Decoded: The 8 Steps to Achieving a Perfect Irish Dancer's Posture, Part 1: Steps 1 - 5

Irish dancing is very unique in one aspect:  the straight arms and upper body of its dancers!  Believe me, you will not find our particular style anywhere else.  Even our Scottish cousins performing their Highland dancing, our closest match, use their arms.

In general, having excellent posture will help you look and feel better at all times, not just when you dance, so incorporating it into your daily life is extremely beneficial.   Many Irish dance teachers may not take the time to fully explain how to achieve this posture to their beginner students and advanced students can always use a refresher course. 

There are 8 main steps/components to achieving a perfect Irish dancer’s posture! They correspond exactly to the 8 parts of the body involved and how each should be held or placed to master the proper position.  Most people should be able to apply these techniques very easily.  However, for anyone who has an injury or for children with their ever growing and changing bodies, slight modifications/compensations may be advisable.  Always remember when in doubt, to speak to your dance teacher about any questions or concerns about you or your child’s individual body type or ability.

I have divided the steps into two separate sections for easier learning and practicing.  In part one, we are studying steps 1 through 5:  

Step 1:   SHOULDERS

Shoulders should be held back while maintaining the natural curve of the spine. 

• Pull shoulders back and down by drawing together your shoulder blades and then holding them strongly in that position.
• The key is to hold them in place while relaxing the neck muscles.
• Never allow them to slump or “bounce” forward, be pulled too far back, or have one higher than the other especially while dancing. 
• Keeping the shoulders in this position is one of the hardest things to do and something that dancers have to deal with constantly.  (I do!)  A good way to practice this is to pull your shoulders back every time you think about it as you go about your daily activities: such as walking, sitting, working on the computer, eating, etc.  (This is currently working great for me.  The more I do it, the more natural it feels.)

Step 2:   ARMS

Arms must remain straight at the back side of your body near the buttock. To get position:

•   Begin by holding your arms straight down along the middle sides of your body.    
•  Pull shoulders back by drawing together your shoulder blades and then holding them strongly in place. 
• Allow the arms to follow with the movement until they rest on the back half of the body with the elbows falling naturally into the curve of the waist.   
•  Continue to hold them totally straight with no or very little bend in the elbow which should never be “locked.” 

 

Step 3:   HANDS

Hands should be held in “loose” fists.  To get the position:

• First spread hands out flat then close them and make a fist.
• The thumb can be held two ways:  inside with the fingers against the palms (the current trend) or outside with the fingers lying against the pointer finger.  If your thumbs are held outside, do not allow them to “stick out” from the rest of the fist. 
• Your hands should be held straight down with no bending at the wrist.
• Be aware of any “trigger fingers” which can occur when the rest of the fingers are curled against the palm but one or more fingers are pointing straight out and down.  In Irish dance competitions, adjudicators can deduct points for improperly held hands and arms but especially for “trigger fingers!”  The key is not to draw any undue attention to the hands.

 Step 4:   HEAD

Your head should be held in the “forward and up” position in relationship to the spine. To get the position:

• Begin by freeing the neck of all tension.
• Hold your head in alignment with the spine. 
• Now engage the neck muscles to gently move your head forward and then slightly up. 
• To practice holding your head correctly:   Pretend that a puppet string hanging down from the ceiling is attached to the top of your head.  Mentally give the string a gentle pull upward and let your head follow.  This allows your upper body and head to fall into correct alignment.

Step 5:   EYES

Your eyes should be held looking straight ahead toward a distant point or just above the heads of the spectators. 

• Do NOT look up at the ceiling. If you do, all the audience sees is the whites of your eyes, literally! 
• Do NOT look down at the floor either as this causes your head to tilt out of alignment creating a less than confident look. 
• Take into account any proprioperception issues you might have and compensate accordingly. (This will be discussed in great length later.)

So now you have the basic details for steps 1 through 5. Your goal is to master each over time at your own rate.  These steps are not always easy to maintain especially for beginner dancers.  To master them employ my "three P motto:"

Practice…………Practice……………Practice.  

The next blog will be explaining part 2.  Watch for it!

Have fun and enjoy the dance!!

Irish dancer posture from the side! (June 2013)