Not sure if you can tell or not... not matter what has happened during the day or what circumstance I just came from, I'm happiest teaching dance. Thank you for staying late!
Here is what we did in Class 2...
1. Review of last week's 3 main movements:
- Turkish shimmy
- Horizontal figure 8 (front to back)
- Reach and sit
2. All kinds of toning and stretch exercises.
3. Hip singles down beat right (Ups) - the right hip is up on the down beat (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).
- speed changes: slow, medium, and fast
- level changes: flat foot, releve (on your toes), squatted.
- weight changes: jazz posse right (all of your weight is on the left foot, right foot pointed and lifted off the floor next to the left ankle), jazz posse left (all of your weight is on the right foot, left foot pointed and lifted off the floor next to the right ankle).
4. Hip singles down beat left (Downs)- the left hip is up on the down beat (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.)... do the same speed, level, and weight changes as specified above.
5. Hip singles down beat left, grapevine feet pattern (starting with right feet crossing over the left), traveling right.
6. Hip Bump - Hands in flamenco stance (right arm straight back and left arm forward and slightly curved). Body faces forward; weight is on the right leg (back leg) and the left foot is on releve.
7. Choo Choo - Continuing from the "Hip Bump" position and traveling to the right, every time your right hip is up, right foot presses against the floor. By transferring the weight between your feet you can shuffle your feet towards the right. The Choo Choo can also be performed on the left: left hip up when the left foot presses against the floor.
8. Turkish half turns - Starting with the Turkish shimmy, pivot on the left foot on count 4 to face the back; repeat again to face the front, etc.
9. Continuation of Choreography to "Cybele".
- Horizontal Figure 8, front to back. 8 of them (right and left side counts as 1). On the 2nd, 4th, and 6th ones, add a sharp right hip accent up-down-up.
- Turkish shimmy. 4 of them (front and back counts as 1).
- Turkish shimmy with quarter turns. 4 of them.
- Reach and sit. 4 of them.
- Turkish shimmy half turns. 4 of them, leaving you facing the back.
- Hip singles down beat left. Use 8 counts to face front.
- Hip singles down beat left. In place for 8 counts.
- Hip singles down beat left, grapevine feet pattern, traveling right for 8 counts.
- Choo Choo traveling left for 8 counts.
Have a great weekend and look forward to seeing you next Thursday!
Lily
Any suggestions on how to isolate our hips? I know my biggest problem in class was not being able to stop my upper body from moving when my hips moved. I'm not sure how to approach it differently...
ReplyDeleteHi Lacey, Here are my suggestions:
ReplyDelete1. start with slow hip movements.
2. relax the upper body, but keep it controlled.
3. practice in front of a mirror.
4. if you find that your upper body tends to go in one direction when you move your hip, consciously think about moving your upper body to the other direction and see if that counters the direction you typically move, which should help you remain in the same place in space.
5. here is an exercise: lay on your back with feet flat on the ground. lift the hips up, so that only your feet and shoulders are on the floor. can you move your hips here? can you do some small/subtle hip twists in this position?
6. another idea: first determine what part of your upper body is moving. is it your head or shoulders? put some kind of weight on it like a little bean bag or a book so that there is pressure on that area. then try to do some hip singles with that weight on your head or shoulder(s).
Great question, Lacey!