My mom signed me up for advanced jazz, but im a tad rusty.. what should i be prepared for?

Question

i've been dancing since i was 3, but took up jazz

at about the age of 5 or 6 i think, and i stopped taking

it for a few years, and then the past two years ive been in a

begginner/intermediate class, but i felt like i accomplished nothing,

so im trying advanced jazz. what do i expect!?

Answer 1

I suggest you practice stretching and technique a lot! I've been in advanced jazz for two years, and it's fun but very challenging.

I don't know how the teacher in your studio runs it, but these are the things we do in my advanced jazz:

-It's 1 and 1/2 hours so we stretch for the first half hour (you need to be able to do both your left and your right splits)

-Pirouettes, be able to do a triple

-We do fouettes a LOT. And it sucks, because I'm a lefty and can only do them on my left. This is an example of a fouette combination we did this week: 4 fouettes, 4 fouettes in a la seconde, 2 fouettes, and an attitude turn.

- You have to be able to pick up movements and choreography fast. Our jazz teacher rarely shows us a combination. He'll tell us what he wants us to do and we'll have to do it and figure it out ourselves.

- We do all kinds of leaps and jumps: leaps, straddles, switch leaps, reverse leaps, calypsos, stag jumps, etc.

- We do illusions across the floor as well. If you don't know what it is you can check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNV0VnhRB...

Just don't be overwhelmed! When I started I was extremely self-conscious and nervous, but I've improved so much since last year. Don't worry, it's your first year in advanced so they won't be so hard on you if you don't pick things up as well as the others who have been in the class for a while. And trust me, even the rest of the girls in the class will have trouble at first when learning something new. Just be confident! :)

Answer 2

No more basic moves. Expect doubles and even triple/quad pirouettes, maybe foutte turns, splits, side leaps, front leaps, Russians, and many moves that require great flexibility.