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The Most Common Corrections Judges Give at Competition · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_09: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_09: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_09: This is Making the Impact, a Dance Competition podcast.
0:16
SPEAKER_09: Each week, we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:23
SPEAKER_09: As the 2021 competition season comes to a close, we wanted to round up the most common critiques judges give at competition.
0:30
SPEAKER_09: From tips on performance quality to technical advice, 20 IDA judges share their insight with us for this episode of Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
0:42
SPEAKER_03: Hi everyone, this is Courtney Ortiz, and welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
0:47
SPEAKER_03: I'm here, of course, like always, with my co-host Leslie Mueller.
0:51
SPEAKER_03: Hey everybody, happy almost summer.
0:54
SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, almost summer.
0:56
SPEAKER_03: And sad end of competition season is almost here.
0:59
SPEAKER_03: I know.
1:00
SPEAKER_03: It's always a bummer when that happens.
1:02
SPEAKER_03: I think that there probably are a few of you who may be competing this upcoming weekend and maybe, you know, into the early parts of June.
1:10
SPEAKER_03: But it's probably recital time now, is what we're gearing up for.
1:14
SPEAKER_03: It's time to put competitions to the side, get into that recital, hopefully, if everyone gets to have one the season.
1:21
SPEAKER_03: Fingers crossed, I hope you do, and start prepping for nationals, which is coming up quick.
1:26
SPEAKER_03: If you are going to nationals, then I hope you have a fantastic time.
1:30
SPEAKER_03: But uh today we are nearing the end of the podcast for season two.
1:35
SPEAKER_03: So sad about it.
1:37
SPEAKER_03: And all of our IDA judges have been judging all season long all across the country, back at live competitions, yay! And also some judges were judging virtually, whether it was through IDA's virtual competition, other virtual competitions.
1:52
SPEAKER_03: And uh today we're talking about the most common corrections that your judges give at competition.
1:59
SPEAKER_03: So we have so many judges chiming in today from around the country, sharing their most used corrections that they said over and over and over again throughout the competition season.
2:10
SPEAKER_03: And I can't wait for you all to hear it.
2:11
SPEAKER_03: It's really, it's really great stuff, and I hope it'll help you prep for nationals and recital.
2:17
SPEAKER_03: So, shout out to all of our IDA judges.
2:19
SPEAKER_03: You're gonna hear from a lot of them shortly, and shout out to every single IDA affiliated dance competition who has been hosting live events this year and letting us all get back to doing what we love.
2:31
SPEAKER_03: We appreciate you, we value you so much, and we're so happy to work with you.
2:35
SPEAKER_03: And I know our judges have loved it as well.
2:38
SPEAKER_09: Yep, we are super excited to share all this feedback from you.
2:41
SPEAKER_09: And so if you haven't heard it already, you know, from competition, we've we've got one more push for all these critiques that these judges are trying to give you this year.
2:49
SPEAKER_09: And we really do have IDA judges everywhere.
2:51
SPEAKER_09: Just today on this podcast, you're gonna hear from judges in Maine, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Michigan, just to name a few.
3:00
SPEAKER_09: Um, so if you haven't been lucky enough to have an IDA judge at your event this season, here's some IDA judges for you right now.
3:06
SPEAKER_09: We're about to jump into the episode.
3:08
SPEAKER_09: And also, if you have had the opportunity to compete at an IDA affiliated competition and you enjoyed the feedback from our judges, reach out and let them know.
3:17
SPEAKER_09: Reach out and let us know because that's what we are here to do.
3:20
SPEAKER_09: We love hearing good feedback.
3:21
SPEAKER_09: We love hearing that you know our job is a job well done.
3:25
SPEAKER_09: Um, so if you enjoyed what you heard this season, reach out, email us at infotimpactdanceed.com or any IDA affiliated competition.
3:34
SPEAKER_03: And we are super excited to welcome a brand new sponsor to our podcast for this episode.
3:40
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3:45
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3:47
SPEAKER_03: This new app is a great way to buy and sell new or used costumes, dance wear, shoes, accessories, and more.
3:54
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4:03
SPEAKER_03: Visit DanceExchangeapp.com or download the app in the app store now.
4:08
SPEAKER_03: That's DanceX, the letter Xchangeapp.com.
4:13
SPEAKER_03: Thanks so much to DanceExchange.
4:15
SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to check out your app, and I know it's going to be a huge hit.
4:19
SPEAKER_03: All right, everyone, we are so excited to share the most common corrections from our IDA judges that they have been giving throughout this entire season.
4:27
SPEAKER_03: We have 20 different judges chiming in and helping share this information with you, sharing these critiques with you.
4:33
SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to hear from them.
4:34
SPEAKER_03: And Leslie and I are gonna also chat a little bit about each of their corrections and their critiques that they have, you know, shared with us.
4:42
SPEAKER_03: And I am excited to kick it off with our very first judge.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is your IDA judge, Cheryl Custer Klein from Detroit, Michigan.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: One of my biggest corrections while judging is to engage with your audience.
4:56
SPEAKER_01: Remember, this is a performing art and we are all about connecting with your audience.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: Make sure to give great eye contact and to engage your eyes with confidence to your audience.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: You are on stage to entertain and tell your story while sharing your passion for dance.
5:13
SPEAKER_03: All right, shout out to Cheryl who just kicked us off for this episode.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: You may remember Cheryl from our latest, one of our latest episodes, How to Take Your Solo to the Next Level.
5:24
SPEAKER_03: So thanks for this wonderful tip and critique from Cheryl.
5:28
SPEAKER_03: And what do you think, Wesley?
5:29
SPEAKER_09: I totally agree.
5:31
SPEAKER_09: Even pre-mask times, your eyes are tell the story.
5:35
SPEAKER_09: I mean, nobody wants to see a dancer looking at the floor with their eyes.
5:39
SPEAKER_09: And also nobody wants to see a dancer stare down a judge when they're performing because the audience is more than just us.
5:45
SPEAKER_09: You know, yes, we're there, but like everybody else is there too.
5:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
5:49
SPEAKER_03: No, I agree.
5:50
SPEAKER_03: I actually don't really like as a judge when I'm getting stared down.
5:53
SPEAKER_03: No, it's creepy.
5:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
5:54
SPEAKER_03: I wonder I I kind of wish that the judges weren't always at the front of the house because I feel like that so many teachers are like, make eye contact with the judges and and it's perform for them.
6:04
SPEAKER_03: And I kind of wish that we sat at the back of the house so they could just perform for the audience.
6:08
SPEAKER_03: Right.
6:08
SPEAKER_03: And then we just get to take in the performance.
6:11
SPEAKER_09: I know.
6:11
SPEAKER_09: And I I do I would encourage anybody who is, you know, teaching children, don't tell them to stare us down.
6:18
SPEAKER_09: It's it's uncomfortable for us.
6:19
SPEAKER_09: You know, we we're already kind of under a microscope as it is up there.
6:23
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
6:23
SPEAKER_09: And, you know, we're we are trying to judge the kids' performance quality and the dancers' performance quality.
6:28
SPEAKER_09: And once you sort of just hone in on us, it you lose the the magnitude of what you're doing, um, especially if you're in, you know, a big space.
6:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I totally agree.
6:39
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's a great tip to kick it off.
6:41
SPEAKER_03: And like you said, with the masks, even the season, if you had to wear a mask, you probably learned really quick how to perform with your eyes, or you should have.
6:47
SPEAKER_03: You should be the best eye performer ever after the season because you were wearing a mask the whole time.
6:52
SPEAKER_03: So now you're gonna be even more exceptional when there's hopefully no masks next year.
6:56
SPEAKER_09: Yes, awesome.
6:57
SPEAKER_09: Well, and thanks, Cheryl, for that.
6:58
SPEAKER_09: That was a perfect way to get us started today.
7:01
SPEAKER_20: All right, let's see who is next up.
7:04
SPEAKER_20: IDA judge Anastasia Albert here from NYC.
7:08
SPEAKER_20: My background is musical theater and competition dance when I was younger.
7:12
SPEAKER_20: And for me, I was always the actor.
7:15
SPEAKER_20: I was the stage presence, I was not the extension queen.
7:20
SPEAKER_20: I was not the turn, turn, top turner.
7:23
SPEAKER_20: It was the fact that I drew you in and told you a story.
7:26
SPEAKER_20: So working on that storytelling, working on all the acting leads within your piece, do the homework, understand who you are in the beginning, the middle, and the end, and have you won or failed in the sequence, so then we can really see the clear story.
7:39
SPEAKER_20: Thanks so much.
7:41
SPEAKER_03: So, yeah, this one is all about storytelling and performance.
7:45
SPEAKER_03: And I think we've definitely talked about this a lot on the podcast this season.
7:48
SPEAKER_09: Totally.
7:49
SPEAKER_09: And it becomes more and more evident as the years go by that people care so much more about storytelling than they used to.
7:57
SPEAKER_09: And and I think that is that's something that you have to get used to as a choreographer and as a dancer because I don't think 15-20 years ago that mattered as much.
8:06
SPEAKER_09: But it matters a hundred percent now.
8:09
SPEAKER_03: I think especially with the addition of contemporary into the competition scene, since when we were growing up, contemporary didn't really exist, and like lyrical was the thing that we could express ourselves through and really tell the story.
8:19
SPEAKER_03: Now we have the addition of contemporary, so there's another genre that we have to really make sure that we're performing in and knowing what we're performing about.
8:27
SPEAKER_03: I think that's the most important thing.
8:28
SPEAKER_03: But not only just in lyrical and contemporary should we be performing and having a story, but you know, I know that our judge was kind of speaking that she was the musical theater girl.
8:39
SPEAKER_03: Yes, you of course 100% better have it in musical theater, but I think this can be applied to majority of genres.
8:45
SPEAKER_09: I mean, unless you're unless you truly are just sort of giving a skills-based routine, which I think in some instances is fine.
8:53
SPEAKER_09: Maybe sometimes jazz.
8:54
SPEAKER_09: If you're if you're a beginner novice and you're truly just trying to show us, you know, your shuffle steps and your your dig heels and your paradiddles and you know, great.
9:02
SPEAKER_09: But it's one of those things where we no longer care if all you can do is turn, turn, turn, or extend your leg, as Anastasia said, she was not that person.
9:11
SPEAKER_05: Right.
9:11
SPEAKER_09: And sometimes, you know, yes, it's great if you can do those things, and then can you also tell a story?
9:18
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
9:18
SPEAKER_09: You know, and and truly at the highest levels, we're looking for both.
9:21
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
9:22
SPEAKER_03: And we definitely have said that on the podcast.
9:23
SPEAKER_03: I can I think we said it on the solo episode that was recently, that's fresh in my brain.
