Bad Habits

[dancindaughters]

I have read that when auditioning it is important not to have any "bad habits". What are some bad habits that young students commonly have? I want to know what to watch out for! I know that rolling in is a bad habit. Also, as I had mentioned before, I think younger dd learned turns too early and now spots incorrectly. She says spotting makes her dizzy How can I help her with this?

[Mel Johnson]

#1 on my list of bad habits to be avoided are flipsy, flyaway hands that look like spiders on the end of a piece of yarn.

 

#2 is sickling, in or out. A sickled-out foot doesn't drive me as wild as a sickled-in one, but a "winged", "beveled" or "flagged" foot when it's not necessary makes me a little crazier than I am usually. #2a is doing any of the above on relevé on the supporting foot.

 

#3 is sitting into the supporting hip, especially in developpés, but it can happen anytime.

 

There are lots of others, because of Murphy's Law - If it can be done wrong, somebody will do it that way. But the rest, I figure that I can fix quickly. The others are long sieges for both student and teacher in order to repair.

[Victoria Leigh]

If bad habits have developed, probably through previous poor training, it is the teachers job to correct these things. The student should be aware of her particular problems and working on them. It can take a long time to correct things that have become habits, and even the knowledge of the problem will not correct them quickly. They must be replaced by doing whatever it is correctly, which, over time, develops the right habit. I strongly suggest that this be left for the classroom, and not corrected by the parents! If the student is unaware of her problems and not being corrected on them, get her to another school!

[dancindaughters]

Thank-you Ms. Leigh, I understand that the wrong way must be replaced with the right way and the parents not being qualified to help. I don't want to make things worse! Mr. Johnson, I'm sure my dd's don't do #3 or #2, but younger dd may do #1, especially in arabesques. I think she thinks it looks pretty! She may have picked this habit up from imitating pictures, as her school teaches clean technique.

[Guest pink tights]

Ms. Leigh is so right about leaving the correction to the teacher! My dd likes to ask me for advice or for explainations of doing certain steps, but I don't feel like I should try to "teach" her.....