Smooth plastic dances. Plasticity as a dance direction

Developing body plasticity

One of the main professional requirements for dancers and dancers - developed body plasticity. If we talk about artists for whom choreography is a daily job, their flexibility and good stretching are developed in the process of work. Muscles and ligaments are constantly in good shape and do not require additional effort for development.

However, if you are a lover of choreography and are just starting to learn dancing, one of the main tasks for you at the first stage should be the development of plasticity.

Why should a dancer's body be flexible?

What is the difference between a flexible dancer and an ordinary person who has begun to comprehend the art of dance? Why is it so important to develop and improve the ability to be flexible and stretchable? Here are the main reasons:

- Movements acquire gracefulness and completeness. Only by having plastic body, dancers are able to demonstrate incomparable beauty and grace on stage. Visible ease of movement is achieved thanks to perfectly stretched muscles and a flexible body.

- A special charm appears. When we look out auditorium for performances dance groups, we clearly understand that the artists are distinguished by their mesmerizing appeal. A significant role in the formation of an image shrouded in unique charm is played by developed body plasticity.

- The dance looks harmonious. Thanks to the dancers' plasticity, the viewer does not concentrate attention on individual elements, he does not single them out for himself, but perceives the dance composition as a whole. Thus, the movements form a harmonious dance.

- Increased opportunities to learn complex movements and incorporate them into dance. Only an ideally developed body of a dancer - flexible, stretched, plastic, slender - is capable of perceiving, studying and further transmitting to the audience the most difficult steps to perform.

- Reduces the risk of injury due to stress. Due to the high load, dance art is quite traumatic. A trained body helps professional dancers avoid many troubles - elastic tendons, pliable joints, good muscle stretching.

Some tips for beginning dancers on developing plasticity

1. Exercise daily. On days free from rehearsals and studio classes, study at home. After a short warm-up and warming up your muscles, take time to stretch them. Perform stretching exercises slowly and maintain free and deep breathing.
2. Alternate dance classes with yoga, callanetics, and Pilates. These types of fitness include static load exercises and muscle stretching. Professional dancers develop flexibility through classical exercise at the ballet barre. Since it is often not taught in dance studios, you can choose for yourself a full-fledged replacement for the “barre”.
3. End each dance lesson with exercises to stretch your muscles and develop flexibility. To develop body plasticity and flexibility, make it a rule to end absolutely every dance class - at home or in the studio - with stretching and flexibility exercises. Warm muscles are much more pliable and elastic. In this state it is best to develop and stretch them.
4. Learn to relax. It is difficult to achieve ideal body plasticity if it is “tight.” The so-called “tightness” or unsightly angularity occurs in those who do not know how to relax their muscles, and in everyday life make too much muscle effort to perform ordinary actions. Self-awareness of this problem, constant self-control, meditation, aromatherapy, massage and auto-training will help you learn to relax.

By signing up for dance studio, be prepared to devote enough time to your hobby. Regular exercise will make your body flexible, slender and flexible. And you will become truly plastic and flexible when harmony and self-confidence reign in your soul! Start change with yourself inner world, and success in dance will not take long to arrive!

Valentina Nikonova/teacher folk dances, especially for the portal website/

Flexibility exercises make our body more resilient and strong, strengthen the muscles of the legs, back, and abs, and also have a positive effect on the quality sex life. Sleep improves and the overall tone of the body increases.

So, flexibility exercises:

• strengthen muscles;
• make joints more mobile;
• increase endurance;
• reduce the likelihood of injury and muscle pain;
• form an even, beautiful posture;
• improve sleep;
• increase the overall tone of the body.

Do not confuse flexibility with stretching - they are two different concepts. Flexibility is determined genetically, for example, some can do the splits or bend their back unthinkably even in mature age, others cannot do it even after several months of training. Stretching is physical exercise that develop flexibility. Thus, flexibility depends on stretching.

How to test your flexibility

1. Tilt your head, touch your chin to your chest. Round your back. If you feel pain or discomfort in the spine, and your eyes become dark, this is an alarming sign that your body is not flexible enough.
2. Gently bend back at your spine. If somewhere you feel unpleasant or painful sensations, a crunching sensation, you should definitely change your lifestyle.
3. Lean forward, place your palms on the floor, while keeping your knees straight. Normally, you should not feel discomfort or pain.

