Building Your Intermediate Lyrical Repertoire: Choreography & Strength Drills
You've mastered the basics. You understand the fusion of ballet and jazz, you can express emotion through movement, and you're ready to dive deeper. This is where the real magic happens. Let's elevate your lyrical dance skills from proficient to powerful.
Beyond the Basics: The Intermediate Mindset
Moving to an intermediate level in lyrical isn't just about harder steps; it's a shift in perspective. It's about moving from executing choreography to interpreting it. It's the difference between painting by numbers and creating a masterpiece with your own emotional palette. Your focus now should be on three pillars: dynamic control, artistic intention, and technical resilience.
Deconstructing Complex Choreography: A Step-by-Step Approach
When faced with a challenging new piece, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Instead of trying to swallow the phrase whole, break it down with this method:
1. The Music First
Before you even move, listen. Don't just hear the lyrics; find the underlying pulse, the instrumentation, the breaths, the emotional swells. Where are the accents? Identify the "story" of the music itself.
2. Mark It & Map It
Walk through the choreography slowly, not to practice the technique, but to map the direction and intention of each movement. Where is your focus? Are you pushing away, pulling towards, reaching beyond? Use words to describe the action ("sweep," "collapse," "explode") to solidify it in your mind.
3. Isolate the Transitions
The mark of an intermediate dancer is seamless transitions. Most complexity lives in the moves between the poses. Practice these transitions in slow motion. What part of your body initiates the movement? Where is your weight shifting?
4. Layer the Emotion
Now, run the phrase and layer in the story. What is the purpose of this movement to this lyric? Your technique is the vehicle, but the emotion is the destination. Practice with a "blank" face, then practice with full performance quality. It should feel different.
Targeted Strength & Conditioning Drills
Lyrical demands a unique blend of explosive power and controlled grace. These drills target the specific muscle groups you need to level up.
1. Core for Control: The Lyrical Hollow
Goal: Stabilize your core for balances, lifts, and controlled falls.
Drill: Lie on your back. Engage your core to press your lower back flat into the floor. Slowly extend your legs to a 45-degree angle and your arms overhead, keeping your back flat. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing deeply. Repeat 3-5 times.
2. Power for Leaps: Plié Jumps
Goal: Develop the push-off and landing control for higher, softer leaps.
Drill: In a wide second position plié, explode into a jump, stretching your arms into a high V. Focus on the push through the whole foot. Land silently back in your deep plié, absorbing the impact. 3 sets of 12.
3. Stability for Turns: Relevé Hold with Press
Goal: Strengthen ankles and calves for sustained relevés and multiple turns.
Drill: Rise to a high relevé in first position. Hold for 30 seconds. Then, without lowering your heels, slowly press one leg into a passé, hold for 15 seconds, and return it. Switch legs. Keep your core engaged and hips level. Repeat 3 times per leg.
4. Back for Expression: Superman Swims
Goal: Build upper back and shoulder strength for fluid port de bras and expressive back bends.
Drill: Lie on your stomach, arms extended overhead. Lift your chest, arms, and legs off the ground (Superman pose). From here, perform small, rapid "swimming" motions with your arms for 30 seconds. Lower and rest. Repeat 5 times.
Putting It All Together: Your Practice Plan
Consistency is key. Integrate these elements into your weekly routine:
- Daily (10 mins): Active stretching and core work (like the Lyrical Hollow).
- 3x/Week (20 mins): Strength drills. Cycle through the exercises listed above.
- 2x/Week (30+ mins): Choreography practice. Work on old and new pieces, applying the deconstruction method. Dance full-out with emotion every time.
Lyrical dance is the language of the soul, spoken with the body. Your technique is your vocabulary. Now, go tell a story.
