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Books

Brooks, D. (2001). Effective strength training : analysis and technique for upper-body, lower-body, and trunk exercises. Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics.

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Gretchen Ward Warren and Cook, S. (1989). Classical ballet technique. Tampa: University Of South Florida Press.

King, A. (2019) The dancers’ study guide.

‌Ryman, R. (2014) The progressions of classical ballet technique. London: Royal Academy of Dance.

Thorgood, G. (2013) Core strength training. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Journals

Janura, M. et al. (2019) ‘Standing balance of professional ballet dancers and non-dancers under different conditions’, PLOS ONE, 14(10). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224145.

Padua, D.A., Guskiewicz, K.M., Prentice, W.E., Schneider, R.E. and Shields, E.W. (2004). The Effect of Select Shoulder Exercises on Strength, Active Angle Reproduction, Single-Arm Balance, and Functional Performance. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, [online] 13(1), pp.75–95. doi:https://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.13.1.75.

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Valverde-Guijarro, E., Alguacil-Diego, I.M., Vela-Desojo, L. and Cano-de-la-Cuerda, R. (2020). Effects of contemporary dance and physiotherapy intervention on balance and postural control in Parkinson’s disease. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(12), pp.1–8. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1839973.

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Yiannis Koutedakis, Antonios Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou and Metsios, G.S. (2005). The Significance of Muscular Strength in Dance. 9(1), pp.29–34. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1089313x0500900106.

Websites

Anne Asher, C. (2022) What does your latissimus Dorsi do?, Verywell Health. Available at: https://www.verywellhealth.com/latissimus-dorsi-muscle-anatomy-297067 (Accessed: 22 March 2024).

Astaire, F. (2022) Do you need to be flexible in order to dance?, Carolina Dance. Available at: https://carolinadance.com/about/news/do-you-need-to-be-flexible-in-order-to-dance#:~:text=Being%20flexible%20allows%20your%20body,and%20a%20mastery%20of%20technique (Accessed: 22 March 2024).

BodyKinect (2021) The anatomy of a pirouette, BodyKinect. Available at: https://www.bodykinect.org/post/the-anatomy-of-a-pirouette (Accessed: 22 March 2024).

Matti, K. (2023) The importance of proper technique in dance, Encore Performing Ar. Available at: https://www.encorearts.com.au/post/the-importance-of-proper-technique-in-dance#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20injury%20prevention,the%20quality%20of%20their%20performance (Accessed: 22 March 2024).

Monet, T. (2022) TikTok is threatening to ruin the integrity of professional dance - téja monét, TÉJA MONÉT - Creative based out of Sacramento, CA. Available at: https://tejamonet.com/tiktok-is-threatening-to-ruin-the-integrity-of-professional-dance/ (Accessed: 07 January 2024).

Neese, Megan (2022) How to improve balance as a dancer, GCU. Available at: https://www.gcu.edu/blog/performing-arts-digital-arts/how-improve-balance-dancer (Accessed: 22 March 2024).

Romano, N. (2021) Jimmy Fallon addresses Addison Rae TikTok dance controversy by shining spotlight on creators, EW.com. Available at: https://ew.com/tv/jimmy-fallon-addison-rae-tiktok-dance-controversy-creators-video/ (Accessed: 07 January 2024).

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How does the dynamic status of the professional and commercial dance sector impact upon me as an emerging dancer? 

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I wanted to focus on delivering a clean double pirouette with the correct technique in ballet. In this video, I can see that my technique needs to be improved, I have the knowledge but I still need to apply it to deliver the correct technique. I can see that my working leg is not straight and my arms are not staying strong in 1st position. After analysing the video, my pelvis is not neutral, this means that my body is not in the correct alignment which throws my weight off, which is the reason I start to become off balance.

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To improve on this, I decided to focus on my alignment and my leg strength to help me with my balance to complete clean pirouettes To achieve this goal, I completed several exercises including rises on both legs then holding while I move my weight onto each leg for 1 count of 8. This is to help to build strength and pull up in my legs so my working leg is straight. As you can see in the video, I struggled to hold the rise with one leg. This shows me that I have to keep on repeating this exercise.

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In this video, you can see me working on alignment and focusing more on my pelvis, making sure it is neutral while holding the pirouette position. My foot is connected to my knee and my arms are strong. I am thinking about my back and pelvis being against a straight wall which shows me delivering the correct alignment that is needed to demonstrate a double pirouette. This is to make sure that my weight is at an even balance so I can't fall out of it.

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In this final video, I have demonstrated clean strong double pirouettes. The exercises that I set to complete have helped me to deliver accurate technique and have a better understanding of my body within the ballet style. Demonstrating the correct technique within the ballet style is important because dance performances can be enhanced overall by using good technique. Any Dancer is able to perform their moves with more control and precision when they apply correct technique. Applying the correct technique ables me to become more versatile so therefore I am able to go down different pathways within the dance industry.

