Breakdown of Basic Isolations - Week One

• Posture - First thing’s first: how to stand. Your feet should be planted firmly on the floor pointing forward and slightly apart. Your knees should be slightly bent. Your back should be straight, shoulders relaxed and your pelvis “tucked.” Periodically stop and check your posture and take the time to “re-center” yourself if needed.

• Hip Slides - Slide your hips to the right and then back to the center. Slide left and then back to center. Slide front and then back to center. Slide back and then to center. Be sure you are isolating your hips. Try it holding your arms out to the side to help keep your torso out of the movement This is a flat move, meaning it will be parallel to the floor.

• Hip Circles - For the hip circle, use your hips to draw a circle on the floor. Start by sliding your hips to the right and then bring them back to center. Slide your hips to the back and bring them back to center. Slide left and back to center. Slide front and back to center. Do this several times (and again in reverse) until you are comfortable with finding your compass points. This will help with extension so that you can make your hip circles larger or smaller depending on how you want them. Next, you will draw a diamond on the floor. Slide your hips front, then right, then to the back, left and then back to the front. Try this a few times and remember to reverse the move so you will be comfortable going both directions. Finally, round the move out. Circle clockwise and then counter-clockwise. Make your circles larger and then smaller. While you are watching yourself in the mirror, be sure this move is “flat” and try to isolate your hips from your torso. The best way I have found to keep my upper body out of the move is to hold my arms at about shoulder height, elbows slightly relaxed and pointing to the back of the room, but try holding your arms at a few different positions to find what is easiest for you.

• Hip Lifts - “Dups” are done by lowering one hip straight down. Stand in your basic posture and sharply lower your right hip. Next, lower your left hip. This creates an up/down motion in your hips. It is a very sharp move and involves movement in your legs (bending your knee slightly on the down side and straightening it slightly on the up side). Personally, I find this one of the easier moves to isolate. This is a vertical move, so be sure not to twist. Also, this move will work better if your knees are slightly more relaxed than normally.

• Rib Cage Slides - Slide your ribcage to the right and then back to the center. Slide left and then back to center. Slide front and then back to center. Slide back and then to center. Be sure you are only moving your ribcage. I usually place my hands on my hips to help myself isolate my chest moves. This is a flat move, meaning it will be parallel to the floor.

• Rib Cage Circles - The horizontal rib circle is done by isolating the ribcage and drawing a circle on the floor. Start by finding the points of your compass. Slide your ribcage to the right and then back to the center. Slide front and then back to center. Slide left and then back to center. Slide back and then to center. Do this a few times until you are comfortable with the four points. Try it again reversing the movements. Next step, slide your ribcage right, then front, left, back and right without going back to the center. Try this a few times (you are actually drawing a diamond at this point) and reverse it just for practice. Now you can try smoothing this movement out into a circle. Repeat your circle a few times and remember to reverse your movements. Isolation is a big part of making this an effective move. Practice in front of a mirror and concentrate on keeping the movement in your ribcage. Relax though, it is easier to isolate if you aren’t tense. Also, this is a “flat” move - don’t tilt or twist your ribcage.

• Up-Down Shimmy - A very basic hip shimmy is driven by your knees. Start off in your basic posture with your knees soft. Straighten your right knee while keeping your left relaxed. Now straighten your left knee and relax your right. Do this at a slower speed a few times until you are comfortable with the move. Notice how it vibrates your hips. Speed the move up and you have a shimmy. Practice this move both with your feet flat on the floor and demi-pointe (on the balls of the feet). You will get a slightly different move depending on how your feet are, so it is best to get used to doing it both ways so you can adapt to how you want the dance to look. Remember to isolate! Try to keep the rest of your body out of the shimmy, this will help later when you learn to layer moves.

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