JUMPING for Joy!

This week in class we are learning all about JUMPING!

We had lots of fun and it was great to see our boisterous ballerinas bouncing around the room.

Here are some of our favourite jumps. Would you like to practice them at home?

Bounces:

Feet parallel (glue them together!) we jump over the top of a bean bag or other small object. This is great for our teeny tiny ballerinas, as jumping with both feet off the ground can be quite a challenge!

Saute:

Feet in First Position, we jump straight up into the air, stretch and point our toes, before landing in first position again. (Don't forget to land with 'soft knees' to minimise the stress on those wee joints)

Echappe:

My girls who danced to 'How Much is that Doggie in the Window' song for our recitals last year will know this type of jump very well!

(Little Miss C, mid- Echappe jump!)

* Start in first position (blow a bubble!)

* Bend and jump our arms and feet out to second position.

* Bend, and jump back to first position.

* Repeat!

Changement: (this is the one everyone finds hard to say...my big girls find it hilarious to ask me to repeat it over and over! Pronouced "Shange-mah")

This is just for our Senior/Advanced Ballerinas as it's a bit difficult!

* We start in 5th Position

* Bend our knees

* Push off into the air, stretching our feet like in a Saute.

* (Here's the tricky bit!) Land in Fifth Position with the opposite foot at the front.

Grand Jete:

This is so much fun to do, especially when you add some imagination to it. We can be butterflies leaping over the garden hedge, or maybe little mice running away from the cat!

With our Baby Ballerinas, it's just about getting up in the air. As we progress through the levels, we focus more on separating our legs, pushing off with one leg as we sweep the other into the air.

As a child it looks like this...