The Ailey School

This advanced beginner class lays the groundwork for all that follows in the advanced levels. The basic warm up is taught: flat backs, primitive squat, descent and ascent, lateral stretches, release swings, leg swings and deep lunges. The shapes that will be used throughout the training in Horton technique are emphasized: the T positions, stag position, cross lunge and coccyx balance. The Horton technique was designed with studies to stretch and strengthen different areas of the body. Many of the beginning level studies which are taught focus on the Achilles tendon, the abdominal muscles, and movements that lengthen the spine and the hamstring muscles. Simple combinations of movements that include turns and jumps are taught to introduce musicality and dynamics to the beginning dancer's vocabulary. Performance qualities are emphasized at the very beginning of the dancer's training.