Jumping

From SenseThinkAct

JUMPING

exercise

: Jumping 1 Jump to reach up as high as possible. Do a warm up first with some jogging, knee bends or whatever. Mark a wall at the zenith of your leap. Chalk is a good marker.

Fold in the thigh, bend knees... then spring into the air. Each day mark your progress along the wall. Five a minutes a day until you reach a plateau.

Version: Standing start double foot take-off long jump.

exercise

: Jumping 2 Make little jumps that gradually increase in height. Do each little jump on an exhalation, making a noise that increases in volume as the jumps increase in height.

• Breath in... knees bend

• Breath out... jump and shout.

Note; use feet and toes and arms as well as legs to take off.

exercise

: Jumping 3 Take a long run up as if you are about to leap over a stream. At a predetermined take-off point leap for all you're worth. Really enjoy the sensation of sailing through the air; and try to remember what it was like as soon as you have landed.

Ideally you should arrange to land in a sand pit. If this isn't possible long grass and soft ground makes a good alternative, but of course you need to take care.

It helps to sort of fix the sensation if you get someone to take a Polaroid picture of you in mid-air.

exercise

: Jumping 4 - Preparation

The classic dance plie (link) is an excellent training to build up strength for jumping. It is also a good warm up and preparation for the crouch and spring action which is the basis of powerful jumping. Always fold in the hip rather than bend the spine .

Try a session of imaging a centre line with Psoas action (link) and then take this into a series of plies and then on to some jumps.

Use the momentum gained by swinging arms to jump as high as possible. Hold a piece of chalk and score an arc at the zenith of your Ieap.

After a good warm up do 6 to 12 leaps each day. Marking your progress up a well until you reach your ceiling.

exercise

: Step, Hop, Skip and Jump There are eleven simple ways of making a step, hop or jump. These form the basis of all other pedestrian action. The eleven fundementals are;

• A step with right foot forward

• A step with left foot forward

• A hop from right foot landing on left, right or both feet

• A hop from left foot landing on left, right or both feet

• A jump from both feet landing on left, right or both feet

Each of these eleven fundemental moves can also be done backwards, or sideways to left or right. This gives us a total of 44 basic units of perambulation not many of which are in routine use but all of which are the raw material of dance.

Tryout all these fundementals in various combinations. Note the combinations that appeal to you. The next quality we can add to the fundementals is a change of direction or turn. Try adding various turns into the combinations you have chosen.

When you have something that feels good try it out to your favourite record or other suitable accompanyment.