Land that jump!

Practice proper allegro (jumping) technique

“Sisonnes, grand jetés, tour jetés, beaten cabrioles, beaten assamblé, entrechat six... before you get to these bad boys we need to start building the blocks..."

Jump for joy!

Jumping or allegro is not every dancer's cup of tea. It requires strength, stamina, proper alignment, flexibility, core strength and a lot of practice. Arguably, statements have been made that the dancer who favors adagio lacks in the jumping department (feel free to raise a brow). Now while this could raise much controversy its not the aim of this article and could be worth a whole new one, so lets leave it there as something to think about...

Jumping is probably one of the most impressive movements performed by a dancer. In the ballet repertoire, the big jumps or grand allegro have been reserved for the male dancer. These jumps are often rewarded with a loud applaud with audience members shouting bravo, to express their admiration and appreciation or the contrary...a loud gasp, if not landed properly.

Sisonnes, grand jetés, tour jetés, beaten cabrioles, beaten assamblé, entrechat six, just to name a few, are the big jumps that get you soaring in the sky with the wind blowing in your hair. But wait a minute...before you can get to these bad boys we need to start with building the blocks that form the foundation for allegro, whether its petit, medium or grand allegro.

Warming up and building strength

Jumping starts before you enter the ballet class. Warming up the body is very important before a dance class. A good warm-up gets the heart rate going and allows blood to pump to all the muscles in the body, so don't shy away from a few jumping jacks. It also allows the dancer to centre their mind and become present in their body. Core exercises like sit-ups, planking, and basic crunches also warm up the body and strengthens the abdominal muscles. As a dancer, it is imperative to have strong tummy muscles because all movement should originate from the center of the body.

You have to go down before you can go up...

Pliés are the most important building block for jumping. A jump, any jump, starts and finishes with bent knees. In other words a 'plié'. Try jumping without bending your knees. Did you try? Really? I can tell you it is possible, however, not as impressive as when you bend your knees before. Increasing the depth of a plié and the amount of pressure into the floor will aid in jumping higher. A lot of dancers forget to bend their knees when they land a jump and this is when most knee and back injuries occur. Plies strengthen the legs and in conjunction with the feet act as a shock absorber for the body when landing after a jump.

When you become airborne...

Make sure you breathe! Holding your breath during jumps will create tension in your upper back and shoulders which makes you stiffer and heavier. Correct posture during the jump is important. This includes pointing your toes the moment they leave the ground, engaging your core and lifting your eye line. Looking down when you jump drops the head which is the heaviest part of the body. This causes the spine to be distorted and the momentum that is needed to gain height, is lost!

Landing that jump!

Land through your feet! This is a term you will hear quite often in a ballet class. Articulating through the demi-pointé (half point / ball of the foot) when you descent from a jump and bending the knees the moment your feet touch the ground, allows for a soft and quiet landing. Imagine a stage with 20 ballerinas all jumping and not landing through their demi-pointé. This could be a noisy performance. Now imagine them also wearing pointé shoes... We might to have to call it 'ballet de stampede'! Dancers who don't follow this recipe are prone to ankle injuries and knee injuries and can make a jump seem very heavy and laborious. Another important tip is to put your heels down when you land. This becomes tricky when doing petit allegro due to the quick transitions between jumps. Ballet dancers are often culprits of this habit, known as 'the short cut.' When you press the heels into the floor the dancer can achieve a deeper plié. This puts more power into the jump and greater elevation can be achieved. This becomes especially important when doing slow grand allegro.

Another very important thing to notice and I will only touch on this briefly, is the floor we jump on. If you a dance floor is not sprung this can make elevation harder and can cause micro-injuries to the joints and the muscles. Having said this sprung floors are quite pricey and a big job to install and not all dance studios can afford them especially if your are offering dance lessons from home or hiring a space in a gym etc. However, if we try our best to follow the tips above and practice safe ascending and descending technique and we we try our best to avoid the shortcuts then we will be good to go!

Happy Jumping...