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Permalink Reply by Michael Piotrowski on July 21, 2007 at 2:49am

I might not be the best jumper here ;) but I think you should just jump and jump and jump... just as practise makes perfect... You can also practise turn outs by lifting one leg standing next to the dance bar... it also helps with kickouts and making your moves sharper...

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Permalink Reply by Hannah on July 28, 2007 at 10:10pm

Hi Michael,
Thx for your tips! :) They are good, but I don't have a dance bar! And my school hasn't a dance bar so it's a good advice but we don't have it anywhere! :((((

xxxHannah

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Permalink Reply by Adrianna Suwald on July 22, 2007 at 9:47pm

I can't do freezed leaps yet, but some time ago i've found some great stuff at dance.net - hope it will help you (click here) :)

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Permalink Reply by Hannah on July 28, 2007 at 10:07pm

Hi ya,
Ohh thats great! This site is awesome! :)) Thank you for the tip!

xxHannah

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Permalink Reply by Sarah W. on August 1, 2007 at 1:20am

Yeah try dance.net! I'm a member on there, and I've found LOTS of good advice! :D

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Permalink Reply by Olivia on January 4, 2008 at 9:35pm

Hi Hannah !

Hmmmm, I am not a good "jumper" at all, but I remember Sarah told us to try to lift the back leg as fast as possible ! And do some exercises to be able to hold your front leg "parallele" to the floor as long as possible.

Reguarding turnouts... My teacher told me to stay in the "premiere" position (like in ballet) for 10 minutes to strech the hip muscles which makes the turnouts. It works well :)

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Permalink Reply by Hannah on January 4, 2008 at 10:49pm

ohh...thank u for your tips...really nice from u all!

xxxx

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Permalink Reply by Sylvie on January 8, 2008 at 1:40pm

The most important things when it comes to freeze jumps, are good jump height and strong abs.
When you jump off, your legs need to get into their correct position asap and stay there till the very last moment possible before you risk crashing into the floor as a whole. That´s why jump height is essential - the higher you jump the longer you can stay in position! Opening your legs into landing position at the very last moment gives it sharpness and elongates your "air time" even more.
Strong abs help to keep your front leg in position - if you don´t use your abs your front leg will drop during the jump - letting gravity have a go and limit your "air time".

Turnout needs a lot of hip stretching and practice, practice, practice. Holding your buttocks tightly and pushing your pelvis forward will help to keep the turnout while dancing. Barre stretches (one leg on a ballet barre or something the same height) help to get the feeling of the right leg position.

Hope this helps!
Kitri

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Permalink Reply by reel_irish_dancer on January 14, 2008 at 6:04pm

I do freezed jumps by getting a skipping rope and doing 200 jumps each day and I turn out my feet by putting your feet like penguins when I sit down

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Permalink Reply by Angelika Berber on January 15, 2008 at 10:48am

The ballet position of 180° turnout is neither required of Irish dancers, nor is it healthy. The prima ballerinas achieve this position by hours and hours of gruesome strengthening exercises for the protection of their knee and ankle joints. Average ballet dancers don't do it if they have good teachers.
The reason is that to get into that position you need to twist your knee and and ankle joints and get all your joints in a very unhealthy twisted position.. Any stretches or exercises in this position are dangerous, damaging to your joints and are nowhere near as effective as strengthening exercises.
Turnout in Irish dancing should come ONLY from the hip, using the outward rotator muscles that are hidden under your glutes. Your entire leg should turn out. Your turnout is limited naturally by the way your hip is built. Everyone's turn-out is dofferent and you can improve it a little by exercises and correct stretches, but not to 180°. Some dancers that start at a very young age seem to be able to mold their hip bones (which are soft at a young age) so that indeed,. they can get a 180° turnout. This is, however, very rare and most people seem to doubt it is possible.

Contracting your glutes is usually unhelpful, as it will cramp down on your outward rotators and prevent full turn-out from happening.
I'll try and post some good exercises at a later time, I'm at work right now, cheerio!

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Permalink Reply by Angelika Berber on January 15, 2008 at 1:32pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa-0NRMg8ZM&feature=related

Try this exercise for activating and strengthening the turn-out muscles.
Once you know how they feel when they are working, use that knowledge when dancing. Also, break down your steps and practise them slowly, not only watching for your heel to show in the mirror, but focussing on the way your hip joint feels to see whether you are turning out or not.
Hope that helped!

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Permalink Reply by Danny on January 17, 2008 at 7:35am

I can't speak for prima ballerinas... I'm just moonlight as a dancer. =) But every ballet and instructor I've had has said the same thing... turnout comes from the hip. If you try to turn from your feet/ankles, you'll hurt yourself. And yes, 180' isn't something most people can achieve; you want to make sure you work within your limits... Of course you want to push yourself just a little bit so you can get "better". But you also want to make sure you don't overdo anything or force anything before you're ready.

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