Technique On A Tuesday; Rib Wrap/ Shoulder Press Down/ Plum Line {and the Pilates neck pull}.

Recently I have taken on teaching three one hour mat Pilates classes a week while the regular instructor is on a break. I'm grateful for the opportunity, especially since Pilates is somewhat in my wheelhouse and the classes are scheduled during school hours. Working three evenings a week as it is is enough for me and my family.

Outside of subbing mat Pilates on and off over the last year and a half I haven't really been doing classes that much. I sort of forgot how intense mat Pilates can be. How it can encompass the whole body. There are even movements that focus on upper body strength and form.

Mat Pilates ties in very nicely to some of the other formats that I teach; classical ballet technique and Balletone (a combination of fitness, ballet technique, yoga inspired movements and pilates).

One of the things that I love about Balletone is the teaching methodology that is an important part of the program. One major aspect of the methodology is placing focus on a specific part of a movement in a series of movements. It might be the quality of the movement (sharp or slow) or range of movement (low or wide) or applying extra focus on something technical. As was the case in what I focused on last week through much of what I taught.

The relationship between the rib cage and the shoulders as well as the center or what I like to refer to as the plum line of the body.

For Balletone I cued throughout the various movements for my students to imagine the muscles of the rib cage wrapping around the front of the ribs. Much like a corset. Then to imagine the shoulders as the plunger handle for a TNT detonator.

 I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I'm really into visuals. Sometimes the more cartoony the better.
Just think about it, a plunger on a detonator has a certain amount of resistance or hydraulics to it. It's that feeling I'm trying to illustrate. A controlled amount of downward pressure in conjunction with the wrapping of the rib cage muscles. Then, while all that is going on, think about the plum line of the body as a pole drilling up through the center of the body to the sky.

There is the wrapping of the ribs coming in from the sides, the sustained downward pressure or resistance of the shoulder complex, and then the ascending energy of the plum line "pole".

By shifting the focus to this trio of muscle controls on the posture of the body revealed new layers to movements we had done many times before in Balletone.

For one of the mat Pilates classes I wanted to apply this trio to breaking down the Pilates neck pull exercise.
I have done the neck pull a few times in the past. It is a rather advanced move, that despite its name, does not involve any pulling on the neck. Rather a sustained amount of pressure of the interwoven fingers against the back of the skull to create a lengthening effect.
I was a little intimidated to whip it out, so I made sure to prepare modifications for participants who were not quite ready for the full neck pull. I wanted to make sure everyone had something to work on. I also included builder exercises in the warm up that would pertain to the actual neck pull exercise.
When applying the rib cage/shoulder press-down/plum line lengthening, well, it made the exercise pretty intense. At least I thought so.

One long time student of Pilates mentioned after class that while doing the side line (a set of exercises done while balancing on the side of the body) portion of the class she felt exhausted. She usually found the side line portion of class very doable, but that day's class was really giving her run for her money. Aha! One of the great things about shifting the focus to a specific part of the body. Breaking out of the norm every now and again;
When shifting intense focus to just one or two parts of the body, other parts fire up in ways you never thought possible. Example; focusing on the rib wrap and shoulder set through various exercises made it less noticeable that the glutes and quads were working like crazy to support what you were asking of the ribs and shoulders. This becomes especially apparent when you shift back to focusing on what you would normally focus on. The muscles of the legs were probably working much harder and in a different way when we had our focus on the ribs and shoulders.

One of the first things I fell in love with about Pilates is that once you concur one challenge there is another one eagerly awaiting your efforts. Ballet technique is very similar. There is always something to improve upon. Pilates and ballet technique can often be like peeling back the layers of an infinity onion. No matter how many layers you peel back there is another one waiting to be peeled. And they might make you cry.

Simple exercise to engage the rib wrap/ shoulder press.  

Start by laying on your back on the floor, using a mat if you need extra cushioning. Knees bent, feet flat on the floor, legs hips width apart. Make sure hips, knees and ankles are all tracking.

Inhale. As you exhale feel the front of the ribs knit together as you pull the belly button towards the spine. Repeat 2-3 more times.

Next, inhale. As you exhale feel the backs of the shoulder blades slide down the back, as if you are trying to slide them into your back pockets. Repeat 2-3 more times.

Finally, inhale. As you exhale combine the rib wrap/shoulder press down as you pull the belly button towards the spine. Repeat 2-3 more times.

You can challenge this in a sitting position and while standing with feet in parallel.

Thanks for hanging out.

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~Erin.

Ballet Technique and Training; What To Work On This Year.

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The middle of August marked the start of a new Fall semester of dance classes at the studio I teach at.