9:28
SPEAKER_03: Um, we've we've talked about performance a lot, and I think it's just that extra layer, and it's extremely important, and it's always a part of your score.
9:35
SPEAKER_03: Performance is always a part of your score.
9:37
SPEAKER_03: So make sure that we're using our eye contact and make sure that we really understand what our story is, what our intention behind the movement is, and what our connection is to the song, I think is is great advice so far.
9:46
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
9:46
SPEAKER_09: And uh one other thing that she mentioned that I would love to touch on is the beginning, middle, and the end.
9:53
SPEAKER_09: And did you win or did you fail in the story that you're telling?
9:56
SPEAKER_09: You know, not not every story ends with the protagonist winning.
10:00
SPEAKER_09: And so I do need to know, you know, did you achieve your goal at the end of this dance or did you not?
10:05
SPEAKER_09: Because that informs, you know, what the whole thing even is.
10:09
SPEAKER_09: So, you know, make sure that's a that's something you talk to your dancers about and as a dancer yourself are thinking about.
10:15
SPEAKER_09: You know, is it's not just did I finish my pirouette sequence?
10:19
SPEAKER_09: It is, did I win, did I lose, did I fail, did I, you know, fly?
10:23
SPEAKER_09: What's what's the end result?
10:25
SPEAKER_03: All right, and next up is Miss Ashley Marinelli, who you may remember from season one, episode one, the first episode ever on the podcast, What Dance Competitions Taught Me.
10:37
SPEAKER_03: I'm very excited to welcome Ashley Marinelli back with her critique coming to you from Brooklyn, New York.
10:43
SPEAKER_17: Other than technical corrections like please make sure the prep of the turn matches the turn if you're turned out in the prep, the turn has to be turned out, and get to full releve, heal all the way over your metators.
10:56
SPEAKER_17: The most important thing that I think I talk about is dance is a language.
11:01
SPEAKER_17: Make sure you know what you're saying, and then say it clearly.
11:06
SPEAKER_17: Not loudly, but clearly.
11:08
SPEAKER_09: We got deep into the language of dance.
11:11
SPEAKER_09: You know, it goes along with what Anastasia was just saying in her critique.
11:16
SPEAKER_09: You know, we are telling a story, and even if, you know, if we get really kind of nitty-gritty into the crunchy granola of your contemporary concert dance world, no, it doesn't have to be a verbatim.
11:27
SPEAKER_09: I, you know, I shouldn't look at your dance and be like, I understand exactly what's happening here, and if you if I you turned off the music, I would know exactly what's happening.
11:34
SPEAKER_09: No, that doesn't happen all the time.
11:36
SPEAKER_09: But I think to to Ashley's point, it does have to be clear because I don't have to and I've said this before, I do not need to know exactly what your intent is, but you have to know exactly what your intent is.
11:49
SPEAKER_09: And I can tell the difference.
11:50
SPEAKER_09: If a dancer comes on stage and knows what they're dancing about, I know that.
11:54
SPEAKER_09: I can see it.
11:55
SPEAKER_09: It's just there, it's innate, it is perfectly clear.
11:58
SPEAKER_09: But if you don't, that is also perfectly clear, and it makes it very difficult to judge you correctly because I don't even think you know what you're doing.
12:07
SPEAKER_03: Right.
12:08
SPEAKER_03: I think I think that's that's the hard part about it is when we're adding that layer of performance with when we're adding that language of dance, we have to make sure that we're remembering that we're in a competition.
12:20
SPEAKER_03: Like we're being judged on this.
12:21
SPEAKER_03: We're being judged to make sure that whatever we're portraying on stage is coming across to our judges in a clear way.
12:28
SPEAKER_03: And sometimes, you know, I I'm not sure all the time when I'm sitting behind the table if I really am understanding what you're giving back to me from the stage.
12:38
SPEAKER_03: So I think that is super important advice.
12:42
SPEAKER_03: And I also really loved some of the you know more technical corrections that Ashley mentioned at the very start of her critique, um, talking about uh some pirouettes, which maybe we will get to later.
12:54
SPEAKER_03: Some more critiques with pirouettes, we'll see.
12:58
SPEAKER_03: But I am such a stickler for pirouette preparations, just like Ashley, so I'm really glad she mentioned that as well.
13:04
SPEAKER_03: Alright, so we talked a little bit about performance quality, and now I think it's time to talk about movement quality.
13:10
SPEAKER_03: So let's hear from IDA Judge Alex.
13:13
SPEAKER_15: Hi, this is IDA Judge Alex from New York City.
13:16
SPEAKER_15: I would say the biggest correction I gave this year is that dancers need to really explore dynamics.
13:23
SPEAKER_15: I see a lot of dances that are high, high energy, and then the dancer can't sustain that level of energy all the way through.
13:29
SPEAKER_15: Or I see like a lot of lyrical and contemporary pieces that let the music dictate a very kind of subtle low energy style of performance.
13:38
SPEAKER_15: I want dancers to really explore the middle ground, you know, the five to eight in the scale of one to ten.
13:44
SPEAKER_15: Really find ways that you can lure us and draw us in and then surprise us with a more dynamic piece.
13:52
SPEAKER_15: So really explore the middle ground.
13:54
SPEAKER_15: And I think that what really makes a piece shine and what gives it that professional polish is a dancer's ability to find that middle ground and work those dynamics between the zero and the ten.
14:04
SPEAKER_15: I still love a really high-energy piece, but if it's all one thing, it gets very monotonous for the audience.
14:11
SPEAKER_15: So really do look for ways to keep us engaged, keep us interested, and to make your piece more artistically rich in this way.
14:17
SPEAKER_15: Fantastic work this season, dancers, and I can't wait to see you next year.
14:22
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I love this one.
14:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm all about the dynamics too, and I think this goes hand in hand with musicality and having musicality and understanding your music, your movement, your dancing should match what's going on in the music.
14:35
SPEAKER_03: If there is a build and an arc and a rise in the song, if this is the bridge in the song, I should also see your dynamic shift to match that in your movement.
14:44
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's exactly what Alex is saying, which I couldn't agree with more.
14:48
SPEAKER_03: And I I do think it does enhance the piece.
14:51
SPEAKER_03: If we stay on the same level the whole time, it does get, you know, a little not as exciting to watch.
14:57
SPEAKER_09: No, well, and it's like I'm sure everybody has heard of at this point the ASMR videos, which are the like the the whispery sort of sounds that are meant to lull you to sleep.
15:07
SPEAKER_09: Like that's what I think of when I think of a one-level dynamic where it's like that is meant to put you to sleep and to relax you.
15:14
SPEAKER_09: Like you shouldn't be dancing that way.
15:16
SPEAKER_09: Nobody's watching you dance hoping to go to sleep.
15:19
SPEAKER_09: And then, but then the opposite, as she said, is giving you full force 100% energy the whole time, which is just sort of unfair to the dancers and I think to the audience as well, because you know, as she said, we are looking for that richness and that those dynamics, and that is truly what the word dynamic means is uh you know different levels and different energies.
15:38
SPEAKER_09: But I did want to counter something you said, Courtney, because I think uh what you said made sense, but I think we can also look at it differently.
15:44
SPEAKER_09: Sometimes if the music is building, you can make a conscious choice to do the opposite of that.
15:50
SPEAKER_09: And if it's conscious and if it's if it's meant to be that way, that is a it's intentional, exactly.
15:56
SPEAKER_09: It's a smart way to choreograph.
15:58
SPEAKER_09: But what I don't think I don't think that happens as often as as it I would like it to.
16:02
SPEAKER_09: Like if you're gonna be intentional about mimicking what is happening in the music, like it has to make sense.
16:08
SPEAKER_09: It doesn't need to be just sort of the default.
16:10
SPEAKER_03: And I feel like that if a dancer is gonna go in that direction that you just described, I have to know prior to that they have an understanding of dynamics before that.
16:18
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
16:19
SPEAKER_03: So I can see the the contrast.
16:21
SPEAKER_03: Because if not, then I'm just gonna kind of be questioning, like, well, why aren't you building with this arc?
16:25
SPEAKER_03: Right.
16:26
SPEAKER_03: But if you've shown me the dynamics prior to, then I'm gonna understand that you really understand your music, you really understand this movement quality, and you do understand dynamics.
16:34
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, and that's you know, that's a mark of a an established, seasoned, excellent choreographer and a dancer who truly does understand it.
16:40
SPEAKER_09: So I you know, I I get why we don't see it that often.
16:43
SPEAKER_09: Right.
16:43
SPEAKER_09: But I think I think sometimes people think they're doing that when really all you're doing is giving me one level and it's boring.
16:50
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
16:50
SPEAKER_09: To be completely honest.
16:51
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it it definitely can get boring.
16:53
SPEAKER_03: And like you said, with the you know, overly energized 110% dance, I I wouldn't mind it if the dancers can actually like follow through with that for all the way to the end.
17:05
SPEAKER_03: Like I love a high-energy routine, but if you're gonna come like charging out the gates, cranked up to 150, if you've dropped it down to 75% by the end, then I'm like, oh, you you gotta you gotta figure out how to maintain that energy and those dynamics from beginning to end.
17:22
SPEAKER_03: You don't want to just enter the stage and like leave it all on the floor too soon, 30 seconds in, you can't breathe your ear.
17:26
SPEAKER_03: And then you're on the floor.
17:28
SPEAKER_03: Literally.
17:29
SPEAKER_03: So it's important to, you know, kind of try to play around with that.
17:32
SPEAKER_03: Even in rehearsal, I think that's the other thing is that a lot of dancers hit the stage and their adrenaline's going and they're so excited and they are nervous and they know they have to like overperform, and then they exude so much energy at the start, and then there's no more, there's not any more chance for dynamics at that point because they don't have any more energy.
17:48
SPEAKER_03: And they, I think that what I'm trying to get at is just to make sure that you're also rehearsing in the studio space the same way that you would try to perform on stage because it can really change how your dynamics are portrayed on stage and what's coming across in the rehearsal space as well.
18:01
SPEAKER_03: It's super important.
18:03
SPEAKER_03: All right, this time we're actually gonna hear from two IDA judges in a row.
18:08
SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to hear what they say.
18:10
SPEAKER_12: Hi everyone, this is IDA Judge Amy from North Carolina, and I would have to say that the critique I've said the most this season is reminding dancers that they need to dance more full body from the top of their head to the tips of their toes.
18:24
SPEAKER_12: Oftentimes I'll see a dancer who's got this great attack in their upper body, but they've forgotten about the positioning of their lower half, or vice versa.
18:33
SPEAKER_12: Their legs have created these beautiful long lines that they've stretched through the back of their knees and pointed their toes, but their arms are a little loose.
18:41
SPEAKER_12: And most importantly, I'm missing the use of the spine fully, the top of the head, that ripple, that release.
