MODERN GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION PREPARATORY Alternate straight kicks Lying down on the floor, side of body towards front, head in line with body. Hands flat on floor and not touching self, knees straight. Raise legs alternately as high as possible while keeping legs straight and finishing the line of the kick with a pointed foot. Head movements A simple relaxation of the head forwards onto the chest, recovery to look straight ahead, then a relaxation of the head to look up and recovery to look straight ahead. Shoulders should be relaxed throughout and back should be held erect. Parallel arm swings Two straight arms maintaining the parallel line by keeping arms as far apart as the shoulders at the front and brushing the hips and going slightly beyond at the back. Can be taken feet together or apart with knee bends or hip swings. Co-ordinated arm Two arms, one bent and one straight swinging from side to side across body, transferring the weight with the arms and pointing the opposite foot. PRIMARY Head movements Opposition arm swings As Preparatory but to include relaxation to each side. Head movements should be as relaxed and as simple as possible. Two straight arms showing full extension of line through shoulders from front to back. Can be performed by bending both knees with feet flat or bending both knees then picking up one foot, opposite arm to leg.
GRADE ONE Table top Ball change, kick Hurdle position Tail balance Preparation and kick at the front Half circle relaxation Shoulder lifts Turned in walk Two hands on the barre, legs and body making a right angle, head in line, spine straight and relaxed to make a 'table'. Side to barre, hips square, supporting leg pulled up firmly on kick which should be in line with the student's hip. Ball change taken through relaxed knees. Sit on floor, place R leg to R side, bend to make a right angle in line with hip, place L leg in front and bend to make a right angle so that lower part of leg is parallel to body. Both legs should be flat on the floor and the weight should be evenly distributed. Sit on the floor, back erect, legs extended forwards, feet together, place hands behind body to support. Bend knees towards body and balance on the base of the spine and the thigh bones which make a tripod. Unfold the legs off the floor in front of the body and hold by using the stomach muscles to control, keeping the back erect and the shoulders down. Carefully lower the straight legs to the floor and relax. The preparation is to ensure that the body is correctly in line before executing the kick. Hips should be in line, the back held erect with shoulders down and the supporting leg should be firmly pulled up. The leg executing the kick should be fully stretched and taken to the individual student's optimum line. All circular movements of the head should be executed as a relaxed roll and should not be forced or thrown. Raising and lowering shoulders towards ears (as in a shrugging movement) Taking both shoulders or one at a time alternately. Commence facing the front, step out with R foot twisting the body so that the feet and knees are facing the L side and the hips, shoulders, arms and head are facing the front. As you step and 'twist' place the feet apart parallel to each other and to the front of the studio, at the same time bending both knees and distributing the weight equally over both feet. Arms should be strongly placed in a high 'V' shape facing the front, head looking up.
GRADE ONE CONTINUED Open turn Rebound jump Star jump Step R foot out to R side, open arms to wide 2 nd, bring L foot to close and fold arms to complete a full turn to the R. Bounce feet together then jump in to a 'folded' position, knees on chest, arms stretching forward in parallel. Bounce feet together then jump into a diagonal cross shape landing feet together. GRADE TWO Table top Tail balance Shoulder lifts from lying down Hurdle into leaning split Preparation point and kick at the side Executed side to the barre, one hand on barre the other arm fully extended forwards, head in line with body which forms a right angle with legs, knees straight, feet parallel. Sit on the floor, back erect, legs extended forwards, feet together. Bend knees towards body and balance on the base of the spine and the thigh bones which make a tripod. Unfold the legs off the floor in front of the body and hold by using the stomach muscles to control, keeping the back erect and the shoulders down. Carefully lower the straight legs to the floor and relax. Lying flat on the floor, arms stretched above head, take the arms forward while flexing the spine, keeping the shoulders level and raising the head approximately 6-8cm off the floor to hold for three counts. Release by reversing the movement to place chin on chest and rolling down the spine carefully to replace and repeat. The placing of the supporting arm in relation to the body is very important in this exercise. The knees should NOT be lifted to start the push up. The leaning split should have both feet flat on the floor; two straight knees and the arm extended over the head should complete the shape of the 'bow'. The feet and supporting arm should not move when replacing and repeating the exercise. As Grade One. The side kick should be in line with the hip.