While a handful of dance students take during the summer, our schedule gets scaled way back (usually a welcome break for me). So the focus during the short summer break is mainly fun and maintenance.

Each year I try to decide what I want to focus on in the skill building and refined movement departments. As well as working on the basics of perfecting the various steps, how they connect to one another, balance and transitions, strength and speed, sustained movement, grace and articulation.

It won't be until about mid-October that I have to worry about setting choreography for any performance opportunities around the holidays. After we return from winter break in January I will have to put a great deal more focus into choreography for our annual show in June.

For now though, here is a list of the things I want to focus on, lest I forget as the weeks roll by. Some of them are things that can be applied to other formats that I teach in the fitness world, namely Balletone and Mat Pilates.

Cleaner and sharper arm movements.

Our arms start from the back because they were once wings.
~Martha Graham
Often, the arms are the last part of the body to settle into strong technique. And no wonder, what with all the complexities of what the legs, feet and torso must do in such a large movement vocabulary as classical ballet. Even a torso well aligned with strong legs and feet under it can struggle through many complex movements, like pirouette turns, fouette turns and arabesques. Those, as well as many other steps, can be undone by the arms. This can be due to arm movements that are not well timed, or arms that "fly out" because the muscles surrounding the rib cage have released and the muscles of the shoulders and upper back are not properly engaged.

Here is a post about shoulder stability during a leg movement.
Another post; A New Way To Think About How Limbs Are Connected.

Locking in the proper placement of the shoulder in arabesque.

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Image credit.
Above are some beautiful examples of arabesques where the dancers' shoulders are engaged and properly placed. Clean and efficient.
Once a clean and efficient line is mastered, then a dancer can add more dramatic versions to their movement vocabularies. Always with the clean and efficient line as a home base. I like to tell my dancers, "Get the clean line. Then you have some place to go to."

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More articulate footwork.
 I don't promote cranking turnout through the feet (forcing the feet to be turned out more than what is realistically in the hips), because it is false turnout and very damaging to the ankles, knees, hips and back. I do promote clean foot positions. When a step is executed and finished in a clean position it usually means that the dancer has all the right muscles fired up.
Erg. The picture below is a no-no. The dancer has her feet cranked out and forced, the biggest clue being that there is a significant collapse of the insteps. I guarantee the knees are collapsed and rounded forward as well.

Some young dancers are naturally very flexible in their hips for turnout, and often they are naturally flexible through all the joints of their legs. For those students it's important for them to make the lifting up of their insteps second nature. This will help to make proper alignment through the torso, lower back and legs second nature as well.

"Don't let the glutes ruin your turnout party."
The leg has some isolated mobility inside the hip joint. You can rotate the leg inwardly and outwardly while at the same time not moving the hip, or rather, your butt. There are about six deep lateral rotator hip muscles responsible for this action, as well as other actions like adduction of the leg.

1. Piriformis
2. Gemellus Superior
3. Obturator Internus
4. Gemellus Inferior
5. Obturator Externus
6. Quadratus Femoris

Maintaining a turned out position of the leg or legs is very dependent on this group of muscles. For overall sustaining of a well aligned "ballet" posture, many muscles must work in unison. But not necessarily at the same intensities at the same times. Just standing in a first position is doable enough. What about when the leg must be lifted, whether for a quick move or sustained in the air? Those six small muscles can easily get bullied by a much large group of muscles. A group of muscles like the glutes, which are necessary for leg movements that require hip flexion and hip extension. To keep the glutes from taking over and thus tamping down the effectiveness of the internal rotator muscles, I like my students to think of the glutes as engaging and wrapping around the back of the hips. As opposed to being the main muscle to operate the leg, especially in moves requiring the leg to be lifted to the side of the body.
Nobody likes a bossy bully at their party.

Adding the nuance of the head and shoulders into movements.
Most dance forms, especially ballet, are dependent upon the use of the mirror. The mirror can be a valuable tool, issues of body image aside. As a dancer becomes more and more advanced they must learn to balance the utility of the mirror versus the habit of dancing to the mirror. At a certain level of accomplishment it is not enough to save dancing past the mirror to the "fourth wall". It is something that must be practiced in the classroom as well. Many nuanced movements of the head and/or shoulders require a dancer to lose eye contact with the mirror, while upping their reliance of their peripheral sight.On a more emotional and artistic note; it can be a blessing on those days that nothings "looks" right, and to just give way to the dance. Forget the mirror!