18:49
SPEAKER_12: So dancers remember we've got to dance bigger than ourselves.
18:53
SPEAKER_12: We've got to use our entire body, okay?
18:55
SPEAKER_12: Head, shoulders, knees, and toes.
18:58
SPEAKER_12: Thanks, guys.
19:00
SPEAKER_06: Hi, this is IDA Judge Shelly from Philadelphia.
19:03
SPEAKER_06: And one of my most common critiques that I find myself saying a lot is dancing beyond your kinosphere.
19:10
SPEAKER_06: So what the heck is that?
19:11
SPEAKER_06: Your kinosphere is this little bubble that surrounds your body, the area we can reach to.
19:17
SPEAKER_06: But when you're reaching with your back in dance, you always want to reach beyond your body.
19:22
SPEAKER_06: You don't want the energy to stop at the fingers or the toes, you want the energy to go beyond the fingers and beyond the toes and reach past this little personal space bubble.
19:32
SPEAKER_03: So Miss Shelley Figg just introduced us all, probably, or a lot of us, to a brand new word called kenosphere, right?
19:40
SPEAKER_09: Yes, the kenosphere.
19:41
SPEAKER_09: And I even had to look it up because in my college we did not learn labanotation, but that is something I think any of us who have studied more modern dance um in college know about.
19:51
SPEAKER_09: So the k the kenosphere concept comes from the Laban way of thinking about dance in space.
19:58
SPEAKER_09: And so what's what I love about these two critiques that went back to back just now from Amy and Shelly are that they just said the exact same thing in two very different ways.
20:08
SPEAKER_09: So that hopefully if one of them didn't resonate with you, the other did.
20:12
SPEAKER_09: I say that all the time, and the way I talk about it is specifically with the portebra, a curly finger syndrome.
20:18
SPEAKER_09: So if you're doing an arabesque and you're not extending those fingers and extending your line and your fingers are just curling into your hand, that is that is a way that we can figure out how to push past the kinosphere, dance with our whole body, use our back to elongate the line.
20:34
SPEAKER_09: Um so I love those two sort of similar but different ways of thinking about the same thing.
20:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I agree.
20:41
SPEAKER_03: And I think what is so great about how you said that is it's important to remember that this is exactly how all critiques are delivered.
20:49
SPEAKER_03: Every judge is gonna have a different way of stating that critique.
20:54
SPEAKER_03: If they have the same thought, they might say it's slightly different, where one might be a light bulb moment for your dancer.
21:00
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's what's so special about judges and about judging in general, because we all come from different ways of training, but we all may say something just slightly different, but get the same point across where it really makes sense for your dancers or even for the teacher, or another another perspective, another way to look at it.
21:16
SPEAKER_03: So I think that's so great.
21:17
SPEAKER_03: Um, and like you said, Leslie, it's exactly true.
21:19
SPEAKER_03: Like they did say the exact same thing in two different ways, and I am so excited that I learned this new word from Shelly.
21:26
SPEAKER_03: It's it's a really unique word.
21:28
SPEAKER_03: And while she was saying it, it was I I exactly knew what she was talking about.
21:32
SPEAKER_03: I see that dance bubble, and I know I want to reach past the dance bubble.
21:37
SPEAKER_03: Like I want to reach all the way, and I say the same thing all the time.
21:40
SPEAKER_03: I always compare the fingers saying, I'm a huge thicker for fingers.
21:43
SPEAKER_03: If there's not any energy in your fingers, like I don't care because you're you're losing, like, why would you stop the energy at the at the wrist or the knuckle?
21:51
SPEAKER_03: Right.
21:52
SPEAKER_03: It just doesn't make sense to me.
21:53
SPEAKER_03: Like, how can you truly forget about them?
21:54
SPEAKER_03: My little advice with the fingertips is I always compare it to your toes.
21:58
SPEAKER_03: Teachers will always say, Make sure you're pointing your toes.
22:01
SPEAKER_03: Make sure there's energy in your toes.
22:03
SPEAKER_03: The same thing needs to apply to your fingers.
22:04
SPEAKER_03: If your toes weren't pointed in the that beautiful tilt, then the line isn't finished.
22:09
SPEAKER_03: The same thing for the arabesque.
22:10
SPEAKER_03: If your fingers aren't finished in the arabesque, it's not finished.
22:13
SPEAKER_03: The arabesque is not complete.
22:16
SPEAKER_03: So I totally respect these and I think it is important.
22:19
SPEAKER_03: And like Amy said, really making sure that we are articulating through our spine and using having an understanding of that.
22:25
SPEAKER_03: I would highly recommend yoga to a lot of dancers if you haven't explored that yet.
22:29
SPEAKER_03: It'll really get you to understand your body even more, but also find that roll-up and that articulation that we're seeking because it'll just enhance specifically and especially your modern contemporary dance, it's really important to utilize.
22:42
SPEAKER_16: Hi, this is IDA Judge Maddie from Florida.
22:46
SPEAKER_16: And one of the most common corrections that I find myself giving on my critiques is reminding dancers to complete all of their movements.
22:55
SPEAKER_16: So whether it's a lyrical dancer arriving all the way into their extension, reaching further than they thought they could, or if it's a tap dancer finishing out the last heel drop of a phrase before going into a break.
23:09
SPEAKER_16: Make sure that you're always finding that last inch of length and completing that last sound in whatever style you are in.
23:16
SPEAKER_16: And I hope that you all continue to find joy on that stage and have a wonderful end to your season.
23:23
SPEAKER_09: And that was our dear friend and amazing coworker, Maddie Kurtz, coming to you from Jacksonville, Florida.
23:29
SPEAKER_09: We are so grateful to have Maddie on the team for many things, but also for these amazing critiques that she gives all the time, like this one.
23:37
SPEAKER_09: And yeah, this one is similar to the last ones we've been talking about.
23:39
SPEAKER_09: We're talking about movement quality.
23:41
SPEAKER_09: And again, here's another person saying the same thing we just said.
23:44
SPEAKER_09: Finish your movements, reach further than you can.
23:47
SPEAKER_09: And I think I like that she brought up tap.
23:49
SPEAKER_09: Me too.
23:50
SPEAKER_09: Because I really feel like it happens.
23:53
SPEAKER_09: People, and and especially with musicality, you know, if you're not finishing the phrase, then you are going to be off the music.
24:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
24:00
SPEAKER_09: You know, you have to get that heel drop in there.
24:02
SPEAKER_09: And I always talk about drop your heel like you care.
24:06
SPEAKER_09: You know, because a lot of times, you know, especially with a lot of rhythm tap these days, heel drops are an integral part to whatever rhythm it is you're creating.
24:12
SPEAKER_09: And if you're just sort of like dude, like you can't you can't drop your heel like that.
24:16
SPEAKER_09: It has to finish, it has to bookend the phrase, like she said.
24:20
SPEAKER_09: So I love that she brought up tap.
24:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I agree.
24:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm really, really glad that she brought up tap as well, even though Maddie is Miss Contemporary Modern Queen.
24:28
SPEAKER_03: She cares about the tap too.
24:30
SPEAKER_03: And I care about the tap if you've heard me talk about it on the pod.
24:34
SPEAKER_03: And I think what she mentioned as far as finishing the movement, she also in tap specifically, like you said, Leslie, it also needs to go with the musicality.
24:43
SPEAKER_03: So many times do I see dancers have great footwork in tap, and then they're whatever the rhythm that the choreographer gave them is supposed to end on count seven and hold on count eight and then start on count one, but people don't like to hold.
25:00
SPEAKER_03: No, they don't we don't like to hold.
25:01
SPEAKER_03: They don't like the silence.
25:03
SPEAKER_03: Your feet are moving a mile a minute, you're so excited about all this intricate footwork that you're doing, and you do not want to hold on count eight, but you have to, you literally have to, or you're gonna be off the music.
25:13
SPEAKER_03: And you're you may have finished technically, you may have finished all the steps, but you didn't finish them with the musicality.
25:20
SPEAKER_03: You didn't finish the phrase because the phrase can include the silence on eight.
25:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
25:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
25:24
SPEAKER_03: So I think that's really important, specifically geared to our tappers, when we are talking about finishing the movement, because your musicality goes hand in hand with how great your sounds are and how well you may be executing the tap steps.
25:38
SPEAKER_03: If the musicality isn't there and your timing and tempo is off, it really takes me out of it.
25:44
SPEAKER_03: And to be completely honest, I'm gonna take points off for tap because they you can't have one and the other.
25:48
SPEAKER_03: It has to be both.
25:49
SPEAKER_09: Well, and that kind of thing is, you know, your choreographer put that in there for a reason.
25:54
SPEAKER_09: That was a a skill that they thought was going to be beneficial to you.
25:58
SPEAKER_09: To here we go, I'm gonna put in this pause, I'm gonna put in this count of silence to challenge them because it is, it is hard.
26:04
SPEAKER_09: You know, when you are going a mile a minute, and you know, it is impressive to hear fancy fast footwork and intricate rhythms, but I also really, really want to hear the silence.
26:14
SPEAKER_09: And so, like you said, we will take points off because we know it was put in there for a reason.
26:19
SPEAKER_09: That wasn't a mistake.
26:20
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, you know, and and especially if if you have a really good tap judge or a very good musical judge, they hear what it was supposed to be.
26:27
SPEAKER_09: They know what it was supposed to be, but you just didn't execute it.
26:29
SPEAKER_09: Exactly.
26:30
SPEAKER_09: So I have to take points off.
26:31
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
26:31
SPEAKER_03: And I always applaud the dancers that do, even if, let's say, the eight count phrase that they were doing, they sped up in, but they actually know that there's that hold at the end and they're gonna actually wait until count one to start the next phrase.
26:44
SPEAKER_03: I will always applaud them for that.
26:46
SPEAKER_03: For sure.
26:46
SPEAKER_03: Because I'm like, okay, thank you.
26:48
SPEAKER_03: Instead of charging ahead, yeah, you actually are you got you got back on beat, we regrouped, and we're ready for this next eight count.
26:54
SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much, you know, because that really says a lot for the dancer to understand, oh shoot, I'm early.
26:59
SPEAKER_03: Right.
26:59
SPEAKER_03: Okay, hold on, I'm gonna wait here, and here's the downbeat on the one.
27:02
SPEAKER_03: And you know what I mean?
27:03
SPEAKER_03: I that's a smart tapper.
27:05
SPEAKER_03: So yay, we're talking about tap for a minute.
27:07
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
27:08
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, the like like Maddie said in regards to the the other styles, this can absolutely be applied to all styles as far as finishing through all of your steps.
27:16
SPEAKER_03: I can and I really think this goes very much with musicality, just finishing through the movement all the way.
27:21
SPEAKER_03: If if the if the reach is supposed to reach for four counts, don't reach for three and stop the reach.
