My Thoughts
We completed our Acro training in April 2018 and received expert tuition from both Jen and Sandra. We both loved the training and got high scores in our exams, Lisa particularly well... 100%!! Very impressive!👌🏻 I am so pleased that we picked the Acrobatic Arts curriculum.
The Acrobatic Arts programme is so much fun for the Dancers, we had the pleasure of taking a handful of our own dancers along to help us learn spotting techniques etc. They had a fabulous time but they also learned such a lot. We could see that after just a few days, their strength and flexibility had already improved and we know that if they carry on with this programme, their dance ability will go from strength to strength but what has impressed us most of all about the curriculum, is how safety conscious it is towards the dancers.
The programmes huge success is progression. Simply, if the dancer is coached correctly through each and every progression at their own individual pace, they will be able to achieve their goals without the risk of injury.
All dancers begin at primary level and work through the levels at a pace suitable to them. It depends a little on age but more so on ability as to how quickly they work through the levels. Once they can perform a progression perfectly and for the required amount of time, it is added to their achievement card and at that point, they are able to attempt the next progression. The dancer themselves will, by then, feel confident and strong enough to move on as well as having a great sense of achievement.
Once the dancer has found their suitable level, they will normally spend around year or so working at it, with every small achievement recorded along the way. Ultimately, they will be offered the option to take an exam in that level.
There is also a great deal of care taken in the teaching of Acro that both sides of the body are worked evenly, which as a Pilates and Ballet teacher, this really does please me! So often I come across dancers with notable misalignments in their posture due to overwork on their 'favourite high kicking leg' or they may have a best side for a cartwheel for another example. Dancers studying the Acrobatic Arts programme will be required to display their work on both sides of the body equally before progressing to the next level. By emphasising this even way of working, the Acrobatic Arts programme is excellently designed to give the dancers, grace, strength, flexibility and a beautifully, even aligned posture that they will be able to carry through to adult life.
As a Pilates teacher, I can not recommend this programme highly enough! It is so incredibly well researched and designed and is one of the best exercise programs for children and young adults that I have come across!
