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IMPROVE SPOTTING WITH TWO EASY EXERCISES & PROGESSIONS

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Spotting is perhaps one of the most challenging concepts for young dancers to grasp and often to teach as well. Without it we are at a standstill in terms of improving and progressing turning ability so taking the time to really focus on this skill with your students in crucial during training. Below are my favorite exercises to help dancers really hone in on the skill and improve quickly and efficiently.

Part I: Begin with dancers simply twisting and walking to the right (a quarter turn) while keeping head focused on the mirror. Walk back to neutral. Repeat left. Repeat 4-8 times slowly so dancer gets used to keeping their eyes fixed on the focal point in front of them.

Part II: Progress this same exercise by having the dancer perform the same thing walking, exepct now facing the back, (a half turn) still keeping the eyes and head to the front. Come back to front. Repeat left. Repeat 4-8 times slowly.

Part III: Progress the exercise with a full rotation to the front. Slowly demonstrate how the head comes around at the last moment to the front to the exact same focal point. Repeat left. Repeat 4-8 times.

Part IV: Spot turns: Begin in a jazz fourth preparation. Perform a quarter turn, relevé to the right, spotting right in front of them. Repeat the prep and quarter turn relevé to the back. Then to the side and back to the front. Repeat the quarter turn relevés going left. Progress to half-turns and then full pirouettes. Once the dancers are comfortable add multiple turns for the full rotations.

Good luck!

See you in the dance studio,

Jess

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Author

Jessica Rizzo Stafford

Jessica Rizzo Stafford

Jessica Rizzo Stafford is a native New Yorker and graduate of NYU Steinhardt's Dance Education Master’s Program; with a PK-12 New York State Teaching Certification. Her double-concentration Master’s Degree includes PK-12 pedagogy and dance education within the higher-education discipline. She also holds a BFA in dance performance from the UMASS Amherst 5 College Dance Program where she was a Chancellor's Talent Award recipient. Jess now works extensively with children, adolescents and professionals as choreographer and teacher and conducts national and international master-classes specializing in the genres of modern, contemporary, musical theatre and choreography-composition. Jess’ national and international performance career includes works such as: The National Tour of Guys & Dolls, The European Tour of Grease, West Side Story, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, Salute to Dudley Moore at Carnegie Hall, guest-dancer with the World Famous Pontani Sisters and IMPULSE Modern Dance Company. Jess has been a faculty member for the Perichild Program & Peridance Youth Ensemble & taught contemporary and jazz at the historic New Dance Group and 92nd Street Y in NYC. She was Company Director at the historic Steffi Nossen School of Dance/Dance in Education Fund and in 2008 traveled to Uganda where she taught creative-movement to misplaced children. The experience culminated with Jess being selected as a featured instructor at the Queen's Kampala Ballet & Modern Dance School. She has conducted workshops for the cast of LA REVE at the Wynn, Las Vegas and recently taught at the 2011 IDS International Dance Teacher Conference at The Royal Ballet in London, UK. She is also on faculty for the annual Dance Teacher Web Conferences in Las Vegas, NV. Currently, Jess is a faculty member at the D'Valda & Sirico Dance & Music Centre and master teacher & adjudicator for various national and international dance competitions. Recently, she has finished her NYU Master’s thesis research on the choreographic process of technically advanced adolescent dancers and is the creator of “PROJECT C;” a choreography-composition curriculum for the private studio sector. Jess is also faculty member, contributing writer and presenter in the choreography and “how to” teaching segments on the celebrated danceteacherweb.com. For more info, visit her website at www.jrizzo.net.

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