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Within the jazz, I have decided to focus deeply on ways to improve my flexibility in all areas. Flexibility is extremely important for a dancer because it helps your joints move to their full potential and enhances your performance. I have noticed my improvement the past 3 years, however there is still much more room for improvement to become more flexible. In this video, I am demonstrating my right, left and box splits, I can see that I am not far from being flat in all 3 splits. I am going to follow several stretching routines to reach my goal.

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I have been holding each split for 1 minute, 3 times a week. This is to improve my range of motion in my hips, hamstrings and lower back. While completing this exercise, as you can see I let myself sink into the different splits while taking slow breaths to relax my muscles, if my muscles are tense that could cause an injury as they are lengthen to their full potential. After doing this for a few weeks, I have seen improvement so I know this exercise is working and I will continue this until I reach the maximum for myself.

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Another structure I have been following to improve my flexibility is completing a full stretching routine that I have been taught within my jazz classes at uni by my teachers, I have been inspired by this and executed the stretches in my own time. This is reliable because my improvement has been satisfactory, so by repeating this stretching routine, I am meeting my full potential. Every time I sit in a stretch I am reaching further than the point I was the last time I completed it. To improve, I have been stretching in this structure 3 times a week.

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In this final video, I am demonstrating all 3 splits flat on the ground. My progression has been good because I have repeated a stretching structure each time to reach my full potential. Flexibility is important within dance because it ables me to have a good range of motion. When it comes to other dance styles, flexibility is also important because I want to go into the commercial industry which means I could end up doing any job with any style of dance. Flexibility helps me to be more versatile because my body is able to execute more advanced movements. "Being flexible allows your body to perform more advanced movements but also allows you to do those simple steps for longer periods of time over and over again" (Franchised Dance Studios 2022).

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Within contemporary, I wanted to work on my balance and stability. Balance in contemporary is important because it can help with my stability for movements where I am turning or holding my leg out or even standing on one leg. In this video I have noticed that I look off balance and I'm not stable executing the movements. The movement that stands out is where I am turning in the attitude position to then hold for a moment. When I am performing it, it won't look effective to an audience because there is meant to be a moment of stillness.

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I have been working on my core strength by holding a plank for 1 minute everyday. Holding plank is beneficial because completing core strengthening exercises helps with stability as you are engaging your core muscles because it is the foundation and base of your body to be able to hold a balance or be stable. After doing this for a few weeks I have felt stronger within my core and feel more stable when executing movements like the attitude turn into a moment of stillness. I have also been completing exercises like leg raises to build strength in my abs.

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Another exercise I have been completing is experimenting freestyle while standing on one leg. I have been taking risks to see how far I can go while balancing in different positions. This is also helping me in different areas of contemporary when we are asked to freestyle. Balance enables movements to look more fluid. As you can see in this video, I am taking risks by holding abstract positions to try test my balance and moving fluid between each transition. By engaging my core I am able to stay stable and have opportunities to move my body in different ways.

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In my final video, I can see that my improvement has excelled within the contemporary style when it comes holding balance and stability. Comparing this to my first video, I am demonstrating a strong attitude turn and I have also noticed that when I complete a full pile my posture is correct because I am engaging the correct muscles as I have built strength in my core and also my legs because of my extra practice in ballet when I am holding rises that is helping engaging and strengthen my calf muscles. I will continue to develop this work further. "One of the keys to improving balance is increasing the mobility and strength in a part of the body people usually don’t give much thought to—the ankles!" (Megan Neese, 2022)

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In commercial, I have noticed that my strength has improved throughout year 3 but I have picked this to work on again because I still want to be stronger. In this video, I can see that I am dancing big however my arms don't look strong as they should be. If I am not strong, this can stop me from going into the dance industry because being a professional dancer means that you have to have the strength to be able to control movements in a music video, adverts or a tour because everyone dancer requires to look the same.

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To work on this, I have been completing different exercises to build up my strength. The first exercise I have been carrying out is press ups. Press ups are effective to levelling up my performance because by completing sets of them, it is building strength around the upper body area. In this video, I am completing 3 sets of 10 press ups 3 times a week. However, I am painting the correct technique in a press up which includes my hands and shoulders in line and having a straight back. This is to reduce the risk of getting an injury.

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Another exercise I have been completing to build up my strength is holding out my arms in second position for 5 minutes. Using my lats, I am holding my arms out and pressing my shoulders down to build strength within my upper body. I have noticed that I struggle to hold positions that are held from my back especially in commercial classes because I need to keep building up my strength in my upper body. In this video, you can see that I am focusing on holding my arms out from my lats while sat up straight in the position.

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In my final video, I can see my improvement has excelled because I have been focusing deeply on my strength. The different exercises that I have been working on has benefited me in a strong way because of the difference between my first video and my last video. The videos are from different classes from the choreographer Willis Rose. I can see that my upper body able to finish off movements and hold positions when needed. This can help me within the dance industry because in an audition this will help me stand out by creating lines and holding them.