In the morning, the body's flexibility is reduced, so early workouts are most effective.

To become flexible, you will need regular exercise (at least every other day, preferably daily) to develop mobility of the spine and joints. The best results from stretching are observed when performing each exercise for 30 to 60 seconds with minimal breaks.

General safety rules when performing exercises:

1. Flexibility develops slowly. For example, to do the splits, to an ordinary person It will take six months to two years of regular training. If someone says that you can become flexible in a week or in one day, this is a myth.
2. Exercise shouldn't cause pain. Exercising too intensely can damage the ligaments and cause injury. Each lesson on developing flexibility should begin with a 5-minute warm-up (swinging your arms and legs, rotating your head and pelvis).
3. Choose a balanced set of activities so that your body develops harmoniously and symmetrically. Choose 10-15 exercises (their list with explanations is in the second half of the article) that will affect all muscle groups and joints. Perform them sequentially, starting from the neck and ending pelvic region and knee joints.

What are the types of flexibility exercises?

Flexibility exercises can be static or dynamic. Let's look at their differences and identify the advantages of each type.

Dynamic flexibility exercises

This method of developing flexibility involves repeating the exercise a specified number of times with a gradual increase in the range of motion. Dynamic stretching promotes greater mobility and flexibility in the joints, and also increases blood flow to the muscles, so they are better supplied with oxygen.

Static flexibility exercises

Here it is important to take a position in which the muscles are stretched to the maximum and held in it for 30-60 seconds. Static stretching improves joint and ligament flexibility and helps lengthen muscles and ligaments. This type is considered safer and the chance of injury is almost zero. Despite this, it is optimal to combine two types of stretches.

A set of exercises to develop flexibility

This set of exercises will seem quite simple to you, but it is very effective, especially for people leading a sedentary lifestyle. Thanks to it, metabolism improves, all organs are saturated with oxygen, and the body becomes more flexible and plastic. It is best to practice in front of a mirror.

1. Stand straight, stretch your arms to the sides. Take a breath and hug yourself tightly with your arms. As you exhale, again stretch your arms to the sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Repeat the complex 10 times. For many girls, this part of the spine is the weakest, which can lead to poor posture and back pain.
2. Place your hands in a lock behind your back - one hand on top, the other on bottom. Try to grip as best as possible - not only with your fingers, but also with your palms. Change the position of your hands.
3. Stand with your back to the back of a chair (window sill, bed, table), grab it with your hands. Squat down slowly until you feel a stretch.
4. Lying on your stomach, place your hands on the floor and bend your chest as much as possible. Hold the position for half a minute. While remaining lying down, grab your feet with your hands (then your ankles), arch your back, and stay in this position for 30 seconds.
5. Take the “bridge” position, stay in it for half a minute, gradually achieving full straightening of your arms and legs.

1. Standing on the floor, place your feet shoulder-width apart and place your hands on your waist. Do 15 bends in each direction.
2. Without changing your position, rotate your body in the lower back, first clockwise, then counterclockwise. Now clasp your hands at the back of your head and make a series of rotational movements in each direction.
3. Kneel down, reach your arms back and grab your ankles or heels. Bend at the lumbar region for 30 seconds.
4. Remaining on your knees, squat first to one side, then to the other. Do 15 reps on each side.

Exercises to develop flexibility in the pelvic region

1. While standing, place your hands on your waist. Bring one leg bent at the knee forward. Do 10 rotations, first in one direction, then in the other. Repeat the exercise for the second leg.
2. Kneel down and grab your ankles or heels with your hands. Bend your lower back and stretch your pelvis forward. Hold for 30 seconds.
3. Sit on the floor, stretch one leg forward, bend the other at the knee and press your foot against the inner thigh of the other leg. Bend forward, trying to reach your feet with your hands and lay your chest on your leg. Hold the position for half a minute and repeat the same for the other leg.
4. Now bend one leg and take it back so that your knee and inner side thighs touched the floor. Stretch forward and stay in this position for 30 seconds. Switch legs.
5. Remaining sitting on the floor, bend one leg and pull it up, trying to bring it behind your head. Repeat the exercise for the second leg.

