Grade 4 Imperial Classical Ballet students achieve ‘correct’ posture, combating Lordosis through successful teaching methods.
Future fit training limited (2006) states that Lordotic posture or Lordosis is very common in dancers; its defining characteristic is “where the lower back has an excessive curve”. Initially a number of the young girls in Power Academy of Dance Grade 4 Imperial ballet class displayed the anterior pelvic tilt, the lengthened rectus abdominus, the flexed hip joint, the hyper-extended lumbar spine and relaxed gluteals associated with Lordotic posture (http://www.mgmpt.com/id6.html [Accessed 16 November 09]). Correct posture is essential in ballet, Jackie Pelly physiotherapist is quoted in Lantin (2005) stating “If dancers maintain a neutral posture, they are not putting the body under so much strain, and are less likely to sustain injury” (The Telegraph, Lantin, 2005) and therefore it is essential for a dance teacher to instruct on good posture. Buxton (2008) dictates the ideal posture in classical ballet involves the “spine neutral and elongated by the lengthening support of the abdominal and spinal muscles, turn out held in the deep rotators, and the gluteals or butt muscles not over supporting, allowing your hip bone and pelvis of the working side to relax down” (Buxton, 2008, Buzzle.com [Online]). When considering the ages of the students it is necessary to provide them with an increased understanding of the technical requirements of posture as “puberty is an important stage for acquiring elite performance skills (ISTD Dance Examination Board, 2005, p38).
ISTD Dance Examination Board (2005) quotes Fontana (1995) declaring that association, visual presentation, repetition as well as recognition are acknowledged “strategies for assisting memory” (ISTD Dance Examination Board, 2005, p76-77). The students of the grade 4 imperial ballet class had been introduced to posture before the initial lesson on the 14th October, this was through association only (told to stand like princesses and pull in those tummy’s). Previously this concept was never defined as posture until the initial lesson, when the technical concept of posture were introduced using Fontana’s (2005) proven techniques of assisting memory, association, visual representation and repetition. In the forthcoming month repletion, recall and recognition were also used resulting in visible technical improvement. However without the addition of positive praise to the memory strategies White (1991) states that “self-esteem is the pivotal point between success and failure; it has a marked effect on learning” (White 1991, quoted in Buckroyd 2000, p 73) meaning that improvement would not have been possible without aiding the student’s self-esteem. By the 11th November marked improvements were visible on a number of students in the class with their spines more elongated, abdominal muscles and gluteal’s active and the hip bones and pelvis relaxed and therefore level. Essentially their Lordotic posture was not as severe as that observed in the initial lesson. A continuation of repetition, recall and recognition will enable the students to continue to improve their technical ability thus enhancing any work that they perform.
References:
Future Fit Training Limited, 2006, Posture Types [Online],mgmpt.com. Available from: http://www.mgmpt.com/id6.html [Accesses 16 November 09]
Lantin,B, 2005, ‘The Point of Good Posture’, The Telegraph [Online],12th December. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/3334420/The-pointe-of-good-posture.html
Buxton, D, 2008, Understanding Muscle Function and Correct Posture in Ballet [Online], Buzzle.com. Available from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/understanding-muscle-function-and-correct-posture-in-ballet.html [Accessed 17 November 2009]
ISTD Dance Examination Board, 2005, quotes Fontana, D,1995, ‘ISTD Foundation in Dance Instruction Unit 3: Lifespan Development and Learning in Dance, London: ISTD Dance Examinations Board
Buckroyd, J, 2000 quotes White, 1991, The Student Dancer, London: Dance Books Ltd
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteYou have written about an interesting topic here, something that all dancers need to learn (correct posture) and the importance of achieving it. I can see that that you drew advice from your previous comment by shortening your sentences making it clearer to read. However, your writing is still very condensed and I found that I had to re-read some sentences as I was getting a bit lost. Is there any way you could separate your writing into a few more paragraphs for each point that you make, making it easier to read through?
The way that you have referenced your quotations is also a little confusing. You seem to have referenced quotations twice in your sentences, for example; ‘Jackie Pelly physiotherapist is quoted in ‘Lantin’ (2005) stating ‘If dancers maintain a neutral posture, they are not putting the body under so much strain, and are less likely to sustain injury’ (The Telegraph, Lantin,2005)’. I would suggest that since you have the bibliography at the bottom you don’t need this last reference at the end of your sentence. This might also help to make your writing clearer and less cluttered.
Just remember that all forms of academic writing ‘place emphasis on the construction of strong arguments’. Think about what your argument is, what is the point you are making in your writing that you want the reader to think about/ consider? You have got a lot of quotations and information to back you up so use this to your advantage to create a stronger argument.
Hope some of this helps Melissa. I like how you have written about something very different from other people and it is clearly a topic very personal to you which you are passionate about. Good Luck with this, hope you had a great New Year!
Laura
Melissa
ReplyDeleteWhat is your point of view on this improved training regime, to expand on the reseawrch you explained, can it be used in other instances?
Paula