Beginner Musical Theatre Teachers will agree that there are a few essentials to build foundation, technique and stylization for every new dancer learning the style. While the art of across the floor progressions is becoming more and more extinct, it is a fundamental part of class that should always be included. This is where dancers will learn traveling technique, how to build upon phrases, increase memory and picking up material, learn stylization and implement their locomotor skill set and spatial awareness....

While the integration of across the floor progessions is becoming more and more extinct, it is still a fundamental and essential part of class which helps dancers build technique, remember material, build upon phrases and work on their execution and stylization of the material. It also teaches them timing, entrances, perofrmance and spatial awareness as well as direction changes, facings and musicality. This is where dancers build upon the tools in center warmup and prepares them to transfer it into center choreography.

The four exercises below, though basic will allow beginner musical theatre dancers to do the aforementioned and has room for infinite variations to keep them interested and challenged. So remember, when lesson planning, scaffold your across the floor exercises accordingly and make it fun! It is musical theatre afterall! :)

Good luck!

See you in the dance studio,

Jess

Across the Floor: Part I: Leg Extensions:

When working across the floor straight from center warm-up I like to first start with progressions of leg extensions. Have your dancers either work in a second position port de bras or basic, extended jazz hand and travel across the floor in step-tendus. This will help dancers understand how to stretch the feet while traveling and elongating the leg with a full stretch behind the knee. Progress this to: traveling degages, 45 degree battements and 90 degree battements (always attending to front, side and back positions)

Part II: Jazz Walks

Jazz walks are essential for any musical theatre class. Not only are there many variations on a theme regarding the “jazz walk” (basic jazz walk, Fosse walk, tip and bevel, etc.) but also serve as a great transition movement within choreography! Jazz walks can be tricky because it’s important for students to understand that there is a distinct style element that coincide with walks whether it is in the position of the hands, the addition of a hip isolation, the sustained follow-through of resistance of the muscles, etc. With beginner students start basic with no arms having them focus on the musicality aspect of walking. Teachers can then progress the exercise to include the additives mentioned above and even incorporate focus, facing and direction changes while playing with tempo/ rhythm changes as well!

Part III: Turns

Turns are one of the most important elements to any genre and can be abstracted in many ways to portray style and character work in musical theatre. Always starting with basic clean preparations and single turns for beginner:

Four jazz walks, preparation, jazz pirouettes

Chasse, ball change, step, preparation, pirouette

Soutenous turns in plie forced-arch,

Chaine turns with jazz hands

Or… a combination of some of these turns together integrating the jazz walks as a preparation into turns or coming out of turns to segue into the next set of turns.

Part IV: Elevations

As a musical theatre chorus girl myself, I can tell you it’s unlikely that girls, in particular, will be doing any variation of switch leaps, leaps in second, straddles, etc., (unless cast in a very specific show) should your student go on to become Broadway dancers themselves. However, it is still extremely important to include this in your musical theatre technique class to build flexibility, understanding of execution, etc.! Again, focus on the preparations and clean footwork in and out of leaps and spend ample time on barrel turns, stag leaps, glissades, saut de chats, grande jetes and leaps in second. This might come in handy if you plan to be setting more contemporary works like Footloose, Wicked, etc.

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