1. Standing on the floor with your legs fully straightened, bend over, trying to reach your palms to the floor, and press your head and chest to your legs. Pause for a minute.
2. Now spread your legs shoulder-width apart, stretch first to one leg, then to the other.
3. Make a lunge, while the leg that is behind should remain completely straight. Stretch forward until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg at the knee joint.
4. Sit on the floor, straighten your legs. Stretch your hands towards your feet, trying to lie completely with your chest on your legs. Then spread your legs as wide as possible and bend over, trying to lie with your chest on the floor.
5. Lying on your back, one leg extended and the other bent at the knee. Grab the ankle of your bent leg and pull it up. Then pull her towards you. Repeat the exercise for the second leg.

Wrist and ankle flexibility exercises

1. Sit on the floor, stretch your legs, pull your toes towards you. Stay in this position for 30 seconds.
2. Without changing your position, perform a series of rotational movements with your feet.
3. Sit on your knees, lean on the outside of your hands. Place your hands so that your palms are facing you.

1. Provide healthy eating . Make sure you have enough dairy products in your diet. With a lack of calcium, it is easy to get injured.
2. Warm up before exercise. Always start your workouts with a warm-up - slow springing exercises, gradually moving on to more intense exercises.
3. Do full body exercises. To ensure that your body develops evenly, do flexibility exercises for each zone, starting with the cervical spine and ending with ankle joint. Don't forget about symmetry.
4. Exercise regularly. Exercises to develop flexibility should be performed daily or at least every other day throughout your life. It is impossible to become flexible in one day and maintain a good stretch if you stop exercising.
5. Increase difficulty and intensity. Do this carefully and gradually to avoid injury.
6. Don't do "your" exercises. Any fictitious exercise is dangerous, especially if you do not have the necessary knowledge.
7. Don't exercise if you feel pain. This can lead to strained muscles and ligaments.

By developing the mobility of your joints and spine, you will not only become flexible, but also prolong the youth and beauty of your body.

Why do we women need flexible and plastic hands? You can, of course, write about the mobility and youth of joints, about good blood supply to ligaments and muscles, etc. And all this will be true. Or what if you need to fasten the zipper of your dress on the back, and no one is around to help you? And you - oops! - easily fastened the lock yourself!

But let's look at the plastic ones female hands from a different, somewhat unexpected, angle.

Plastic hands are not only healthy hands. Plastic hands give us the opportunity gesture beautifully and elegantly. And what is beautiful gestures if not one of the ways to seduce the opposite sex?!

Don't believe me?

Remember the poets! For example, Sergei Yesenin in one of his poems, wanting to emphasize the beauty and grace of his beloved’s hands, writes: “ My dear hands are a pair of swans, diving in the gold of my hair..."

Or let's turn to the Russians folk tales. One of the important criteria for the beauty of a girl wearing them is her “swan hands”.

What happened in the fairy tale "The Frog Princess"?..

The princess came to the feast, it was time to dance: " ... she waved her left hand - a lake became, she waved her right hand - and white swans swam across the water. The king and guests were amazed!"

That is, the men present at the feast fell into a trance just from the movements of the princess’s hands! And while the man is in a trance, we can do with him whatever our heart desires. Just a joke, of course. But in every joke...

By the way, her envious people tried to repeat Vasilisa’s trick. Well, you remember how it ended: they hit the king in the eye and gave him a bruise, someone was hit in the ear with a hand, something was spilled there... In short, the girls were asked to sit down.

It turns out that if we women want to make our gestures smooth, graceful, sensual, we need to work on them. Because without practice, by waving our hand, we run the risk of not bewitching a man, but of hitting him on the forehead. Plastic, refined hand movements, elegant waves, smooth feminine gestures with hands are a more subtle and sophisticated seduction technique than point-blank gazes and invitingly parted lips.

No wonder the dancers in the harems trained for days, bringing every gesture of their fingers to perfection. Modern professional dancers They also spend a lot of time working with their hands.

Let's see what we can do on our own, at home.

You need to start working on the development of hand plasticity... right, with a warm-up!

And we have already discussed the exercises in detail, and I hope we have tried to do them.

So, we have warmed up our hands well, what next?

Exercise 1. Swan wings

Starting position: standing, arms down along the body. We make movements with our hands, as if we were rinsing clothes after washing, only at a much slower and smoother pace. It is important to use only brushes!

We gradually increase the range of motion, involving the elbow joints in the work.

But in order to dance with our hands the way Maya Plisetskaya or Anna Pavlova did, you and I will still have to practice properly.