27:28
SPEAKER_03: Keep it growing, keep reaching further and fill that music all the way.
27:31
SPEAKER_09: It's similar to backphrasing in in singing, because you can push, like I would rather you not stop early.
27:39
SPEAKER_09: I would rather you push forward into the next phrase and then have to rush a little bit to the next one because that shows me that you finished something.
27:47
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, you didn't finish it early.
27:49
SPEAKER_09: Um, and you hear it in music all the time as well.
27:51
SPEAKER_09: And now do I want that all the time?
27:52
SPEAKER_09: No, because that gets I it gets old.
27:54
SPEAKER_09: But at least it at least I know that you can finish a movement.
27:57
SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much to all of our judges who have given us these great, great critiques so far.
28:03
SPEAKER_03: And we have a few more left in this episode, actually, quite a few more left.
28:08
SPEAKER_03: And we're gonna start talking about technique now.
28:11
SPEAKER_07: So let's hear from IDA Judge Christina.
28:14
SPEAKER_07: Hi there, this is IDA Judge Christina coming to you from Los Angeles.
28:18
SPEAKER_07: One of the most common corrections that I give, particularly when I'm adjudicating contemporary dance, is to use your plie.
28:24
SPEAKER_07: Ground down through the legs, drop the weight, drop the pelvis, and use your plie so you can come from a place of power, particularly in your transitions.
28:33
SPEAKER_07: And that's one of my most common corrections.
28:36
SPEAKER_04: Use your plie.
28:40
SPEAKER_04: Your bestest, bestest, bestest friend.
28:43
SPEAKER_04: You should never be separated.
28:44
unknown: Ever.
28:46
SPEAKER_09: Thank you, Christina.
28:47
SPEAKER_09: Um, this is we have, we were just talking.
28:49
SPEAKER_09: We have many Christinas.
28:50
SPEAKER_09: This is Christina Dempsey from Los Angeles, and I totally agree.
28:54
SPEAKER_09: And what's interesting about this particular critique in terms of um contemporary dance in plie is that you can really tell, and I have been, I won't even say guilty of this, but like I did not train in contemporary dance.
29:07
SPEAKER_09: So that dropped feeling in plie, it feels very foreign and looks very foreign on people who don't train that way.
29:16
SPEAKER_09: Um so I can I can at least speak from experience to say that like that that takes work to use your plie in that way well.
29:24
SPEAKER_09: So if you're not already doing that, if you're not already training in that way, seek out an opportunity to train um with that kind of grounded low plie because we don't get that in other styles, I don't think.
29:36
SPEAKER_09: Um it's very specific to contemporary dance.
29:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
29:41
SPEAKER_03: And I I do feel like I see it, see it more often.
29:44
SPEAKER_03: I think it comes from a very like modern-based background with that grounded dropped pelvis.
29:50
SPEAKER_03: And I love I love me a plie.
29:53
SPEAKER_03: And I as I was thinking about you know how what my response was going to be to uh Christina's critique, I was thinking to myself, we use our plie in every style of dance.
30:05
SPEAKER_03: You use it in tap, you use it in ballet, hello, you use it in contemporary, you use it in lyrical, use it in jazz, and then I started thinking about hip-hop.
30:15
SPEAKER_03: And I learned this season that on our hip-hop episode, if you haven't listened to it, you need to go back and listen to it, that we do not say use your plie in hip-hop.
30:25
SPEAKER_09: Right.
30:25
SPEAKER_09: Thank you, thank you to John and Voltaire for schooling us on that.
30:30
SPEAKER_09: Um you use the same intention, I think.
30:34
SPEAKER_09: I think there is a similar feeling, but the word is not the same.
30:39
SPEAKER_09: Plie doesn't apply to hip-hop.
30:41
SPEAKER_09: It's more of a groove, it's a bounce, it is a a uh not a weakening, but a um a softening of the knees.
30:48
SPEAKER_09: But you're right, in in in no style of of dance that we talk about, you know, on this podcast, are you ever asked to lock your knees?
30:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
30:58
SPEAKER_09: You know, yeah, we want a straight knee when you when you finish your plie, sure.
31:01
SPEAKER_09: We want a straight leg when you do a PK arabesque.
31:04
SPEAKER_05: Right.
31:05
SPEAKER_09: But even still, I'm not asking you to lock your knees.
31:07
SPEAKER_09: Right.
31:08
SPEAKER_09: You know, there's there always has to be an activation and a softening of that particular part of your body because dance is not static.
31:15
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, dance moves.
31:16
SPEAKER_09: So that's a really good point.
31:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I feel like that so many times when I teach, especially because I primarily teach jazz.
31:25
SPEAKER_03: And so many times when I teach, even if I'm in the front demonstrating and dancers can see my knees and see my stance has a slight bend to it.
31:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I still have to remind them make sure your knee is slightly bent or make sure that you're maintaining your plie for this.
31:39
SPEAKER_03: Look at your standing leg.
31:40
SPEAKER_03: Is it in plie?
31:41
SPEAKER_03: No, it's not.
31:42
SPEAKER_03: It's never in plie.
31:43
SPEAKER_03: It's never in plie, it's literally locked out, and I'm like, how are you standing like that?
31:46
SPEAKER_03: Like you, your connection to the floor, it makes you more stabilized.
31:50
SPEAKER_03: And it and it just, I always use the analogy of thinking that your feet are is like a tree trunk and that your foot is, you know, really connected and grounded.
32:00
SPEAKER_03: Or sometimes, um, if I want you to stay grounded in your standing leg, but use your other leg that your standing leg is stuck in cement and it can't move around, so you have to use your plie to be able to utilize the other leg.
32:12
SPEAKER_03: There's so many times when you know we we need to be utilizing our plie more.
32:17
SPEAKER_03: I always say, when in doubt, plie it out, so make sure you do it, y'all.
32:20
SPEAKER_03: Use your plie.
32:26
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32:29
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32:30
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32:35
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32:41
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32:44
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32:47
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32:49
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32:50
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32:55
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32:59
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33:02
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33:07
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33:09
SPEAKER_03: D-A-N-C-E-H-A-N-G-E.
33:17
SPEAKER_03: We have some more technique advice coming to you from IDA Judge Holly.
33:22
SPEAKER_14: Hi, this is IDA Judge Holly from Maine.
33:26
SPEAKER_14: One of the most common judge critiques that I give when I am at the panel is I see a lot of por-debras beginning from the shoulders.
33:35
SPEAKER_14: What I love to see is when you can engage your triceps, engage your lats, and let those larger muscles support any porta-bra that you bring.
33:46
SPEAKER_14: It's so much stronger and so much more aesthetically pleasing.
33:51
SPEAKER_03: I couldn't love this critique more because I feel like I also say this so often on my critiques when I'm judging.
33:58
SPEAKER_03: And I think this goes hand in hand with some of the movement quality critiques that some of our earlier judges talked about about reaching further and past where you want.
34:05
SPEAKER_03: But all we have to remember that all of our arm movements most of the time always start from our back.
34:12
SPEAKER_03: Our back should be engaged.
34:14
SPEAKER_03: And I really feel like that the only way, not the only way, I'm not gonna say the only way, but I feel like that you really learn this from the ballet bar.
34:24
SPEAKER_03: I think the the amount of portabras we do at the ballet bar over and over and over for our plies, for our tondus, for everything, fondues, ranachams, you name it, you're using your arms and you're using your portabras.
34:35
SPEAKER_03: And in your understanding of how to really roll the shoulders down and press into your lats and your back and really press that down, the engagement that needs to happen, I can really see the difference from dancers who train hard at the ballet bar when they hit the stage in lyrical versus dancers who are just kind of possibly going through the motions in ballet and not really engaging the proper muscles to, you know, achieve the best results.
34:59
SPEAKER_09: Right.
34:59
SPEAKER_09: Because when you're at bar, if you're doing a full 45-minute full bar, plie to grand bot mas, your your back should be on fire.
35:08
SPEAKER_09: You know, and it and it it's gonna engage obviously your triceps, like Holly said, um, and other muscles in your arm proper, but it's really your lats.
35:16
SPEAKER_09: And when we s when we say lats, I feel like sometimes we spit that word out because we know what we're talking about, but that's a very physiological, anatomical word.
35:26
SPEAKER_09: And so your lats are the biggest muscle in your back, they control what your whole shoulder girdle does.
35:33
SPEAKER_09: Wow.
35:34
SPEAKER_09: And they they have a lot of influence in the movement of your scapula.
35:37
SPEAKER_09: And so, you know, I've my my personal dream my whole life is to have scapula that stick out because I think it's so beautiful.
35:44
SPEAKER_09: Um, but in reality, you want your scapula to be flat and down and engaged, and that's why we always, you know, a lot of times in yoga, as Courtney talked about earlier, um, in jazz, we ask you to roll your shoulders up, down, and back because that places everything properly back there.
36:00
SPEAKER_09: And and when we're at the ballet bar and we're doing all that portabra, if all of those muscles back there aren't firing and aren't working, you're not gonna feel it.
36:08
SPEAKER_09: And then that's not gonna translate into your center work, into your choreography.
36:12
SPEAKER_09: So don't don't poop out at the ballet bar and put your hand on your hip when your arm gets tired.
36:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
36:16
SPEAKER_09: Because those must you are working those muscles, and the only way they're gonna get strong is if you use them.
36:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
36:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like you said, your arms should be burning.
36:25
SPEAKER_03: They should.
36:25
SPEAKER_03: If they're they're being held in second position in the proper way with the proper, properly engaged back muscles working correctly, then your arm should be burning by the time you get off the ballet bar.
36:35
SPEAKER_03: Not just your legs and not just your hip or whatever you know else that you're working on at ballet, which is a full body workout.
36:42
SPEAKER_03: Let's be real.
36:42
SPEAKER_09: Wait, you you don't need to go lift 145 pounds at CrossFit.
36:46
SPEAKER_09: You can just do a ballet bar properly and you will be fine.
36:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
36:50
SPEAKER_03: But I think it's it's also important to remember that your arms and your support from your back is not only applied in ballet, but because of the hard work that you put in that from ballet bar, it's going to translate into your classic jazz, your fierce sassy jazz, your um tap porta as well, especially if you're doing classic tap.
37:10
SPEAKER_03: I've also seen dancers who are doing more rhythm tap that also don't have any engagement in their arms and they're just kind of like loose noodles at the bottom.
37:17
SPEAKER_03: I think that again, you have to understand where does where do the arms start.
37:21
SPEAKER_03: And if you're engaged from starting that engagement from your back, then the arms will always have a place.
37:26
SPEAKER_03: They don't need to be like stiff and robotic and like tensed up the whole time, but they they at least need to have an engaged spot.
37:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
37:32
SPEAKER_09: And that even goes into just your posture in general.
