words, you gotta have strong shoulder blades in order to have strong arms.  YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FOUNDATION!  When you are able to use your arms from your back you will become a stronger dancer and will improve your lines, port de bras, and control.  Not having this connection will result in drooping elbows (aka chicken wing arms), a weaker port de bras, and less overall control in their upper body.  

OK let's get to work...there are many exercises you can do to strengthen your arms and back.  My favorite one uses a resistance band (like a TheraBand) of about medium resistence.  The dancer holds each end of the band about 6in from the end in between their thumb and first finger.  Make sure the band is underneath their shoulder blades and elbows are ON TOP of the band.  Once the band is in place you can pretty much do any type of arm sequence moving from First to Second position.  For advance dancers, use the band for an entire floor barre or across the floor.  For improving turns, use the band while working on turn preparations or when doing across the floor turn combinations.  Any work done with First and Second position arms.

Check out my (very low budget but informative :)) tutorial video below!  A few things to remember-keep elbows lifted and always keep resistance in the band to prevent the dancers from opening up their arms too much, the idea is to maintain stability in rib cage and back so slower movement when working with full range movement.

Can't wait to see improved arms in 1st and 2nd this competition season!  Questions?  Email me at lizborom@gmail.com.

Take care of YOU, dancers!

Liz

But first...warm-up!!

It never fails that I show up to a studio, earlier than any dancer wants to get up on a weekend, and walk into a room of young dancers already stripped down to their booty shorts and Lululemon tops plopping themselves down into splits and calling it a "warm-up".  Or, I see dancers backstage pre-competition at the crack of dawn in a cold theater already in their performance leotards jumping right into their turn combo from their solo...

Trust me ya'll, I get it!  Rehearsal/Choreo time is limited and stretching isn't exactly "fun".  And, pre-competition, we want to get in the "zone".  But if you want to dance your best, be your best, and dance as long as possible in your life and not get injured then there are some things you need to know about getting your body ready for dance...

It is possible to warm up your body head to toe in as little as 10 minutes.  Start by wearing your "warm-ups".  Think leg warmers, sweats, scarves, anything that covers your body and provides warmth to your muscles to make the warming up process a little faster.  

Now you are ready to warm up...

Always start with a little cardio, not a full on aerobics class or anything, but getting your heart rate up will get the blood flowing which will make your muscles warmer and more elastic.  Walking around the room, jumping jacks, running in place...anything that gets you just a little winded.

Next, warm up your spine.  As dancers we use our backs A LOT.  Taking the time to warm up your spine will save you aches and pains and help with your back flexibility throughout your dance day.  Simply rolling down to the floor isolating one vertebrae at a time or doing some type of contracting where you are rounding your back, arching, or bending laterally (side to side) for a fuller range of motion.

Now, you can stretch.  DYNAMIC stretching vs. STATIC stretching, here is the 411...

DYNAMIC stretching means  you are moving while you stretch which gives you more of a full body warm up and has been proven to enhance muscular performance and power.  Dynamic stretching can also help improve body awareness and improve your range of motion.  This is where you are moving through each stretch and using your breathing to help move you through different positions.  (this is my FAV way to stretch)  

**Make sure you include your feet and ankles in your "stretching"!!  SO IMPORTANT!  

STATIC stretching is where you hold a position for an extended period of time (30 seconds +).  Although it is effective in improving overall flexibility, for this particular shortened warmup, it may not be the best type of stretching for this short period of time.

Finally, Core strengthening and a little upper body conditioning will go a long way in helping your performance.  Dancers, we use our cores for EVERYTHING so warming up our abs is so important.  Our upper body is also HUGE in dance (lots more on this in some upcoming blogs...stay tuned).  Crunches, oblique twists, tricep dips, pushups, just to name a few...

OK there it is folks!  The quick 10 minute warm up!  Check out the video below and on my Instagram/FaceBook (@lizbdance, Liz Borom) and SHARE it with your dancer friends!  

Post your videos of you (and your friends) doing your fav quick warm-up move and you could win a free online adjudication session with me!  Tag @lizbdance for your chance to win.

Email me for more info or questions,  I would love to connect with you!

Take Care of YOU, dancers!!

Liz