Exercise 2. Fly, swan, fly!

Let's logically develop the first exercise. Increasing the range of movements, we raise our arms above our heads and smoothly lower them down. The movements resemble the wings of birds in flight.

Exercise 3. Wave with arms

Starting position: standing, arms spread to the sides, holding them not parallel to the floor, but slightly lower.

We make waves with our hands alternately. We make all movements smoothly. Order of movement: the shoulder joint begins to rise first, then the elbow, then the hand. As soon as the right hand has worked, it is the turn of the left, etc.

Make sure your hand is soft and relaxed, and your fingers are long (no need to clench them into a fist).

Exercise 4. Paint the fence

Stand straight, extend your right arm forward. Imagine that your fingers are a paint brush with which you need to paint something. Make movements with this “brush” as if you were painting, for example, a fence.

Exercise 5 "Wall"

Starting position: feet shoulder-width apart, body relaxed. Right hand elbow bent, fingers clenched into a fist. We sharply straighten our fingers, tense our palm, and the hand seems to be resting against an invisible wall. We repeat the same with the second hand. And then we move along the invisible wall.

Bonus!

The following exercise is taken from the course on acting. Imagine that you are petting an animal.

When performing the exercise, use mainly your arms, palms and fingers.

So you need to stroke:

1. Hamster (image him slipping out of your hands, running along your shoulder, etc.)
2. Cat (take it in your arms, stroke it, scratch it behind the ear)
3. A snake (it gets entangled around your neck)
4. Giraffe

If you want to achieve truly mesmerizing hand movements, The best way to achieve this is to go dancing. Excellent development of plasticity and flexibility Eastern dance, flamenco, Latin American ballroom dancing. Popular trends among young people are those that also devote a lot of time to hand gestures in dancing, for example, Vogue, Dancehall.

Well, for those who don’t have free time for dance classes, I recommend performing our exercises regularly, 2-3 times a week. You will notice the effect within six months.

Have a pleasant and useful warm-up!

Every girl dreams of being plastic, because thanks to them you can become more graceful and sophisticated. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly work on developing these qualities.

Some girls can boast of natural flexibility; they are really lucky. After all, even when they are already adults, they can do the splits without any problems. Although it has not been scientifically proven that flexibility can be hereditary.

Flexibility lies not only in the ability to throw your leg behind your head, it is the ability to feel and control every cell of your body. In nature, the most flexible creatures are all felines. Only a cat can silently sneak up to its victim, only it can gently stroke its owner’s leg with its whole body, and only a cat can remain intact after falling from a height. All thanks super developed abilities bend your body.

A flexible body indicates the health of the joints and spine, so every person needs to work hard on it.

Most men are sure that flexible women are incredibly sexy and are real goddesses in bed. This is due to the fact that flexibility allows you to realize all your fantasies to the maximum.

The most flexible sports are gymnastics and dancing. Gymnasts are especially capable of captivating with their movements. Sometimes you get the feeling that professionals simply don’t have bones, they can bend their own bodies so deftly.

Every person should understand that flexibility is something that each of us has in childhood. It’s just that some parents immediately begin to work with their children and develop these abilities even more, while others do not pay attention to flexibility and, as a result, their child is no longer realistic at 10 years old.

You can become plastic at any age and conditions. Carrying out the right houses, you will very soon be able to do the splits, somersault and reach your feet with your fingers.

Working out at home

Before starting stretching, each person should master the basic safety rules.

Try some at home simple exercises: Stand straight, touch your toes. If you can’t do this, then you definitely need to develop flexibility, but don’t think that after a week of doing the exercises you will be able to do the cross splits.

Exercises to develop plasticity must be performed constantly. For convenience, it is better to make a schedule.

Really good results can become obvious within a month, but flexibility varies from person to person. So don't get upset and don't give up.

For stretch marks, you must have special clothing, it can be a couple of sizes larger.

All exercises should be performed slowly, smoothly and without strain. You should not experience pain, everything should be comfortable. After all, you want to become more flexible, not get an Olympic medal.

It is better to perform in good mood and in the morning. You will get a huge charge positive emotions, which is enough for the whole working day.

When training, you should pay attention to all muscles. Flexibility is the interaction of all muscle groups, so you should not pull your legs and throw your arms completely.

Entire programs by different specialists have been developed for stretching. Take advantage of them.