37:35
SPEAKER_09: I mean, just as human beings, we should all have better posture just because we sit in front of a computer or a phone all day.
37:40
SPEAKER_09: But it's the same, it's all those muscles back there that are that are holding your body together and holding your body up that that have to be worked out and used.
37:48
SPEAKER_09: And and does it hurt?
37:49
SPEAKER_09: Yes.
37:50
SPEAKER_09: And does it burn?
37:50
SPEAKER_09: Yes.
37:51
SPEAKER_09: But those are good things.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: This is IDA Judge Tommy from Brooklyn, New York.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: One of my biggest critiques, I think, is having to explain to the dancers to make sure that when they are doing a PK turn or any type of PK, that they actually dart out and travel.
38:08
SPEAKER_00: Now, the reason why I wanted to mention this is because it goes into a larger issue that I see with dancers.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: They don't know how to actually take up and fulfill the space that they need to.
38:17
SPEAKER_00: I equate it to uh walking.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: Dancing should feel like walking.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: If you have a nice long gate when you walk, you should also have that when you're dancing.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: Dancers don't actually take up the space that they need to to actually fulfill movement.
38:31
SPEAKER_09: Thank you, Tommy.
38:33
SPEAKER_09: Um, Tommy is one of our judges that teaches at the collegiate level, so we are super happy to have his expertise on the roster.
38:40
SPEAKER_09: And I love what he said about the pique turn darting.
38:43
SPEAKER_09: Like what a great adjective for a pique turn.
38:46
SPEAKER_09: Because I see this uh often as well, is dancers oftentimes want to step under themselves almost to pique turn, and you know, hearkening back to the kinosphere, you got a pique turn outside of your kinosphere, you know?
39:00
SPEAKER_09: Yeah and and and there's a fine line because you can't go too far because then you can't get your whole body over to center yourself over that standing leg.
39:07
SPEAKER_09: But you also can't get underneath yourself because then you're not going anywhere.
39:10
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, you have to travel.
39:11
SPEAKER_09: You have to travel, but there it it really is that learning curve of okay, how far can I dart and also get my whole body over there at the same time?
39:19
SPEAKER_09: Because there there are times when if you overshot it, you're you're gonna be on that weird diagonal, you know, uh non-centered plane, and and it's not gonna happen.
39:28
SPEAKER_09: So it is something to work towards because it doesn't happen overnight, you know, with PK turns.
39:33
SPEAKER_09: There's so much that goes on in a PK turn with spotting, with balance, with releve, with hip placement, uh any number of things.
39:40
SPEAKER_09: But I do love that because it does lead into what else he was talking about with taking up space.
39:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
39:46
SPEAKER_03: I'm just thinking of piques in general, they don't even have to have the rotation.
39:50
SPEAKER_03: They can be a pique airbusque, a pique passe, a pique turn, a any type of pique.
39:56
SPEAKER_03: I I as a judge want to know that you can push off your standing leg that comes from a plie.
40:02
SPEAKER_03: Don't forget we love a plie, and really present.
40:06
SPEAKER_03: I want to see the presentation of that leg line and foot rotated, most likely if you're doing any type of pique.
40:13
SPEAKER_03: There can be parallel piques, but rotated preferably if we're in lyrical or ballet, and definitely if we're in ballet, there's no choice, you don't get to be parallel.
40:23
SPEAKER_03: And really understanding how do we present the foot.
40:26
SPEAKER_03: And when once we've presented it, we're automatically going to pique and push off the standing onto it and travel automatically because you extended that leg not underneath yourself, you extended it out.
40:38
SPEAKER_03: So you have to go to the leg.
40:40
SPEAKER_10: Right.
40:40
SPEAKER_03: One thing that I think about when I think of piques in general, not just turns, but I think about the point category.
40:46
SPEAKER_03: Oh, totally.
40:47
SPEAKER_03: And I think about how often there are dancers who I see on point who haven't really even mastered a pique in flat, and I can tell because they're instead of actually showing, doing exactly what I just described and piquing up onto a sh from onto a straight leg from a plie, they're popping the ball, the the shoe, the box of the shoe on the top of the toe, and then it's bent and then they straighten the leg.
41:14
SPEAKER_03: What is that?
41:15
SPEAKER_03: And that's not a pique at all.
41:17
SPEAKER_03: I don't know what that is.
41:18
SPEAKER_03: No, and that for me, I kind of just cringe in my seat when I see that in point dances because that shows and tells me you haven't mastered a a regular pique yet.
41:27
SPEAKER_03: Right.
41:28
SPEAKER_03: And if I this might be too advanced for you, and a pique is kind of almost basic, you know, w if we're thinking about ballet and you the different steps that we do.
41:37
SPEAKER_03: You've been doing piques since you were probably seven years old, even at the ballet bar, just pique passe and traveling down the bar, you know.
41:44
SPEAKER_03: So if someone that is on point doesn't understand the like you know, the mechanics of how to do it while adding the addition of a point shoe to it, then maybe we have to take the point shoes off, go back to basics, and make sure we're peaking up onto a straight leg.
41:58
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
41:58
SPEAKER_03: Which you'll automatically travel if you're doing that.
42:00
SPEAKER_09: Right, if you're doing it right.
42:01
SPEAKER_09: I mean, I just I just think of like cutting under almost like a cutting under like a karate chop of your leg, and that's what I see more often in in non-point related dances, because I definitely know what you mean with the just like the step up, and it's like that's not a thing, please stop.
42:15
SPEAKER_03: Right, because you're cause yeah, because I can see what you're saying now, because even if they are like everything's ready and the PK looks like it's gonna happen, but then instead they don't go to the leg, they like cut it under and replace the standing leg almost.
42:27
SPEAKER_09: And I'm like, if you were gonna do a lame duck, there's some there's there's that mechanism that happened happens then, but that's a whole different thing.
42:33
SPEAKER_09: So yeah, the PK conversation is an excellent one.
42:36
SPEAKER_09: And then moving into Tommy's other point, uh, that just that led into or that led out of that conversation, take up space.
42:43
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, it seems like a lot of judges want us to just take up the space, y'all.
42:47
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, and I don't know whether it's you know, this is definitely a correction that I've given for years.
42:52
SPEAKER_09: So this is not a pandemic-related we all danced in the living room correction.
42:55
SPEAKER_09: Like that it's not specific to this year because of that.
42:58
SPEAKER_09: Maybe it's more because of that, but you know, there's there's a difference between taking up space and being in someone's way, you know, by taking up too much space.
43:10
SPEAKER_09: And I think, you know, there is a difference, and that's the second one's not what we want.
43:14
SPEAKER_09: I don't want you to be unaware of your space.
43:17
SPEAKER_09: Spatially unaware.
43:18
SPEAKER_09: Exactly, and unaware of the people around you, and you know, but as a soloist, you gotta take up space.
43:24
SPEAKER_09: You can't it and then speaking to the kinosphere.
43:26
SPEAKER_09: Yeah you have to get outside of your kinosphere to take up space.
43:30
SPEAKER_03: But then you should be using your kinosphere when you're in a group routine so you maintain your spatial awareness and are dancing in the proper formations.
43:39
SPEAKER_03: That's a good point to as to like when we should be using it is know what you're where your bubble is, and know that you're not you know overstepping out of your bubble when you're in a group routine where you might step out of formation or step out of line, or because you're over dancing, you're dancing too big.
43:56
SPEAKER_04: Right.
43:56
SPEAKER_03: So it sounds a little contradictory, but you kind of have to know.
44:00
SPEAKER_03: When to really and like as a group, we can take up space collectively together, but we have to like be a flock of birds and move together as one.
44:08
SPEAKER_03: Right.
44:09
SPEAKER_03: We have two IDA judges sharing their critiques next.
44:13
SPEAKER_03: So let's hear what they have to say.
44:15
SPEAKER_08: Hi everyone, this is IDA judge Chloe from California.
44:19
SPEAKER_08: And the most common correction that I give dancers at competition is thinking about how you are getting to and from the floor.
44:26
SPEAKER_08: So making sure that if your dancer is doing a roll to the floor, that their feet and ankles are nicely placed, that the angle of the roll is nicely placed, and then the same thing for when they're standing up.
44:36
SPEAKER_08: Making sure that if they need to stand up on a turned-out foot and leg, that they are nicely placed.
44:41
SPEAKER_08: So just being super clear and clean about those transitions to and from the floor.
44:46
SPEAKER_18: Hey everyone, this is IDA Judge Rachel Gentry from Jacksonville, North Carolina, and I'm going to share a few of the most common critiques I give at dance competitions.
44:57
SPEAKER_18: First is a pretty specific one, but I give it all the time.
45:02
SPEAKER_18: I am such a sickler for dancers who continue to point their feet even when they're doing floor work.
45:10
SPEAKER_18: I think sometimes when we go into the floor, we tend to just lose all sense of technique.
45:15
SPEAKER_18: Where really the floor is just another area, another space for us to dance and explore in.
45:22
SPEAKER_18: So I'm always encouraging dancers to remember that they have to stretch those feet doing floor work.
45:27
SPEAKER_18: We have to make sure we keep a tall spine and posture.
45:30
SPEAKER_18: And we anytime we go into the floor, we can't lose all of our energy.
45:34
SPEAKER_18: We have to continue to keep it strong in our core.
45:37
SPEAKER_18: So work on that floor work.
45:38
SPEAKER_18: Don't lose the technique in the floor.
45:41
SPEAKER_03: Floor work.
45:42
SPEAKER_03: That is what we're talking about.
45:44
SPEAKER_03: And if you've ever had me as a judge, I will always catch that heel leading you off the floor.
45:53
SPEAKER_03: If you are going from a roll to standing and you decide to lead with that heel, I will always catch you.
46:02
SPEAKER_03: Make sure that you're always pointing that toe, toe ball heel off the floor.
46:06
SPEAKER_03: And it sounds like that Rachel and Chloe both agree that we can't forget about our feet when we get to the floor.
46:13
SPEAKER_09: No, and they're so small.
46:15
SPEAKER_09: Just if you just they're just right there.
46:17
SPEAKER_09: They're attached to your leg.
46:18
SPEAKER_09: Let's not forget about them.
46:20
SPEAKER_09: And if you if you have me as a judge, similarly to Courtney, my biggest floor work, pet peeve, is if somebody is on a knee doing an extension with their other leg, the the foot that is connected to the knee that is on the floor has got to be completely flat.
46:34
SPEAKER_09: The top of that foot's gotta be flat on the floor when you're nearly.
46:43
SPEAKER_09: Otherwise, it just looks gross.
46:45
SPEAKER_09: It just looks gross.
46:46
SPEAKER_09: It's not right.
46:47
SPEAKER_09: It means you're not thinking about that foot.
