Welcome to the Dance Technique Tip Blog Series
Welcome to another post in my Dance Technique Tips blog series! This series features short and simple tips to help dancers improve their dance technique. These tips are based on my experience as a performer, choreographer, and educator of ballet, modern, musical theatre, jazz, and jazz-derived forms like lyrical and contemporary, but I think that they can be applicable to dancers of many different styles. I hope that dancers can apply these tips directly in their own training, and that dance teachers will be able to share them with their students in classes. You can find more dance technique tips on my Instagram page or here on my blog.
Dance technique tip: Lengthen, don’t hold
Have you ever gotten a correction, feedback, or idea from your dance teacher that totally changed your dancing?
I have gotten many, thanks to my amazing teachers over the years. But if I could only choose one, it would have to be this: think of lengthening your spine in both directions, rather than holding your core.
I was a bunhead child in the 90s, and “pull up,” “suck in,” and “hold your abs” were some of the phrases I heard most often. These ideas might work for some dancers, but being super overzealous and an overachiever, I would often pull up, suck in, and hold so much that it negatively impacted my dancing. Pulling up caused me to lean backwards, sucking in cause me to tuck my pelvis, and holding cut of my body’s natural breathing patterns. The more I tried to follow the directions to pull up, suck in, and hold, the worse my dancing got … talk about frustrating!
Much later in my career, a teacher talked about the idea of maintaining core placement by lengthening your spine in opposite directions – dropping your sacrum to anchor the pelvis, and then stretching gently upward from there. This idea worked so much better for me! The oppositional force through my trunk naturally engaged my core without having to actively concentrate on hold my abdominal muscles. It allowed me to find proper alignment in my pelvis, ribs, and shoulders, which improved my balance and stability. Perhaps most importantly, the thinking about the lengthening action, rather than holding, reduced excess muscular tension, enabled better range of movement, and allowed me find more freedom in my dancing.
If you tend to pull up, suck in, and hold your abs like I used to, I encourage you to try lengthening your spine in both directions as well. I think that you will find it liberating! It can transform your dancing from tight and restricted to free and expansive, without being sloppy and uncontrolled. I’ve also seen this feedback work really well with students, as it is highly effective for aligning the hips, ribs, and shoulders to improve balance, stability, and core control.
How dancers can apply this dance technique tip in their dancing
To use the concept of “lengthen, don’t hold” to help your find better stability AND freedom in your dancing, try these easy steps:
1.) Imagine that a small weight is tied to a string and attached to your sacrum. The imagery of the weight can help you gently lengthen your sacrum down toward the floor. This step allows you to find a neutral pelvis and length in your lower back.
2.) Imagine that a balloon is tied to each ear. As the balloon floats up to the sky, it gently lengthens your spine upward. This step helps lengthen the thoracic and cervical spine (ribcage and neck).
3.) Play with the balance between these two oppositional forces. As you inhale, you can feel the balloon pulling upward, and as you exhale, you can feel the weight anchoring your pelvis down.
It is important to note that both of these forces should be applied lightly, without too much force. The goal is to help your body find easy functional alignment that makes your dancing more efficient – not pull yourself into an overly extended or unnatural posture. Check out this video to learn more!
How dance teachers can use this dance technique tip with their students
I find that the cue “lengthen, don’t hold” encourages dancers to self-correct a range of issues, from trouble balancing to being overly held or restricted in their movement. To use this cue with dance students, I usually first give them the verbal note: “Think of lengthening your spine in both directions, floating the head up and dropping the sacrum down.” I carefully observe the dancers as they repeat the movement with this idea in mind, noting any change that I see. I then ask the dancer if they felt any change when they repeated the movement with the idea of lengthening their spine. Then, we discuss how they felt and what I saw, to determine the effectiveness of the correction for them. Very often, the dancers will note that they feel more free when performing the movement while thinking of lengthening the spine rather than holding, and they also demonstrate better balance, stability, and control in their movement.
If the verbal feedback is not effective, I will ask the dancer to stand with their hands firmly on their hips, pressing down to lengthen the spine and ground the pelvis. I stand behind them and put my hand two inches above their head. I will then encourage them to try to float their head up to touch my hand, without going up to the balls of their feet. This could also be done by a partner standing for peer feedback.
Finally, if hands-on feedback is needed, I will stand behind them, place one hand on the small of their back and press down to lengthen the lower spine. I will then place two fingers behind each ear and gently pull the head up to lengthen the spine upward. I alternate between these two points of contact to help them feel the interplay of these oppositional forces. Note: always consent from the student before using physical touch or getting close into their personal space. Between the verbal feedback and the more physicalized corrections, I almost always notice that their core alignment, balance and stability, and they have more freedom in their dancing.
Additional benefits of this dance technique tip
When you think of lengthening your spine rather than holding your core as you dance, you might also notice benefits to your artistry, performance quality, and overall well-being. Lengthening your spine in both directions can help improve your movement quality, as your dancing not be restricted by excess muscular tension. It can help you move with more ease and fluidity, allowing you to find greater expressive range in your dancing. It will allow you to connect to your breath, which is vital for artistry and expression.
On a personal note, when I think of lengthening rather than holding I feel more free as a dancer, which often translates to a greater sense of freedom in my life outside the studio, too! Holding creates restriction and limits expression. When I can let go of the tension and lengthen rather than hold so tightly, I am better able to express my emotions, communicate my needs, and open myself up to the world around me. I feel more open to a rich emotional life, and at the same times able to balance conflicting emotions with ease.
Did you try this dance technique tip? How did it go?
If you tried this dance technique tip out – or shared it with your students – let me know how it went! How did your dancing change? How did your dance students respond to the feedback? How can you take this tip and make it your own, adapting it or changing it to fit your dancing or impact your dance students? Leave a comment and let me know!
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