Created by Lauren Curley

Arms – Seated

Cross your right leg in front and sit up tall with your elbows bent at your side body palms facing up. Initiate a reach forward with your right shoulder 1, follow through your elbow 2, to your wrist 3 fully out on 4 (allowing your spine to curve to the left). Retract your arm back starting from your shoulder again 5-8. Repeat on the left side 1-8. Right side in 4 counts (2 counts out, 2 counts back), left side 5-8, right side 1-4, left side 5-8.  Initiate from your right side again but this time let it take you all the way down to lay on your left side body, stretching your left arm out in line with your left shoulder. Continue circle your right arm 5-8. Repeat for two more full sets of 8, then on the third set of 8 use your arm circle to bring yourself back up to a seated position and repeat the circle initiating with your left arm.

The music Lauren used in this video is Centre – Pirouettes ll – 4/4, 128 bars, 108BPM by Michael Wall. You can purchase the track on Apple Music HERE or find it on Spotify HERE.

Arms – Standing

This is a classical jazz exercise. For more of a challenge, try doing tendus en croix while you move!

Begin with your feet in parallel hips-width apart. Arms go to jackknife 1-2, elbows down 3-4, fingertips reach up 5-6, and arms press side 7-8. Move through this sequence two times at this tempo, then try it 4 times double time (spending one count only in each position). Once you master that, try it with your arms in cannon. Both arms will start out to the side, then bend your right arm in first to start it off. One arm should always be one position ahead of the other in sequence! You can start twice through slow, then four times quickly. Repeat the whole combination starting on the left, including the ones with both arms moving together to give your brain a break!

The music Lauren used in this video is Barre – Grand Battement – 2/4, 128 bars, 90BPM by Michael Wall. You can purchase the track on Apple Music HERE or find it on Spotify HERE.

Feel free to share these videos, embed them for your students, or link to this page. New online educational resources are being developed every day. If you have suggestions for what you’d like to see let us know: rdt@rdtutah.org.

Be sure to check out Michael Wall and his amazing music! You can find much more at www.soundFORmovement.com

Lauren began her training in Lowell, Massachusetts at Walker’s Dance. She was a scholarship recipient at the University of Hartford’s The Hartt School, graduating Summa Cum Laude with her BFA in Dance Performance. In her time at Hartt, Lauren furthered her training at the Jose Limon Dance Foundation, Martha Graham School, Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance, and Henny Jurrien Stichting (NL). Upon graduating she was offered a contract with Repertory Dance Theatre, where she has performed works by world-renowned choreographers such as Jose Limon, Elisa Monte, Donald McKayle, Danielle Agami, and Zvi Gotheiner. Lauren is a faculty member at Creative Arts Academy and teaches master classes at studios and University programs throughout the country. She has been a member of the company since 2014.

RDT appreciates the generous funding provided by the Utah Legislature and the Utah Board of Education that help make our Arts-in-Education Programs possible in Utah’s Public Schools.