Keep your plies like warm taffy.
I am again blessed this year to be working with a few different levels. While the studio's oldest group of dancers has quite a repertoire of jumps in their movement vocab, the groups below will be learning some new steps, including jumps. The only safe way to execute all of these jumping steps (really any jump at all), is to start with a plie and end with a plie (whether on one leg or both legs). Bending the knees is not enough when one is talking about ballet technique. The quality of the plie becomes critical. A jerky, choppy or stifled plie can make a step more difficult to execute, and more importantly, cause injury to the dancer. I have been working on the concept of likening the muscles of the legs to taffy. If you have ever seen or handled cold or frozen taffy you will know what I mean. Difficult to move and even prone to shattering. Hot taffy becomes a hot mess! The plie should be like warm taffy. Pliable yet connected. It can still be manipulated and controlled.

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I think that's a pretty good list to start with.

Thanks for hanging out and reading. Feel free to share your thoughts. If you are interested in more from Miss Erin's DanceFit subscribe at the top of the page!

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~Erin

Thrill The World; It's Coming!

Last year was the first year I have ever done the international sensation Thrill The World, a day when, all over the world people dress up like zombies and collectively dance to Michael Jackson's iconic "Thriller".



This year will be the city of Chico's 5th year for participating in the event.

For me how it all started was I just wanted to learn the dance. The song and video came out in 1982. I was twelve years old. All these years have gone by and I had never learned the dance.

I thought it might be fun to make it something that my morning Zumba class could learn too. Learn it just for fun. Nothing more.

So for about 6 to 8 weeks, a couple of mornings a week anyone who was at the gym fifteen or so minutes before class joined me to learn it bit by bit.

Then came talk of performing it with the rest of the TTW zombies in our downtown plaza.

Some of my Zumba goers kiddos joined in the fun. Even more amazing was that people, who in their whole lives, had never done anything like TTW got "their zombie on" and joined in the dance. That, to me, is magic!

Saturday, October 26th 2013 marks this years TTW event. So it's time to get crack'in! So starting this Friday morning...

Zombie March

(forward) right left right left
(take-it-back) right left right left
(to-the-front) right left right left
(take-it-back) right left right left

Last year I scheduled a 2 hour block on a Sunday afternoon to really dig in to the choreography and to give people who weren't necessarily part of the Zumba crew to learn the dance. I'm hoping to do at least two this year. Dang! I better start planning this out!

Although, just like with last year, learning the dance doesn't mean you have to perform it. Learn it just for fun. Be part of the camaraderie. You can always come out and watch your fellows zombs. Plus, you can whip the dance out at parties!

Last year my family showed their love and support by coming out to the event location, which had a huge audience. Maybe this year I can talk a few of them into participating. 

One of the great things about TTW in Chico is that there are practices scheduled in our city's beautiful park, as well as a couple of other locations. Many groups coming together. Click here to find out more about those practices. To find out about locations all over the world, click here.

Most TTW organizations raise money for a local cause. To find out more about Chico's (Arts For All), click here.

Have you ever done the Thrill The World event? Got any favorite tips to "get one's zombie on"?

Thanks for hanging out and reading.

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~Erin

Get This Book! {Dang it! I gotta change my favorite cue}.

  

I first came upon Dr. Kelly Starrett a couple of years ago from a link to his blog, MobilityWod. The post had to do with the first part of a Kettlebell Turkish Get Up (this is not the video. I can never find it. This clip is a good demo of what the exercise is though). I had never even heard of the exercise, but I instantly fell in love with the Turkish Get Up and kettlebells.

Over the next couple of years I would check in with Starrett's MWod site, but I've never been a religious follower. Now he has written a book, Becoming A Supple Leopard:The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance. A book I highly recommend everyone get.

Is it a book for just the athlete or athletic coach? Nope. It's a book for anyone in possession of a body. Which is to say, everyone. It is not necessarily a book that you set aside an afternoon and read cover to cover in one sitting. You could if you wanted to though. I myself haven't completed it. Although I have thumbed through it in its entirety a few times as I continue on my journey of reading it cover to cover.

Filled with wisdoms and clear and helpful photos, Supple Leopard addresses the basics of human movement. The basics of how one stands, sits, bends or squats and its implications for the mechanical health of the body of the office worker to the elite athlete. Starrett works a great deal on the basics with the full spectrum of human movement in mind. He has worked with all kinds of athletes, including dancers and MMA fighters, as well as fire fighters, military personnel and law enforcement officers. His book is written for the movements that humans must do to function as well as the amazing physical feats humans are capable of. Given that, it is a book that I think critical for trainers and coaches. But again, it's not solely for those in the Phys. Ed. Dept. Starrett spends a lot of time describing ways that we all can diagnose flaws in our functional movement technique, and then set about trying to correct them.

