The Ailey School

Technical skills are honed at this advanced professional level. Breathing, a gathering and releasing of tension is heightened, increasing versatility in the work. Phrases of movement are emphasized throughout the floor-work. More complicated, longer combinations in the center build control and balance while working on and off center. Leg extensions are higher and the full integration of the legs, arms and head with the torso as the center and the catalyst of all movement is achieved. The body now moves as a whole, not as individual parts. There is no longer a separation of the floor, standing and traveling work, but all are combined in lengthy combinations as an expressive, dramatic, and technically advanced vocabulary. Performance skills are coached, particularly the dramatic expression of the individual.