Center work in dance class – you either love it or hate it. In most classes, the center work section is where a dancer works on their technique through different drills, turns, jumps, flexibility, and so on.
Some of the best center combinations include drilling a skill in different ways, so that the dancer doesn’t get bored or sick of working on that skill. For example, if the drill is for pirouettes, try doing balances, singles and doubles from multiple different positions – parallel, first, first, etc. If jumps are the target skill, a mix of big jumps and little jumps can keep the dancer from tiring out or giving up.
Here are some commonly used center work exercises that you may see your dancer working on:
Pirouettes
Petite allegro (jumps)
Developes or Battements (kicks)
Needles, panches, splits, and other flexibility exercises
If you see your dancer working on any of these things at home, encourage them to keep it up! Center work is where a lot of the important technique happens, so practicing can only make each dancer stronger!