One aspect that I have found amazing, enlightening and helpful is his cue of the vertical shin in the basic squat. The vertical shin refers to the alignment of the knee over the ankle during a squat. The chain of the hips, knees and ankle are aligned so the shin remains vertical throughout the squat. Starett claims that this revelation is worth the price of the book, and I concur. But don't let my paltry explanation be a substitute for what is contained in Supple Leopard. There is so much more. Get the book! The book doesn't just focus on squats, but the whole body, and chains of movement that affect the whole body.

Vertical shins and squats brings me to how I must now change one of my favorite cues. For quite a while I have cued shifting weight towards the heels during a squat, especially an unweighted squat (using only one's body weight as resistance).  Not necessarily completely shifting weight to the heels, but a considerable amount. From reading Dr. Starrett's book, I now understand that I need to move away from that and shift the focus to centering the weight through the ankles and down through the floor. It is not a complete shift to the front, or balls of the feet, but rather "screwing" the weight down through the floor via the more central section of each foot. Which of course makes perfect sense when one must execute a movement on one leg (think pistol squat) or is doing a weighted squat (back, front or overhead). He has a great three-squat series of unweighted squats that each have a different position for the arms, which in turn affects the alignment of the upper body in relation to the lower body during squats. The back squat, front squat and overhead squat are each represented. Wanna see it? Get the book. Ha!

Live, learn, improve and pass it on.

Get the book already, will ya!

Thanks for hanging out.

Enjoy the dance that is life!

How To Tie Pointe Shoe Ribbons.

Those ribbons and elastics sewn on yet? Here's the post from last week with the how tos; click here.

Here is a tutorial for how to tie on your pointe shoe ribbons.

Don't worry if your first few tries feel awkward. You'll get it!

Don't be in a rush to trim your ribbon ends. Make sure you get comfortable with tying them first. Some dancers, for various reasons, will switch their shoes back and forth from each foot. So make sure you are happy with how each individual shoe fits on each foot.

To help with fraying of ribbon ends it is recommended to lightly burn them. This should be done under adult supervision or by an adult. Using a match, lighter or lit candle, quickly run the very end of the ribbon across the flame. It doesn't take much to get the desired result. Burn too much and you will have a big, hard, jagged piece to contend with.

Once you have the ribbons and elastics sewn on go ahead and practice tying. Remember, do not try to go onto full pointe in your pre-pointe or demi-pointe shoes. This can result in serious injury.

Happy tying!

Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~Miss Erin

How To Sew On Pointe Shoe Ribbons and Elastics.

Here is a guide to sewing on pointe shoe ribbons and elastics for our new batch of pre-pointe students. Congrats! This is a special next step in your dance training. One that you have earned.

The method for sewing on ribbons and elastics is basically the same for both pre-pointe or demi-pointe shoes and pointe shoes. So once you have the basics down for your pre-pointe shoes you can use them on pointe shoes.

As I've gone through a number of You Tube tutorials I am reminded that there are variations from studio to studio as to the proper way to sew on ribbons and elastics. But like lasagna recipes that have been passed down for generations, you know which is the best. Your family's recipe! I kid. Sort of. For the initial learning and grooming period for our students pre-pointe and pointe shoe education it is important that everyone follow a similar technique. As a dancer becomes more familiar with how they work in pointe shoes (we're talking years here), then variations can be employed.

Let's begin!

A few notes first.

Your finished product, from the outside of the shoes, should look something like this:

No visible stitches from the outside. You will find that there are two layers of fabric where ribbons and elastics are sewn. The satin outside layer and the muslin inside layer. Stitches are to go through the muslin inside layer. What about using a sewing machine? (Gasp! Sacrilege!). It is important to learn how to sew ribbons and elastics on by hand. I have seen tutorials that recommend using a sewing machine, but sewing machines will make the stitches visible on the outside. Just like underwear, stitches, strings and knots are best kept hidden.

Don't sew through the drawstring casing. The drawstring casing is around the opening of the shoe. Some tutorials show running a few stitches through the casing, While being careful not to go through the drawstring itself. Why bother? Just don't stitch through the casing at all. I danced for years on pointe and never once stitched through the casing.

Tools needed:

Pointe shoe ribbons (they may come with a particular brand of pointe shoe, or they maybe sold separately. Be sure to get them before you leave the store!).

                                                 image credit

Elastic. You should get it at the same time you get your ribbons and shoes.

Strong thread. Any strong thread will do. Make it pink.

Sewing needle and scissors.

A pencil for marking.

The dancer who will be wearing the shoes!

Optional; pins or safety pins.

Sewing on the elastics:

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1. Prepare your thread and needle.

