Ballet Jumps
Leap Your Way to the Top!

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Ballet Jumps, or commonly known as allegro, is an important section in a ballet class. The jumps take place at the end of the ballet class when you are fully warm and ready to move.

This means you have to find that last bit of conserved energy to really give it your all in every jump, which can be tough after a long class, but that is the place when you can build up your stamina.

There are 5 main ballet jumps that you'll find will keep reoccuring in most of your allegro exercises. These jumps are called glissade, assemble, jete, pas de chat, and sissonne.

There are other important jumps too such as beating jumps like entrechat quatre, and royale.

All these smaller jumps are built to strengthen you up for grand allegro.

Grand allegro is the most exciting part of ballet where you see the dancers leap and vault across the stage. Grand jetés are a big part of the grand allegro. Dancers only do grand allegro work for a short period of time because it can be very exhausting.

Some dancers naturally just love jumping and have a sense of "ballon" where they can really get high off the floor and have a real springy quality. Other dancers are more lyrical and prefer the more legato sections of dance, such as adage, where you can be more expressive.

Whatever the type of dancer you are, it is valuable to be able to jump as a dancer. You'll find that ballet jumps are important for ballet classes, performances, solos and choreography.

It isn't more satisfying to see a dancer who can really move and have a real airy quality to their jumps.

You'll be pleased to know it is possible to learn how to increase the height of your jump and improve in your allegro. Jumps take a lot of might and power in the muscles so by building up your overall strength will help.

Let me give you some slight suggestions that may help you...

To start with, it's crucial to have good co ordination for jumps. You want to be able to coordinate your arms with your legs so that they move together. This will help the power of the jump and the speed at which you move.

Other factors which will help too is musicality, timing, dynamics and confidence.

My advice would be to go through each jumping exercise carefully before you do it, whilst marking your arms and getting movements in your muscle memory.

Always think "up" when you're jumping, think of the up movement and not the down.

Move your body and move your hips! Your hips have the most power and use the most energy so really bolt across the stage and move those hips!

Be confident when you're jumping and don't hold back, own the stage! Move your body, dance and enjoy the freedom of moving!

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