Common corrections: Primary

I always encourage my students to practice at home. However, it can be hard to practice if you don't know what to work on. Below I have listed my common corrections for each exercise in primary.

Warm up:

-Teacher choreographed so not applicable

Legs and feet:

-make sure your back is straight, your feet pointed, legs are together, and arms are out straight with just your fingertips touching the ground

-when you slide your feet back out for the repeat make sure your legs are still together and your feet are pointed

Arms and head:

-make sure your back is straight and arms are out straight with just your fingertips touching the ground at the beginning

-when your arms are up in second or first position your elbows should be rounded and arms should be almost straight (first position: make an o shape, second position: imagine you're hugging a big tree)

-when moving your arms make sure you make smooth and graceful movements

Bend and run:

-when running make sure you are on tippy toes and taking small steps

-when you stop, stop smoothly and quietly

Bend and point:

-be sure not to stick your bum out or lean to far back with your upper body. your body should be straight when standing and bending

-keep your back leg bent when you point

-when you point your foot don't let your foot sickle

-take small steps when you walk and step with your toes touching the ground first

Transfer of weight:

-when you transfer your weight or jump, make your movements smaller (I find children often jump a little too much in this exercise and then find it harder to control their movements)

Marches:

-feet should come right up to your knees

-make sure the 8 quick marches are very clean

Jumps:

-control your jumps so that you don't do too many jumps (only four in one set)

-when jumping while turning, make sure you jump first facing the side, then the back, then continue turning the same way to face the other side, then continue back to the front

Springs:

-when doing spring points, there should be no weight on the toes of the pointed foot

Hops, jumps, and springs:

-this exercise isn't tricky but memorizing the pattern takes practice!

Galops and skips:

-Teacher choreographed

-make sure your heels don't touch the ground when you galop

-make sure your feet come to your knees when you skip

Run and leap:

-make sure you run on your tippy toes

-do a medium sized jump when you leap so that your landing is controlled

Bouncing ball dance

-make sure to tell the story of dance with your facial expressions, don't just do the movements!

Cool down and reverence:

-when doing your curtsy, step with the inside of your heel facing outwards and bring your other foot behind the first foot with your toes pointed