2. Next, you will need to measure and cut your elastic. Take your long piece of elastic and cut it in half.

3. Then, take one elastic piece and one of the shoes. Take one end of the elastic piece and sew it to the back of the shoe's heel, on the inside. Be sure to stay to the side of the center seam, as shown in the above picture.

4. Next, put the shoe on and measure how much elastic you will need for the loop that goes over the top of dancer's ankle. It should be snug without being painfully tight. Mark or pin the amount of length you will need.

5. Now sew the other end of the elastic to the shoe (right side of picture is your finished product).

Sewing on the ribbons.

The ribbons will come as one long piece. Cut in half, then cut each piece in half again. You will have 4 pieces when you are done.

To reinforce the end you will be sewing to the shoe, I recommend this technique for folding the end;
 The ribbon has shiny side and a dull side.

       

With the dull side facing you, fold the end over about 3/4 to 1 inch.

Fold again.

 This is the tri-fold pocket that you will sew to the shoe. You want to make sure the shiny side of the ribbons are on the outside.
Now onto how to find the placement of the ribbon!

I really like this video tutorial.

Don't be dismayed if you find you need to redo your ribbons and elastics. You can do everything "perfect" but find that you need to do additional tweaking to make it work for YOU.

Happy sewing!

Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Coming soon- How to tie your pointe shoe ribbons!

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~Miss Erin.

Technique On A Tuesday; Stabilizing The "Standing" Hip {and a really good hip warm-up}.

So instead of Technique Tuesdays I'm adopting the name "Technique On A Tuesday" due to the fact that I seem to manage every other Tuesday, or so. Perhaps if I can manage to get a post up more consistently I'll go back to the former and drop the latter. But for now, I like it.

On to today's post.

 Stabilizing The Standing Hip. First, a quick and basic primer on what parts of the glutes do. The gluteus maximus gives us that booty popping shape (when trained to do so) and it works to bring the torso back into an erect position (coming from stooping or leaning forward). The gluteus medius has a hand in the outward rotation of the hip (turn-out). The glutes, in all their parts, are much more complex. But that is a basic overview.

In this photo I am letting the hip of the "working" or "gesture" leg (the one lifted in passe), namely the gluteus maximus, do most of the lifting. This causes the hip of the "standing" or support leg to essentially disengage, or not fire up in a way to stay stable. I can certainly hang out and find some semblance of balancing. But if I were to add any type of challenge, rising onto the ball of the standing foot, a jump, pivot of the heel or a turn, I would most likely fall out of the position.

In this picture I have engaged the supporting hip. The difference is subtle but vital. Here I have "quieted" the gluteus maximus of the passe leg and fired up the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius of the support leg. The gluteus medius of the passe leg is also more engaged than in the previous photo. Of course, all the muscles of the both legs are working. Each doing their specific job.

Some of the ways I have described this is to think of the hips as a type writer roller (yeah, I know not all age groups will know what I'm talking about). If your type writer roller is at an angle then your type writer is busted. To fix it it you must keep your roll level.

I have also jokingly asked what a student would do with their glutes on their supporting side if they knew I was coming in with a punch right to that area. That usually increases the engagement of the muscles.

A couple of good exercises to practice this, and some great hip warm-ups;

Here are a couple of exercises that emphasize pinning and stabilizing the supporting hip as well as the supporting side of the body.

I use these when I teach mat Pilates as a warm-up for both the hips and the concept of firing up the supporting side.

Passe Hip Circles.


Start with legs parallel, knees facing ceiling and toes pointed. Arms are alongside the body.

Engage the core as you draw the right knee up.

Pin the supporting side, or base side, of the body to the floor or mat. This requires an effort along the entire side of the supporting side of the body, especially in the core region (I like to call this area "nipple to kneecap").

Then lengthen the leg to its start position.

Do about 5 sets. Inhale as you draw the knee up and out. Exhale as you lengthen.

Do 5 sets in reverse.

Inhale as the knee draws to passe. Exhale as the leg lengthens.

Be sure to do the other side in equal amounts.

Table-Top Leg, Across and Side.


Bring the right leg to a table-top position.

Inhale as the leg crosses the mid-line of the body. Keep the back of the pelvis pinned to the mat. Don't loose control and fall over to the left.

Exhale as the leg opens to the right side. Keep the left, or base side, of the body pinned to the floor or mat. Don't let the body fall with the leg.

Do about 5 sets. Be sure and do the other side in equal amounts.

I love these exercise as they illustrated the importance of the supporting side, and they are great warm-ups for the hips.



Let's hear it for my crack-shot photographer! ( My 12 year old son, Neil).

Thank for hanging out! If you like what you see, subscribe at the top!

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~ Erin