46:49
SPEAKER_09: And if you would flatten it down, it would be so helpful to you because that's also gonna ground that leg in that position and pressing that into the floor to allow the rest of your body to pull up and lengthen and extend the leg.
47:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think it just comes from lack of articulation in the ankle at that point.
47:08
SPEAKER_03: If we do see that, which I'm so glad you brought that up, because I'm I'm sure so many dancers and so many teachers may even think, Well, why are you even looking at that leg?
47:18
SPEAKER_03: You should be looking at the leg and the extension.
47:19
SPEAKER_03: And I'm always not.
47:20
SPEAKER_04: Never looking at your extension.
47:22
SPEAKER_03: I'm never looking at your extension leg because that's what you want me to look at.
47:25
SPEAKER_03: Right.
47:26
SPEAKER_03: You told that line is pretty and you're showing it off, but I'm making sure that everything else looks right.
47:31
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
47:31
SPEAKER_03: And then my eye just boom goes straight to the crunchy ankle that's on the ground that's not, yeah.
47:38
SPEAKER_03: Anything.
47:38
SPEAKER_03: It I think it's because I can tell that the dancer's thinking.
47:41
SPEAKER_03: Usually what happens, it's not like the foot is flexed on the ground.
47:44
SPEAKER_03: Usually it's like a an in-between, like like a little bit of an ankle flex, but the toes are trying to point.
47:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
47:51
SPEAKER_03: And it's kind of like this crunchy ankle.
47:52
SPEAKER_09: It's crunchy.
47:53
SPEAKER_09: It's crunchy.
47:54
SPEAKER_09: That's what it is.
47:54
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, it's crunchy.
47:55
SPEAKER_09: And it's unhelpful because none none of that is gonna help you stabilize that standing leg, which is the leg that you're kneeling on.
48:02
SPEAKER_09: And so again, we're tricky.
48:04
SPEAKER_09: We are I'm never looking at your leg in that position ever.
48:07
SPEAKER_09: I'm looking at the bottom leg.
48:08
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
48:09
SPEAKER_09: And I'm also looking at your your hand pressing into the floor, extending, pressing that shoulder down and not letting it crunch up near your ear.
48:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
48:16
SPEAKER_09: Because there's also that.
48:18
SPEAKER_03: All the things that you don't think that we're looking at, we're looking at.
48:21
SPEAKER_03: And that just I and I'm so glad you brought that up too, the standing arm.
48:25
SPEAKER_03: I say that all the time.
48:26
SPEAKER_03: And to all of my dancers who are listening who love a floor work moment, you better make sure that you're doing push-ups and planks 24-7.
48:34
SPEAKER_03: Anytime there's a floor work moment, even if it's something as simple as left knee is on the ground, right leg's in a leg catch extension, and your left hand is pushing into the standing ground, that is essentially a side plank position.
48:46
SPEAKER_03: Right.
48:46
SPEAKER_03: And you don't even know.
48:48
SPEAKER_03: So I always demonstrate that and put in let dancers visually understand that if you aren't comfortable doing a side plank, then how are you going to be comfortable doing a lit holding your leg in the sky?
48:59
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you're making it 10 times harder.
49:01
SPEAKER_03: And if your standing arm is collapsing, then you're just showing lack of the muscles that I need to see engaged to execute this properly.
49:08
SPEAKER_03: So to help you all with all of your floor work moments, make sure we're working on our upper body strength, which for some of our littles might be terrifying.
49:16
SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, push-ups, but you gotta do it because it'll just it'll only help you succeed more on the floor.
49:22
SPEAKER_03: And we love floor work these days.
49:24
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, it's very popular.
49:25
SPEAKER_09: You could have a whole dance to floor work, and sometimes you do.
49:28
SPEAKER_03: Dance is very influenced by acro these days, and we're incorporating a lot of acro elements into our dancing in all styles, and that's a whole nother topic.
49:36
SPEAKER_03: Go listen to our acro episode.
49:39
SPEAKER_03: But you have to make sure that with that being said, that you're utilizing that upper body strength from acro class in your contemporary and lyrical floor work or acro elements that you're using, but also applying the ballet technique to the acro elements as well.
49:55
SPEAKER_03: And this all goes hand in hand with floor work.
49:57
SPEAKER_03: Floor work can be at this point chin stands, which is an acro element, but we see it all the time.
50:02
SPEAKER_03: Floor work.
50:03
SPEAKER_03: Um, one of the starburst jumps off the floor, that's a floor work moment.
50:06
SPEAKER_03: Make sure your feet are pointed, make sure your leg lines are straight, pull up in the kneecap, apply the same elements.
50:12
SPEAKER_03: Like Chloe said, don't let your technique drop when you get on the floor.
50:15
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's so important.
50:16
SPEAKER_03: You have to really make sure that it all that hard work at standing at the ballet bar is included once your booty hits the ground and you're rolling around down there.
50:25
SPEAKER_09: Yes.
50:25
SPEAKER_09: And including, you know, and I know that our our two lovely judges were really more speaking about um feet and and footwork on your floor work, but we can't forget your posture, your upper body, even just pulling up and out of your hips.
50:41
SPEAKER_09: Like, you know, there's there's so many times when even when you're just teaching littles and we're talking about sitting in a straddle position, and you know, I always talk about find your sits bones, find the find the pointy spots on your bum.
50:53
SPEAKER_09: Like that's where we want to be.
50:54
SPEAKER_09: But then you get into the floor work and they're collapsing down and they're they're sitting on the the fatty parts of their bum.
50:59
SPEAKER_09: We all have it, and that's not where we should be.
51:01
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, you know, but that's again engaging all of those ballet muscles and all of the muscles that we use in standing training when we're sitting.
51:08
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
51:09
SPEAKER_03: Also, P.S.
51:10
SPEAKER_03: I think Rachel has a little bit more to say from her critique.
51:14
SPEAKER_03: Let's see what else she has for us.
51:17
SPEAKER_18: And then my other critique is about wings in tap dance.
51:21
SPEAKER_18: If intermediate and advanced tap dancers are executing wings properly, they're gonna be starting from the balls of the feet in a forced arch position.
51:29
SPEAKER_18: And that is a position that I unfortunately am missing a lot and looking for when someone is doing a wing.
51:35
SPEAKER_18: If you're trying a flat-footed wing, that's really hard to get all the sounds super clearly.
51:41
SPEAKER_18: And a dancer doing their wings on the balls of the feet is much more successful.
51:46
SPEAKER_18: So really get up on the balls of those feet in tap dance, especially during wings.
51:51
SPEAKER_09: Wings, man.
51:53
SPEAKER_09: If if there's ever been a step that people want to do in tap, it's a wing.
51:58
SPEAKER_09: They love a wing.
51:59
SPEAKER_09: They love a wing.
51:59
SPEAKER_09: It's like I right now, I think it's a tie between between the wing and the shigybop.
52:03
SPEAKER_09: Shiggy bop is like the new wing.
52:04
SPEAKER_09: Folks love a shiggy bop.
52:05
SPEAKER_03: I never learned a shiggy bop.
52:06
SPEAKER_03: I didn't either.
52:07
SPEAKER_03: It's I mean, it's not new, but it feels new.
52:09
SPEAKER_03: It's it it's new to the comp scene.
52:11
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, I think that's what it is.
52:13
SPEAKER_09: I definitely think but wings have been around.
52:15
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
52:15
SPEAKER_09: You know, wing wings are the flash step of the ages.
52:18
SPEAKER_09: Everybody loves a wing.
52:19
SPEAKER_09: There's a bazillion ways ways and methods to do wings.
52:22
SPEAKER_09: But you know, she's Rachel is correct.
52:24
SPEAKER_09: That forced arch position is necessary.
52:27
SPEAKER_09: And you know what's interesting is that I don't know that that was really necessarily part of my wing training.
52:35
SPEAKER_09: Because a forced arch position is is a jazz position.
52:38
SPEAKER_09: Right.
52:38
SPEAKER_09: That's what I'm thinking too.
52:39
SPEAKER_09: So I'm kind of wondering like if we were really trying to be correct about the methodology of getting to that place to be able to do a proper wing, like it starts in jazz class, because we have to find that forced arch.
52:49
SPEAKER_09: Which I never see anymore.
52:51
SPEAKER_09: No, thank you for that.
52:52
SPEAKER_03: I I miss forced arch in general.
52:54
SPEAKER_09: I need some forced arch in my life.
52:56
SPEAKER_03: And I feel like they're like really lazy forced arch.
52:58
SPEAKER_03: And I think it's because also we have really lazy relevance.
53:01
SPEAKER_09: Correct.
53:01
SPEAKER_09: It's all related.
53:02
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
53:03
SPEAKER_09: The laziness is all related.
53:04
SPEAKER_09: But yeah, that four-starch position, it's imperative because it gets your heels out of the way.
53:09
SPEAKER_09: The position is such that there are no heels involved at all.
53:13
SPEAKER_09: So if you are starting and ending your wing in the correct position, your heels will never touch the floor.
53:19
SPEAKER_09: And so there's a strength element involved in holding a four-starch for that long.
53:23
SPEAKER_09: So, you know, you're looking at that.
53:25
SPEAKER_09: But then, you know, just wing training is it just takes time.
53:28
SPEAKER_09: There's no magical formula or overnight success story with a wing.
53:32
SPEAKER_09: It, you know, it has to do with the dexterity of your ankle, the flexibility of your ankle, the strength of your ankle.
53:37
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
53:38
SPEAKER_09: There's so much that goes into it, which is why it's an advanced step.
53:41
SPEAKER_03: Right.
53:41
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
53:42
SPEAKER_03: Because if you need to be taking off from a force arch, you already have to understand your articulation in your ankle before you can even attempt a wing.
53:51
SPEAKER_03: If you if you haven't perfected the force arch position in jazz or in tap or wherever, then I don't think we should be doing wings yet.
53:59
SPEAKER_03: Because a wing does not.
54:01
SPEAKER_03: I don't really think ever.
54:03
SPEAKER_03: If some tap expert is out there and you're gonna tell me I'm wrong, I apologize.
54:08
SPEAKER_03: But I don't think a wing ever starts from a flat foot.
54:12
SPEAKER_09: No, never in my experience it has.
54:15
SPEAKER_09: I mean, I've never learned it like that.
54:16
SPEAKER_09: Maybe maybe if you were trying to go for some kind of accent at the end, you know, like ending on a flat wing and just landing flat, maybe, but that would be an artistic choice.
54:28
SPEAKER_09: That would not be how to teach a wing.
54:29
SPEAKER_09: But it wouldn't take off from a flat foot.
54:31
SPEAKER_09: No.
54:32
SPEAKER_09: No, I guess it no.
54:33
unknown: No?
54:34
SPEAKER_09: No.
54:35
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
54:35
SPEAKER_09: So I don't see why you would.