Set of exercises

We lie down on the floor, place our arms at 90 degrees from the body, legs straight. We bend our right leg at the knee and try to touch it to the floor on the left side. We do the same with the other leg. Thus, the muscles of the legs, back and lateral abdominal muscles are stretched.

We sit on the floor, legs straight, just stretch our palms towards our toes. Don't bend your knees or slack. You are stretching for yourself, so do the exercises honestly. 20 times.

We sit on the floor, knees under the butt, hands behind the head, elbows apart. Slowly we begin to stand up, then smoothly lower ourselves back down. 30 times.

Lie down completely on the floor, arms straight above your head, legs straight. Raise one leg to right angle, grab it with your hand and pull it towards the head. 20 times on each leg.

Let's stand up straight right leg We put it forward and bend it. We try to sit down as low as possible. For each leg 15 times.

Starting position as before. Sit down, grab your feet and try, without lifting your arms, to stand up completely. These are the so-called complicated squats. 25 times.

It’s quite easy to develop flexibility at home. All you need is your desire and willingness to become better.

The most beautiful styles dances are those that use plasticity. For example, from club destinations this is hip-hop, popping, as styles are most saturated with plasticity.
Plastic, like cream, can decorate any cake and at the same time it can be consumed separately. The main thing is to feel the rhythm of the music and reflect it in movements. Our school teaches both plasticity and its use in dancing.

Plastic is the most powerful tool improvisation in dance. It’s such a powerful instrument that if you have a sufficient level of plasticity, you can paste it onto everyday movements, and by reproducing them, the audience will take it for a dance. A dance like no other.

Plastic by its nature has no boundaries. You may be the most flexible, but someday you will definitely meet an even more flexible person. You can develop endlessly.

Plasticity is like riding a bicycle - once you learn it, it stays with you forever. And now we are approaching a small discovery in plastic. It is no coincidence that I mentioned the word “learned.” So far I have written about plastic only as a property of the body. The properties of bodies are not learned, if by this word we mean mental activity, but are developed. Now I will talk about plastic from the point of view of teachings.

Plastics and our brain ///

Anyone who previously believed that plastic was a physical pipe was mistaken. 50% of plasticity is the properties of your brain, the remaining 50% is the body. And so let’s look at what happens in our body when we try to perform plastic movements:
The movements we make every day are the result of commands sent by our brain along the nerve endings to the muscles, as a result of which we move. We perform these movements (running, walking, squatting, bending, turning) automatically, that is, we do not think about how to perform them. Movements performed less frequently require a certain amount of our attention (grab an object, open a door, jump over something). And so on - we skip the listing to the category of movements that we perform extremely rarely. Performing just such movements, we look extremely awkward, get confused, get nervous, especially if they are looking at us, and lose control. Why is this happening? The thing is that our brain, when transmitting a signal to a certain muscle group, looks for the shortest path. The path in the brain, like any path in the field, has a degree of troddenness. If the path is not trodden, then there is no obvious path, and if you need to walk you have to find the way by touch. Likewise, nerve impulses in our brain, if there is no path, then they run along bypass channels, activating not necessary groups muscles, and are often lost and do not reach the recipient. This is where awkward movements arise.
In our dance classes, we noticed from our beginning students that if they were asked to move only their torso, without moving either their head or pelvis, they would still perform this movement using their head and pelvis. This will happen precisely because their brain does not know how to send an accurate signal only to the torso, and the sent signal affects neighboring areas.
And plasticity is precisely those very rarely performed movements. Having learned this, you, like an addict, begin to use this skill in every movement you make, because it is beautiful, it requires less strength. The gait, tactics, and even thinking, to some extent, change. We observe this phenomenon in all our regular students.

Plastic and stretching ///

They have as much in common as they do apart. Many flexible people have stretched muscles. And many stretched people they are surprised at the plasticity of the unstretched ones. But to achieve high level it is necessary to develop both. Therefore, we devote part of our training to stretching, and part to working out movements in order to tread paths in the student’s brain.

Plastic training ///

If you want to learn plastic arts in a club format, then come to the niche plastic classes in the group of mixed dance styles. You can see the trainer leading the class in this group in the video, and also understand what plastic surgery is in a club format.
But we warn you right away, we have heavy loads, and if you want to test your endurance, then you have come to the right address. Tel. 256-46-26 Egor.