Sip, Sip, Turn! How a Straw can Improve your Turns!

I know it’s unconventional to carry a box of drinking straws in your dance bag, but you may want to hear me out on this one.

You may have guessed by now if you have been following me for a while, that one of my favorite things to do is identify muscle weaknesses in dancers bodies and help them strengthen those muscles to improve their skills.

Something I was consistently seeing with the dancers in my bootcamps was…

👉🏻Dropping their passé in their pirouettes

👉🏻 Swinging their working legs in open turns

👉🏻 Leaning forward in their turns.

I found that instead of repeating their turn sets, it was more helpful to take a step back and bring a mind muscle connection to the dancer’s turns.

An easy way to do this is using a physical tool like a straw to help your dancers understand what it feels like to engage the hip flexors and engage the back muscles when they’re turning.

When we use a straw, a pencil or another small object your dancers have to work extra hard to grip them in their bodies and when they work extra hard to grip that item, they have to become very aware of how the muscles flex.

🤯 When dancers can learn HOW the muscles flex and WHAT it feels like, they can then call on those muscles to flex and engage when they are turning.

Click below to watch a short REEL explaining how to do this in class or read the instructions below:

Using a straw to improve turns:

• Hold a straw on your dancer spine have them put their arms in first position.
• While keeping their rib cage down have them try to squeeze the straw with their back.
• They will not be able to hold the straw with their back but they will be able to engage the correct muscles to stop them from leaning forward or sideways and their turns.
• You Will also have your dancer hold a straw in their hip socket while keeping the hips down.
• This helps them engage the hip flexors to stabilize the hip which keeps passé high and legs solid in seconde position.
• Have them go into relevé 8 -10 times with the straw in their hip
• Have them mark their turns 8 – 10 times without the straw but imagining they have it on their body
• Have them turn!

Train them in parallel but this will apply to turned out turns as well.

Try this in your next class and let me know how it goes!