How to improve

Expressive and Technical

Skills
Technical Skills- how to improve
Mobility: dynamic stretches such as leg swings (20 on each leg) or lunge and twist (10
on each leg). Do these 4 times a week.

Balance: Use a wobble board and practice standing on one leg and moving the
other leg up to the knee and out to the side. Repeat 10 times on each leg every day.

Posture- rounded shoulders: Lie facedown on the floor, with each arm at a 90-degree
angle in the high-five position. Without changing your elbow angle, raise both arms
by pulling your shoulders back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold for
five seconds. That's one rep; do two or three sets of 12 reps daily.

Technical Skills cont.
Coordination- Johnson also works students brains by asking them to
reverse combinations from front to back. My teacher Erik Bruhns famous
phrase was, Now reverse it. Coordination has a lot to do with being able
to think on the spot, she says. And sometimes allowing yourself to feel
completely disorganized can help you learn about how your own
coordination works. Do this once a week in your dance class.
Agility - the ability to change the position of the body quickly and with
control. Ladders, double dutch skipping. Do this for 10 minutes 3 times a
week.



Expressive Skills- how to improve
Musicality: Make musicality a priority in class: Instead of allowing yourself to
lag behind the beat to squeeze in a longer balance, a higher jump or a
few extra turns, force yourself to stay on the note to train your body to
move musically. Dancing musically is anticipating which way your body
weight needs to gonever being on balance, but always carrying the
momentum so that you arrive at the next position on the note, Boal says.
Your mind has to be at least half a count ahead of your body. If the
musicality of a certain phrase has complex syncopations, clap it out or
listen to the music without dancing.
Projection: using the space, using dynamics, including the audience, facial
expression, visualising your performance