54:37
SPEAKER_09: I don't that that's one of those things like we have this sort of dance teacher argument all the time about how to properly prep place your feet for a pirouette.
54:45
SPEAKER_09: And and some people are still, for whatever reason, arguing for the um heel down in the back.
54:51
SPEAKER_09: And and listen, maybe you can do that.
54:54
SPEAKER_09: Maybe that is anatomically possible.
54:56
SPEAKER_09: It is not for me, my Achilles doesn't do that.
54:58
SPEAKER_09: But aren't you just making it harder for yourself by forcing that heel down?
55:03
SPEAKER_09: And I think similarly here, sure, maybe maybe somebody out there can do a really great wing taken off from a flat foot.
55:11
SPEAKER_09: But isn't that harder?
55:12
SPEAKER_09: Doesn't that go against how you would need to execute more advanced wings when you're talking about splatter wings and single wings and wings with all kinds of other stuff involved?
55:23
SPEAKER_09: I think it's you know, some of these things, one of those things that we say all the time, just because you can do it doesn't mean you should.
55:30
SPEAKER_09: And that is one of that is one of the things I think when when I'm talking we're talking about wings here, it's like, listen, I think we gotta make things as easy as possible on ourselves without cheating.
55:38
SPEAKER_09: And if the easiest way is the technically correct way, why wouldn't you just do it that way?
55:43
SPEAKER_03: Right.
55:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean it's you're going to distribute your weight completely different for the step if you're if your heels are down, if you have a full flat foot to start off the wing.
55:55
SPEAKER_03: Your weight needs to be forward, it's just like the jazz pirouette.
55:58
SPEAKER_03: Your weight needs to be where it needs to be to execute it properly.
56:02
SPEAKER_03: If your heel is down in the jazz pirouette, you're gonna your weight's gonna be too far back and you're making it harder for yourself.
56:08
SPEAKER_03: So maybe we'll do a poll.
56:10
SPEAKER_03: Maybe we'll see how many tappers out there actually take off from a wing on a flat flat foot.
56:17
SPEAKER_09: I don't think it's possible.
56:18
SPEAKER_09: I just can't even think.
56:19
SPEAKER_09: I mean, again, maybe it's possible, but it's gonna be real hard.
56:22
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
56:22
SPEAKER_09: Don't make more work for yourself.
56:24
SPEAKER_09: Work smarter, not harder.
56:27
SPEAKER_04: Well, speaking of pirouettes.
56:30
SPEAKER_04: Were we speaking of pirouettes?
56:32
SPEAKER_04: You were just a minute.
56:32
SPEAKER_04: Oh, right, okay, about the heel.
56:34
SPEAKER_04: You're right.
56:36
SPEAKER_04: I was like, wait, how do we get from wings to pirouettes?
56:38
SPEAKER_04: I see.
56:38
SPEAKER_03: We got from wings to pirouettes because you were talking about the pirouette preparations in jazz.
56:43
SPEAKER_03: You are correct.
56:44
SPEAKER_03: And you were kind of maybe hinting at what?
56:48
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you were maybe you knew, or maybe you just felt I just felt called to speak about pirouettes.
56:55
SPEAKER_03: So I don't know.
56:56
SPEAKER_03: What what do you think is coming next?
56:58
SPEAKER_04: I don't let's see.
56:59
SPEAKER_04: Let's see.
57:00
SPEAKER_04: Pirouettes.
57:01
SPEAKER_04: Pirouettes pirouettes.
57:02
SPEAKER_04: Pirouettes.
57:03
SPEAKER_04: You heard from the judges.
57:05
SPEAKER_04: We are about to go in on pirouettes.
57:09
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, we were sensing a little bit of a theme here at the end of the episode.
57:13
SPEAKER_09: Um, so we're gonna talk about it.
57:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, let's hear from our very first judge.
57:18
SPEAKER_19: Hi, I'm IDA judge Katie McGuinness from Chicago.
57:21
SPEAKER_19: One of my most common critiques I give dancers is to find the connection with the floor and opposing forces in their pirouettes, meaning pressing down through the ball of the foot and equally lifting up through the head while keeping the core intact to maintain that nice high releve as they're rotating and making sure that they're lifting through the back of the supporting leg, firing up that glute, lengthening through that hamstring.
57:50
SPEAKER_09: Yes, Miss Katie, I talk about the same thing in terms of the pressing down and the lifting up.
57:57
SPEAKER_09: It's those oppositional forces.
57:59
SPEAKER_09: I always kind of talk about it like pulling taffy.
58:02
SPEAKER_09: You should always feel like if you had a high bun on top of your head, somebody has grabbed that bun and pulled up while you are simultaneously drilling that standing foot into the ground.
58:11
SPEAKER_09: Um, and when you activate though that imagery, for me, it physically, it physically makes me feel different.
58:19
SPEAKER_09: And and the execution of those turns, with you know, coupled with your core being supported and your arms working for you and your spot happening, it really changes the game in pirouettes.
58:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and like Katie mentioned, like we have to make sure that that standing leg is lengthened and pulled up.
58:36
SPEAKER_03: That releve, oh my gosh.
58:38
SPEAKER_03: I mean, how many times have you heard your teacher tell you lift your heel, lift your releve, higher releve for your pirouettes?
58:45
SPEAKER_03: As we rotate, your heel shouldn't be getting lower, it should be getting higher.
58:49
SPEAKER_03: As we rotate, your passe shouldn't be getting lower, it should be getting higher.
58:53
SPEAKER_03: It needs to kind of work in opposition, like Leslie said.
58:56
SPEAKER_03: And I I kind of envision like a corkscrew type of thing where corkscrewing up, it just all needs to keep maintaining the same placement that it started and not drop as we go.
59:08
SPEAKER_03: And I feel like that so many times dancers these days, not everyone, but a lot of you love to release that heel and give me like a 30% relevant.
59:21
SPEAKER_09: It's it's really that low.
59:22
SPEAKER_09: It is.
59:23
SPEAKER_09: I was like, where is she gonna land?
59:25
SPEAKER_09: It is.
59:25
SPEAKER_09: It's like a I don't know what, but like that's also the most unstable position I can think of.
59:31
SPEAKER_09: It's either up or down for me or for Starch.
59:34
SPEAKER_03: I just don't think a lot of dancers really find their true highest releve when they're training in ballet.
59:40
SPEAKER_03: Right.
59:40
SPEAKER_03: So then when they translate over to jazz and lyrical and contemporary, they're never even fine, they don't even know what their the potential of their highest relevant even is.
59:48
SPEAKER_03: Right.
59:48
SPEAKER_03: So they don't understand that in your turn, that's where you're supposed to be, not how many rotations can I do.
59:53
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
59:53
SPEAKER_09: And I think even um if you go back and listen to one of our uh spotlight episodes on Sof Sophia Lucia, and then you go look in the show notes for the link to her Guinness Book of World Records video, she does 55 pirouettes on a high releve.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_09: She is not turning low.
1:00:11
SPEAKER_09: So when people like the excuse a lot of times is well, I turn better if my releve is low.
1:00:15
SPEAKER_09: Well, Sophia Lucia did 55 pirouettes on a high releve, so I don't know what you're talking about.
1:00:20
SPEAKER_03: And they had to be technically correct or they didn't count.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_09: Exactly.
1:00:24
SPEAKER_09: So, you know, I just I encourage everybody to find that high releve.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_09: You know, I talk about this all the time in my critiques.
1:00:31
SPEAKER_09: Um, and that is, you know, speaking of the most common things, when I was judging more frequently, I would talk all the time about you should be relevant everywhere you go.
1:00:41
SPEAKER_09: You should be relevant while you're brushing your teeth, you should be doing it while you're waiting in line for lunch, you should be doing it everywhere because that's its practice makes perfect when it comes to a high releve.
1:00:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:00:51
SPEAKER_09: And that's the only thing that's gonna get you turning well, especially for my dancers who are not able to train five days a week.
1:00:58
SPEAKER_09: That's on you.
1:00:59
SPEAKER_09: You are never gonna get those, you know, multiple pirouettes solid unless you're taking it upon yourself to get that releve stable.
1:01:07
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and honestly, if your calf isn't engaged, you're not in releve.
1:01:12
SPEAKER_03: Right.
1:01:12
SPEAKER_03: So if you, you know, if someone needs to be down there at your calf feeling the muscle with their hands and make sure they feel that muscle engage, you can do that.
1:01:22
SPEAKER_03: I mean, a lot of people call releves calf raising in the in the physical therapy world.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_03: Because that's like literally we're activating our calf muscle.
1:01:30
SPEAKER_03: So if you're doing a 50% releve, most likely there might be some engagement, but not full engagement in your calf.
1:01:35
SPEAKER_03: So I and again, if you've seen if you've ever seen a ballet dancer and how gorgeous the muscle definition is in their legs, it's because they're doing full-blown 150% releves every single time.
1:01:47
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:01:47
SPEAKER_03: And they really understand how to use their calves and their legs and their releve and their and their ankle stability properly.
1:01:54
SPEAKER_03: So I think it's just really important to make sure that we're training to our best stability and working super hard in ballet class.
1:02:01
SPEAKER_03: Yay for ballet.
1:02:02
SPEAKER_03: We're talking about that a lot a lot today.
1:02:03
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:02:04
SPEAKER_09: Do you also sense a theme here?
1:02:05
SPEAKER_03: I think so.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_03: More pirouette talk coming to you from two more IDA judges.
1:02:14
SPEAKER_11: Hi, this is IDA Judge Colin from Missouri.
1:02:17
SPEAKER_11: My most common critique this season is about pirouettes and specifically the preparations for your pirouettes.
1:02:23
SPEAKER_11: If you are doing a turned out pirouettes, your preparations should follow that and be turned out.
1:02:28
SPEAKER_11: If you are doing a jazz pirouette or a parallel pirouette, you should have parallel preparations.
1:02:33
SPEAKER_11: And we should never have internally rotated feet or legs for that front leg in your preparations for your pirouettes.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_13: This is IDA Judge J from Austin, Texas.
1:02:46
SPEAKER_13: I think probably my most given correction for judging season has been the proper preparation for a heroette.
1:02:57
SPEAKER_13: Making sure that when we are starting on a flag front.
1:03:05
SPEAKER_13: And making sure that the front foot is either parallel to the front or turned out if you are emitted a turned out heroette.
1:03:16
SPEAKER_13: I also talk about winding up in the arms and making sure that the opening arm is not crossing the center line of the body.
1:03:25
SPEAKER_13: I have definitely seen a lot of turned-in feet and overcrossed arms, and that just makes the pirouette more difficult.
1:03:33
SPEAKER_03: Y'all, you just heard it.
1:03:36
SPEAKER_03: Again, from two more IDA judges.
1:03:39
SPEAKER_03: And it's the exact same thing that we have said multiple times already on this podcast by itself.
