How to do contemporary dance lifts

• Posture

Rotations are performed with a taut and even body, "coccyx retract", "long neck", chin looks up. This will help you balance and tighten the axle needed for long term spins.

• Dot

All dancers know to "hold the dot" to spin, but I wonder if you can change dot fast enough? In order to rotate long and hard, you need to train a sharp and lightning-fast change of point. The point should be kept at the level of your eyes and a little higher. Don't look at the floor or you'll end up there.

• Alignment (cross)

Concentrate on aligning the line of the shoulders with the line of the pelvis, they should be parallel. If you do not align the lines of the shoulders and pelvis during the beginning of the rotations, you will not be able to catch the balance and your rotation will not be long, a maximum of 3 pirouettes. To do this, you should train in front of a mirror, stand in a relevé and make sure that the lines of the shoulders and pelvis (hips) are parallel. Also, in front of the mirror, you should control the position of the body, become sideways and make sure that you are not leaning forward or leaning too back.

• Balance

When pirouettes, you balance on a half-finger (relev), practice balance without rotation. If you can’t stand on a half-finger without spinning, then you won’t be able to stand in a turn either. Practice balance on half toes without rotation, train both the left and right foot, you should stand eight counts at a very slow pace, this will strengthen your axis. What type of spin do you train, classic turnout or jazz closed? Practice every type of balance until you can, it will come in handy in your career as a dancer, modern show groups use all kinds of techniques.

• Your thumb

Where does your thumb point when you rotate it? If your finger is not pointing in the same direction as your knee, this rotation is not considered correct and you will not be able to achieve a multi-spin. Stand on your half-finger and make sure you don't "clubfoot" that your thumb is pointing in the same direction as your knee. There is nothing worse than a clubfoot dancer! If the foot is placed correctly, the weight is also distributed correctly and you will be able to build the best axis for rotation. Make sure that during the rotation you do not jump on the half-toe, do not "play" up and down and your instep is stretched as much as possible. Throughout the rotation, you should stand on the maximum possible half-finger.

• Use the dance floor (parquet)

Push off the deep plié floor with all your strength to set the maximum possible rotational energy. Imagine a Devil in a Box spring toy, you push it down into the box and when you open it, it kind of shoots up with maximum force, while you direct this energy into rotation with your hands. Push off from the plié with enough force to get on your half toe and extend your knee, and of course not more than necessary, otherwise you can not resist. Also, there is a technique in which, during the performance of the plie, the dancer exhales and then briefly inhales during the first turn, which allows you to increase the moment of rotation using an additional force.

• Matching shoes

Depending on the choreography, wear specialized dance shoes. It is not recommended to do rotation without shoes, you can comb the skin on the balls of the feet.

• Arms

Have you noticed that when doing a series of pirouettes, the arms are closer to the body in subsequent turns than in the first turn? Quite right! During a series of pirouettes, it is very important not to lose the energy of rotation, for this the dancer must skillfully collect his hands to the body, distribute energy for each turn, so that in each subsequent turn the hands are a little closer than in the previous ones. Try it in practice, if you do not bring your hands together, then the rotation will not be fast and not long, but if you sharply take your hands to the body, then you will sharply spin at a higher speed. Now that you know what to do, you should train the most important condition - while bringing your hands together, hold the "cross" (the line of the shoulders and the line of the pelvis should be parallel).

• Pulling

Imagine that while you are spinning, someone is pulling you up by the top of your head. This will allow you to keep a straight axis and rise as high as possible on the half-finger with the involvement of the main muscles of the body.

• Practice

Pirouette, like a circus trick, performing a series of pirouettes requires long hours of regular practice.
"When I was preparing to break the world record, I worked out at least three days a week for several hours. And it took about a year for me to start rotating from 19up to 55 turns without stopping" - says Lucia Sofia.

Contemporary dance - stages of development, concepts, founders, ideas

Performing arts:
• Show Dance • Jazz/Lyric dance • Tap • Acrobatic dance • Ballet • Contemporary dance • Bollywood • Production

Traditional Dance:
• Folk Dance/Folk • Belly Dance/Oriental • Show Belly Dance/Oriental Show • Folk Belly Dance/Oriental Folk • Flamenco

The above Disciplines of Performing arts can be entered in the following categories:
• Male solo • Female solo
• Duets (two women, two men or a man and a woman)
• Trio (only Tap and Bollywood) - any combination of three dancers
• Small group - 3-7 people (Tap and Bollywood - 4-7 people)
• Formation - 8-24 people
• Production - 25 people and more

Age categories:

Baby \ Mini Kids 7 years and under
Children 12 years and under
Juniors 13-16 years
Adults 17 years and over
Adults 2 31 years and over
Seniors 50 years and over (Belly Dance/Oriental)

It is forbidden to dance in different age categories within the same discipline and nominations during the calendar year.
The participant's age category is determined by the participant's year of birth in the current calendar year, at the time of the competition.
For duets and couples, the age category is determined by the age of the older partner. The younger dancer may be 2 years younger than the older partner. However, the age difference between partners cannot be more than 2 years.
Performing arts participants may only use their own music. Dancers cannot compete with themselves.

Requisite:
Authorized for use in many Performing Arts Disciplines. The props are taken out and taken away by the participant at a time, without outside help.
Note: Bulky props are not allowed at IDO events in any of the dances, categories, styles or directions.
Hand props are any items that are carried with the help of hands and are not part of the costume (bells, flags, canes, umbrellas, etc.).
Floor props are any items that are carried out with the help of hands and placed on the floor (chairs, steps, stairs, tables, etc. ).
Stage decorations or backgrounds - curtains or backdrops.
Do not use liquids or other substances that could damage or make the dance floor/stage floor unsafe for performers.
The use of electrical appliances, such as those that create lighting effects, connected to a socket, is only allowed if the appliance is powered by a battery.
Installation and removal of scenery and floor props must take no more than 15 seconds in the Solo, Duo and Trio categories and no more than 25 seconds in the Small Group category. In the Formation category, the allowable time for setting up and disassembling decorations is no more than 45 seconds. Time is counted from the moment the first piece of scenery touches the stage. This rule applies to all Disciplines of the Performing arts. This rule also applies in cases where the dancer takes out hand props.

Duration of performances

Solo, Duet
Duration of performance 1 minute 45 seconds (1:45) - 2 minutes 15 seconds (2:15)

Small group Duration of performance :30) - 3 minutes (3:00)