Comments on: How to Pick Up Combinations Quickly

By: Liz B

Liz B — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:52:16 +0000

I can certainly appreciate this blogpost! I am one of those dancers who finds themselves behind someone they can count on to know the steps during barre, and has to be in the second group during center because I always have such a difficult time remembering combinations! I have never exactly been the “ballerina,” type, though I have taken class most of my life. I have had so many ‘breaks,’ over the years that it has honestly been very hard for me to keep up in class and maintain steady progress because there seems to have been many life interruptions that have prevented me from being able to commit to ballet the way I would like to. For instance, the birth of my daughter, and shortly afterwards, having to take care of her as a single mother, and thus provide for her the way both a father and a mother would. This of course, leaves less time and money for dance. However, even when I was able to spend my time regularly in the studio, I still always had some difficulty in picking up combinations quickly. It is not that I do not have the capability of learning it; it is that I have always needed to See a combination over and over again, and really get it into my brain before my muscles could even begin to process how they needed to move. I would feel so frustrated because all the other dancers pick up combinations so quickly, and many times the teacher would not even need to show it more than once, they would just say the combination verbally, mark it, and that’s it, you just had to know it. This is something I have struggled with, and even when I do see it quite a few times, I still need to drill,drill,drill. Your idea of writing the combinations down is a good one! I shall have to try that this week when I am in my ballet class, and will have to somehow force myself to remember enough to be able to write it down! I think the biggest key in remembering combinations though is consistency. Consistency is taking class every week, and in taking as much class as one can. It can be a hard thing to do in the busy world of today if you are not a young, budding ballerina, but still, it is a nice thing to strive to dance as often as possible. I myself have created a blog on my website, http://www.dancestudioconnect.com, and would love to inquire about having a text link on your website. I find your blog to be incredibly useful and informative to all dancers, and if it is in any way possible to have a text link on your site, I would love to hear back from you!Cheers!Liz

By: anon ymos

anon ymos — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:34:32 +0000

i had a teacher who taught us to memorize four counts or steps and place those sets, like a picture, in different locations, or sections of the mirror. as it came time to do the next step, we had too look at that area and visualize the set, and then do the next part of the combo. it was an interesting idea, and kind of worked for me, but i have a friend who finds that it has changed her dancing.

By: Mattie

Mattie — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:14:29 +0000

Thanks so much! My ballet teacher makes us keep a ballet journal, where we write corrections, combinations, and stretching charts. We also have “words of the week” which we must write down, along with the meaning of the action and we are later tested on them. We also have many assignments such as numbering the corners of the room with a certain system, and writing why we love to dance. We also had to write about a ballet, introduce the characters, say which we would most like to portray, and how we would do it. It has helped me advance so much in her class!

By: Tamara Stanwood

Tamara Stanwood — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:33:19 +0000

You’re welcome, Tanya…I’m glad you’ve found this site helpful!

By: Tanya

Tanya — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:22:49 +0000

thanks soo much for the tips, they have helped me a lot during class!

By: Nichelle

Nichelle — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:27:11 +0000

I know! Kind of wild that the post dates are exactly a month apart too. I could say that great minds think alike but then I'm afraid I'd be putting myself in a category I don't belong! lol

By: Tammy Stanwood

Tammy Stanwood — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:55:05 +0000

Thanks, Nichelle. I checked out your blog and it's great! We did hit on a lot of the same points in these particular posts, didn't we?

By: Nichelle

Nichelle — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:41:50 +0000

I love the idea you've presented – "journaling" the combinations is a great way to gain some insight into the structure a teacher uses and solidify the sequence for future use in class (and beyond).

I wrote about strategies for remembering choreography on my blog. I mention writing it down but offer a few other ideas too. It's not quite the same as learning to pick up choreography more quickly but learning to process the information being given and recalling that info are two sides of the same coin I think.

Anyway, here's the link if you want to check it out: http://danceadvantage.net/2009/06/07/remembering-choreography/

Great blog, by the way! Such a useful resource you are providing.

Nichelle

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:15:01 +0000

Very useful!
Thank you