1:03:44
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, and and what what I find funny too is that when we gave our judges the direction to send us in these critiques, we literally just said, please send us your most used critiques.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_09: And so this is verbatim from they did not talk to each other, they did not consult anybody, this is just what they had organically come out of their mouths.
1:04:03
SPEAKER_09: And the fact that these two were exactly the same, essentially, at least in the first part of Josh's, is really telling because again, with the sort of dance community argument that I think we have sometimes, you know, there there's there's some people out there for for whatever reason still think it's fine to prepare for a turn in a position that is opposite of the turn you're actually gonna do.
1:04:26
SPEAKER_09: And to that I say what Maddie Kurtz always says, you must know the rules before you can break them.
1:04:33
SPEAKER_09: And if you artistically in your soul need to prepare for a turn in a parallel position, but the turn's gonna be turned out, fine.
1:04:41
SPEAKER_09: But it must be taught, it must be demonstrated, it must be ground into your dancer's psyche that that is a choice.
1:04:49
SPEAKER_09: That is not a technically correct thing to do.
1:04:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because then if the dancer thinks that this is technically correct and the teacher is not correcting the technically incorrect preparation, then maybe one day the dancer is going on to become a dance teacher who is then going to teach the incorrect technique for a pure web preparation.
1:05:11
SPEAKER_03: And it starts from the top.
1:05:12
SPEAKER_03: We have to make sure that we are teaching the dancers the cleanliness of each position and clear pictures and preparations.
1:05:22
SPEAKER_03: Because, like Josh said at the very end of his critique, you're only making it harder.
1:05:26
SPEAKER_03: We want, as teachers and educators, we want to give you the tools to let you succeed.
1:05:31
SPEAKER_03: And if you're just going to swap through your preparation, like that doesn't matter, even though you had five rotations of a pirouette, I am still stuck on the fact that I have no idea what your prep was doing.
1:05:44
SPEAKER_03: And and I'm like, cool, you did five rotations.
1:05:47
SPEAKER_03: But really, what will make you even better is if you have a clean preparation.
1:05:51
SPEAKER_03: And you might get an extra rotation or two after because you set yourself up for success.
1:05:57
SPEAKER_03: I'm such a huge stickler for this.
1:06:00
SPEAKER_03: Piroute prep talk, and I think it's so important, and I'm so happy to hear other judges are on the same page.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_03: And I always say that I should know what kind of pirouette you are doing based on your preparation.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_03: So, first of all, let's be real, I very rarely ever see turned-out pirouettes on the competition stage anymore.
1:06:17
SPEAKER_03: I think that they're just harder to do.
1:06:18
SPEAKER_03: I think that dancers don't feel as confident, and I honestly think it's because not as many dancers are taking as much ballet as maybe we used to.
1:06:25
SPEAKER_03: Whatever is the case, that is fine.
1:06:27
SPEAKER_03: However, if you are going to be doing them, you must be taking off from a turned out fourth position.
1:06:31
SPEAKER_03: That is it.
1:06:32
SPEAKER_03: You don't get other options.
1:06:34
SPEAKER_03: Or a turned out fifth or a turned out first.
1:06:36
SPEAKER_03: True, thank you for correcting me.
1:06:38
SPEAKER_03: Third, second, I mean, anything that's turned out, please.
1:06:42
SPEAKER_03: If the posse is turned out, the prep should be turned out.
1:06:44
SPEAKER_03: There we go.
1:06:45
SPEAKER_03: There we go.
1:06:45
SPEAKER_03: Fixing it.
1:06:46
SPEAKER_03: If the posse is parallel, the prep should be parallel.
1:06:50
SPEAKER_03: Now there is a lot of debate on when it comes to like coupe pirouettes.
1:06:53
SPEAKER_03: A lot of people are like, well, should the coupe pirouette be turned out?
1:06:56
SPEAKER_03: I think it should be turned in.
1:06:58
SPEAKER_03: But there are people that can get away with, or pencil turns even.
1:07:01
SPEAKER_03: Some people are like, well, that it can that be parallel.
1:07:03
SPEAKER_03: But I think at the end of the day, we all know that the front foot should never be turned in.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
1:07:10
SPEAKER_03: Both judges said that's a no-no.
1:07:11
SPEAKER_03: So make sure that you're really checking the alignment and proper parallel alignment for that front foot when you're stepping into your prep.
1:07:17
SPEAKER_03: But also, I think majority of us agree, and we talked about this a lot.
1:07:21
SPEAKER_03: Even Leslie got up out of her chair in the jazz episode and tried to attempt that pirouette with the preparation with the heel down, and it's just it's harder.
1:07:29
SPEAKER_09: It's a lot harder.
1:07:30
SPEAKER_09: It's just harder, and I just still don't understand why in 2021 we are making things harder on people, which which are ease more easily achieved in a different way.
1:07:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:07:42
SPEAKER_09: That is also more technically correct.
1:07:44
SPEAKER_09: Like, don't make me yell and scream about it.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
1:07:47
SPEAKER_03: And especially in block scheduling, too, you know, we see the same studio come out one after the other.
1:07:53
SPEAKER_03: You start as a judge, you start to see the same studio habits across the board.
1:07:56
SPEAKER_03: So it's not just like the dancer making the mistake, you can tell now that, like, oh, this is a training issue across the board for the studio.
1:08:03
SPEAKER_03: So definitely keep that in mind, teachers, when you're listening to critiques throughout this entire season, like you have.
1:08:08
SPEAKER_03: If you hear the same critiques over and over and over again, maybe that's telling you that there is a flaw in, you know, some of the training, and that you should re-look at that.
1:08:15
SPEAKER_03: If every single judge said, why is your heel down for your pirouette prep?
1:08:19
SPEAKER_03: Maybe we explore the heel up and see how it goes.
1:08:22
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, there's there's so many, you know, we're we're all here to help.
1:08:26
SPEAKER_09: And um, and specifically here in the pirouette world, we got a lot to say.
1:08:31
SPEAKER_03: And we still have to hear from one final IDA judge a few more tips and tricks about pirouettes.
1:08:39
SPEAKER_02: This is IDA Judge Laura from New York City.
1:08:43
SPEAKER_02: My most common critique is about the supporting leg and pirouette, making sure that you're on a straight leg and a high releve.
1:08:51
SPEAKER_02: I'd rather see a clean single pirouette with a straight leg and a high releve to show that the dancer has a technique than a sloppy double or triple without.
1:08:59
SPEAKER_02: I think a lot of times dancers get fixated on the number of turns they're doing.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_02: So it's important to remember quality over quantity.
1:09:08
SPEAKER_03: This is a fantastic last critique from our IDA Judge Lara.
1:09:13
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, because that really sums it up.
1:09:15
SPEAKER_09: Because, you know, just like we were saying, the wing and the shiggy bop are the golden children of the tap world.
1:09:22
SPEAKER_09: The pirouette and the m amount of rotations that dancers can do, that's the golden child of of every other genre, it feels like.
1:09:30
SPEAKER_09: People want to turn.
1:09:31
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:09:32
SPEAKER_09: And we do, you know, I think it's only natural.
1:09:35
SPEAKER_09: Human beings like to spin, it's fun.
1:09:37
SPEAKER_09: It makes you it gives you a euphoric feeling to kind of do that, you know, that round and round and round motion.
1:09:44
SPEAKER_09: It feels great.
1:09:45
SPEAKER_09: And so I think we do for that reason get a little hung up on how many times can I rotate, and we forget about the way in which we prepare for that rotation and the technique within the rotation.
1:09:56
SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
1:09:56
SPEAKER_09: And so I loved that she that Laura brought up quality over quantity because the quantity will come when the quality exists.
1:10:04
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
1:10:06
SPEAKER_03: I absolutely agree.
1:10:07
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's probably one of the most common corrections that dancers receive from their teachers.
1:10:15
SPEAKER_03: I think the dancers are the ones that get wrapped up in how many turns can I do.
1:10:20
SPEAKER_03: But the teachers are excited for the dancers, of course, but the teachers know in the back of their mind, in the back of their head, I'm really pumped that you are working on your triple, but your double's more solid, and that's what I think we need to put into our competition dance.
1:10:36
SPEAKER_03: Because at the end of the day, you're at a competition, you're getting judged.
1:10:40
SPEAKER_03: You're not getting judged on how many times you can do a spin with sloppy technique and rotations.
1:10:45
SPEAKER_03: You're getting judged on where's the technique?
1:10:47
SPEAKER_03: Have you shown me the basics?
1:10:49
SPEAKER_03: Have you set yourself up properly?
1:10:50
SPEAKER_03: Did you suspend out of that double pirouette instead of falling out of the triple?
1:10:54
SPEAKER_03: Every teacher is gonna say that.
1:10:55
SPEAKER_03: I'm pretty sure every judge is gonna say that.
1:10:58
SPEAKER_03: So it is a great way to kind of end out this episode when we're chatting about pirouettes, but I think this also can be absolutely applied to so many other genres as well.
1:11:09
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, just the don't forget that, you know, as much as we love to dance and we love to move, the what we do as competitors is put ourselves on a stage to be judged for what we put on a stage.
1:11:23
SPEAKER_09: And so why wouldn't we want that quality over quantity?
1:11:27
SPEAKER_09: I want to give you my very, very best when I step onto that stage.
1:11:30
SPEAKER_09: As a teacher, I want to give you my very, very best.
1:11:33
SPEAKER_09: You know, I don't walk into a studio unprepared or giving you, you know, 30% of my knowledge.
1:11:41
SPEAKER_09: I'm coming in a hundred percent.
1:11:42
SPEAKER_09: So as dancers, you know, you want to give a hundred percent as well, but only up to the point where you know that that's available to you.
1:11:49
SPEAKER_09: And so, you know, again, like Courtney said, I love it when dancers are excited to do multiple pirouettes because it is fun.
1:11:56
SPEAKER_09: I like I know it's fun.
1:11:58
SPEAKER_09: We all know it's fun.
1:11:59
SPEAKER_09: We love to turn.
1:11:59
SPEAKER_09: Um, unless you're not a turner, that's a different story.
1:12:02
SPEAKER_09: But, you know, patience.
1:12:05
SPEAKER_09: Keep your patience and learn your fundamentals and show us your very best when you're on the stage.
1:12:11
SPEAKER_09: Um, and that goes again, like Court said, for everything.
1:12:13
SPEAKER_09: Show us your very best.
1:12:15
SPEAKER_09: Show us what you do well, because that is what we want to see.
1:12:21
SPEAKER_03: We hope you enjoyed our episode on the most common corrections judges give at competition.
1:12:26
SPEAKER_03: Shout out to all 20 of our IDA judges from around the country who shared their critiques with us.
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1:13:50
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1:13:55
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