Arm or shoulder stretches Step across with sideways lunge Bent leap (stag leap) Jump into hurdle Elevated turn Attitude swing Circular port de bras Commence feet apart, arms above and in front of head. Extend the R arm away from the body while drawing the L shoulder back and keeping both arms straight. At the same time relax the R knee to make a small lunge with the weight over the R foot. Recover to starting position and centralise weight with hips in line. Step R foot across and in front of L while bending R knee and pointing L foot to the side. Repeat ensuring that the working leg is always bent. Body can be erect or bent forward; arms, style and timing are optional. Step on L foot, extend R leg forward, bend it then spring forward by pushing off the L foot, extending the L leg behind. Land on the R foot. Step through with L foot. Bounce feet together then jump into the air placing legs in hurdle position at side of body as if placing on the floor. Step onto R foot facing the front, start to turn, bringing knees up to body one at a time, L leg first, placing the L foot back on the floor as the R goes up and then comes back down, feet apart. Degagé working foot to second, relax supporting knee and sweep working foot along floor and across the body to bring the knee towards the inside shoulder and rising onto the ball of the foot with the knee pulled firmly. Repeat in reverse keeping the back erect and rising onto the ball of the foot at the highest point of the swing. Sit with legs placed in hurdle position to the R side. Extend the R arm as far as possible over the hurdle and start to trace a circle along the floor and around the body with the R hand. Place the L hand to the side and slightly behind the L hip with the fingers facing forwards. Continue to trace the circle and follow through with the body putting the weight onto the L hand, then elbow, then shoulder until ¾ of a circle have been traced and both shoulders, hips, knees and feet are flat on the floor maintaining the hurdle position with the R arm stretched above the head towards the back of the studio.
GRADE THREE Side kicks Hitch kicks Shoulder roll Posé turn and drag walk Mercury jump Lunge roll Knee change Kick should be placed within the hip line to the optimum height for the student. Two springs at the back, starting with R foot, spring onto R foot bringing the L leg in front of body, spring onto L foot and developpé kick R leg, holding back erect and fully extending working leg. An isolation of the shoulder joint moving the top of the arm in a circular movement forwards or backwards. Step onto the ball of the R foot and place the L foot on the R calf muscle while executing a full turn. Step onto L foot then take a wide step forwards on R foot fully extending and 'dragging' L foot behind, then repeat stepping onto L foot and 'dragging' R. Step forwards onto R foot and spring keeping R leg straight and placing L leg in attitude at the back. Take arms to a high 'V' shape and land on R foot. a) Side to barre, inside leg extended in front, weight on ball of foot, hips sustained above outside heel. Transfer the weight forwards keeping hips and shoulders square, maintaining turnout and depth of lunge to sustain weight on ball of foot, hips above inside heel, with outside leg fully extended behind. b) In the centre, the weight is transferred from side to side from the ball of the foot through second position with feet flat to the ball of the opposite foot, holding the back erect, maintaining turnout and the depth of the lunge. Transfer the hurdle position to face the back by pushing the feet into the floor raising the knees and replacing the hurdle behind with the knees flat. At the same time keeping the head and shoulders towards the front thus isolating the lower part of the body.
GRADE FOUR Tail balance from lying down Preparation point and kick at the back Outward Kick Inverted arm and shoulder swing Turned in walk followed by an outward turn Side leap Side leap turn Jump into hurdle with top leg straight Grand jeté en tournant From a lying down position sit up to place a tail balance as Grade Two using stomach muscles to place, sustain position and control recovery replacing feet and shoulders on the floor at the same time. Kick should be executed with both hands on the floor with both legs fully stretched to make a standing split. Hips should be square and the kick should be executed as a circular movement in front of the dancer, starting towards and finishing away from the body. This can be taken as a small circular movement from the elbow or a large circular movement with a straight arm from the shoulder, providing that the 'inverted' or turned inwards shoulder line is demonstrated and released. Place turned in walk as Grade One but facing RDF if taken on the diagonal. Transfer weight to R foot, straighten knee and pull up onto the ball of the R foot placing L foot at side of R knee and executing a full turn towards the L shoulder. Replace L foot in turned in walk and repeat turning towards R shoulder. A straight leg leap performed sideways while the head, shoulders and hips remain facing the front. A side leap finishing with the following foot crossing in front of the leading foot finishing in a full turn towards the back foot. Push off both feet to spring into the air taking both feet apart with one leg straight and the other bent, both feet pointing towards the same side with the top leg straight. Step on L foot, close R together, step onto L foot, kick R leg through while springing into the air. Start to turn body through half a turn while changing legs now behind body. Land on R foot sustaining L leg fully extended off the floor maintaining the line of travel.
GRADE FOUR Cat spring Bounce feet together and jump into the air taking legs as far apart as possible and touching feet or knees with hands. GRADE FIVE Parallel swing Body roll Controlled exercise Set exercise Side or diagonal to barre, lift outside leg behind, at the same time leaning body forwards to make a straight line from the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the toe, parallel to the floor. The parallel line should be sustained in position as the supporting leg bends and stretches. A relaxation movement through the legs and spine. Bend knees, push pelvis forwards while releasing all tension from the spine in a back bend movement Finally releasing the head and following the movement through with a circular movement of the outside arm. The weight should remain centralised when one leg is lifted and extended. The shoulders and body should remain in line and relaxed taking the tension through the legs, stomach and buttocks only. The hand should be placed on the floor behind the body before lowering onto the knees and the movement should be controlled by tensing the stomach, buttock and thigh muscles. Inward kick Hitch kick at the back Hips should be square and the kick executed as a circular movement in front of the dancer, starting away from and finishing towards the body. Swing L leg behind with flexed knee, then spring onto L leg and swing R leg behind, knee flexed, then step forwards onto R leg. The second time this appears it is executed by stepping back onto the L foot and swinging the R leg behind.