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Presentation given by Jo Ann Schneider Farris
First, we read page 84 in Instructor Handbook which
gives an introduction to the program:
"Artistry in
Motion (AIM) is designed to educate skaters on the basic
principles and philosophy of choreography and to give them a
foundation in basic body alignment, movement and line. By
incorporating Artistry in Motion in conjunction with the USFSA
Basic Skills Program athletes will achieve a complete training
package.
Artistry in Motion praises the creative mind
of every skaters and encourages their personal growth through
expansion of the mind and body. AIM may be used for skaters
who have passed Basic 8 and above. By following the curriculum
athletes have the opportunity to experience and explore the
extension of outward expression."
There are four
levels : Artisry in Motion (AIM) 1, 2, 3, 4
JO ANN
explained that it is impossible to cover all the levels per
session, and so, she has designed the class at Chapel Hills to
fit the needs of our Learn to Skate Program, and the needs of
our coaches and figure skaters
Here is our format :
The class is offered on Saturday mornings from 8:00 9:00 AM.
The hour is split up as follows:
First, there is a 15
to 20 minute warm up that incorporates proper use of body, arm
positions, beginning and ending in "T" position, eye focus,
and extension. Jo Ann had our Instructor Workshop class do one
or two of her warm up exercises. The arm and body positions we
used in this warm up, are all focused on in the AIM curriculum
Then, each week, we spend a solid ½ hour on this
sessions THEME. That one element/theme is what skaters are
tested on at the end of the session. Example: weve tested thus
far on element "B" in AIM 1skating to music, element "E" in
AIM 1 body awareness/levels, element "F": program
construction. (Weve only had the USFSA guidelines on the
program in place since September 2000, and have run the class
with testing during Fall #1, Winter, and Spring #1 sessions
during 2000--2001.)
This particular session, it was Jo
Anns plan was to take a giant skip to AIM 4 and cover footwork
sequences. (Since she has been recovering from Pneumonia, she
has asked the teachers subbing for her each week to
concentrate on different footwork sequences. We will might not
test this time around for Spring #2 due to the fact that Jo
Ann has not been able to attend.)
JO ANN stated that
she feels that there is really no end to this program. It
makes a total skater, and the class can be taken over and
over. Every session, skaters learn something new.
At
the end of the half hour where we work on our THEME for the
session, we usually try to incorporate proper arms, proper
carriage, extension, and landing position in jumps and spins.
Many of the skaters have not yet a knowledge of jumps such as
falling leafs, split jumps, etc. Many times we touch on that.
Sometimes we teach bauers, spread eagles unique spirals, knees
and body slides, and spin variations. This keeps the class
challenging and interesting for all.
The last ten
minutes, is just sort of a preliminary power skating session.
What we do is have the skaters use their bodies and arms
during this power time and emphasize carriage. Sometimes we
include running 3 turns, using arms, falling leafs, etc. This
all depends on JO ANNs mood!
We always end with a
curtsy and bow!
Then Jo Ann instructed the
Instructor Workshop class on just a few of the areas of the
AIM curriculum, and encouraged everyone to come on Saturdays
during the summer session and fall #1 to observe and
participate in this class.
This is such a fun class!
It makes a total figure skater.
We touched on the
following: (See your Basic Skills Instructors Manual for more
details of what we covered.)
From AIM 1:
B)
Intro to rhythm/musical styles (we stroked to the beat with
correct posture and proper stroking, use different rhythms
with same steps, etc)
E) Body Awareness/levels
*Ice: pose on the ice, body slide
*Knees:
lunge, shoot the duck, dip, knee bends
*Hip: spirals
*Shoulderarm carriage, arm movement, backbend,
rotation of shoulders
*Top of head: head rolls, lift
and lower head, turning sid to side, incline head (ear to
shoulder)
*Infinity-jumps, reaching movements above
the head, walking on toe picks
(We turned our bodies
into ice sculptures!)
From AIM 2:
C)
Development of Port de Bras (Carriage of Arms)
Jo Ann
taught the 4 arm positions used in AIM to the group
Preparatory (en bas)
1st (en avant)
2nd (a-la-seconde)
3rd (en haut)
B)
Introduction to correct upper body placement
Includes:
forward and backward stroking positioning
Landing
position
Forward and backward spirals
3 turn
positioning
short foot work sequences
choreograph sequences that emphasize these elements
From AIM 3:
D) Circular spiral sequence: left
forward inside spiral, ina bauer, outside circle side lean,
backward crossover, back outside spiral, forward outside
spiral
E) interpretive exercises to music
(one
opportunity to listen, 2 opportunities to rough draft program)
can perform program one or two skaters at a time
1 minute program to include 2-3 jumps, 2 spins, spiral
sequence, footwork sequence, connecting steps
From AIM
4: At this level skaters need to understand power pulls,
counters/rockers, choctaw, and outside mohawks. We discussed
and defined they elements..
B) Advanced spins
Examples: blur spin with arms raised over head
Sit spin hands spinning on ankle
Sit spin head
drops down
Back sit spin pull up leg to the side
Forward camel opposite grab
Variations of
head/arm positions on spins (coaches create)
D)
Footwork and edge work sequences to music 20 or 30 seconds
Circle, serpentine, diagonal, diagonal into circle,
half circle
We are emphasizing this element this
session
The footwork should incorporate: change of
direction, change of edges, body levels, facial expression,
eye contact, musicality, style appropriate to music, change of
rhythm of footwork (holding of edges, taps, etc), flow, port
de bras
E) Demonstration of a program choreographed by
skater, music of skaters choice, 11.5 minutes including
elements from FS 6 and below.
Program construction
(AIM 4, element E) is really final project/goal of the AIM
program.
Jo Ann explained that AIM encourages
instructors to talk to skaters about a good program by
discussing the checklist below:
Ice usage
Program balance
Musicality
Flow
Choreographic originality
Artistic impression
Technical skills
Body levels
Eye
focus/facial expression
Emotion of music
Extension
Posture
Port de bras
Upper body carriage
Placement of elements
Patterns on the ice
Jump technique
Spin technique
NOTE: JO ANN LOVES THIS CLASS!
It is SO COOL! Can you tell?
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