Words To Dance By

Welcome to Words To Dance By

Posted May 2, 2025

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Words To Dance By

Welcome to Words To Dance By: Advanced Insights Into Dance Technique and Teaching. It is a blog by me, Leica Hardy, about the art of dance, the art of teaching dance and the art of…

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Photo collage of LHSD Alumna, Lucie Schmidt. In the left photo she is dancing barefooted in a modern dance style. She is standing on one leg bent at the knee. The other leg is extended backwards also bend at the knee. Here arms are stretched wide with hands flexed at the wrist. She is arching backwards looking at the ceiling. In the right photo she performs classical ballet. She is on pointe on her right leg with the left leg extended to head height diagonally to the side. One arm is overhead in a curve and the other arm is sideways on a downward diagonal. Her body is slightly tilted sidesways towards the downward arm.

What is technique? Part 1 – The Laws of Nature

Posted February 26, 2025

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Words To Dance By

Any discussion of techinque is often complicated and can be dependent on your artistic taste and goals. What may be a technical goal in one dance idiom, may be of no interest in another. For…

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Collage of a dancer in two arabesque poses. The one on the left is in a deep lunge with leg closest to the viewer. The arm closest to the view is elegantly extending forward. The other arm is stretched sideways away from the camera. She is looking towards the viewer with a relaxed, pleasant expression. The photo on the right is the same dancer with the leg closest to the view in the air behind her at 90º. Her body is leaning forward horizontally with the arm closest to the view stretching forwards, as if completing the line of the leg. Her gaze is downward to the floor. She is standin on the ball of her foot on the supporting leg.

What is technique? Part 2- Style, Versatility & Building The Instrument

Posted February 26, 2025

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Words To Dance By

As a teacher and choreographer, I focus on building a universal, habit-based technique that allows dancers to layer style across genres. In this post I discuss why alignment, turnout, and consistent practice—not isolated steps—create lasting…

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Photo collage of four dancers in bent knee positions to demonstrate the difference between funtion and form. Bottome left photo, the dancer is standing turned out on a bent knee on one leg. Top left photo: Dancer is leaping in the splits with both legs bent. Right side photo: Dancer is balanced on the tops of her feet with both knees bent and her knees lifted off the floor. Bottom centre photo: Dancer is in a wide sideways stance with both legs bent deeply turned out at the hip.

What is Technique? Part 3 – Form or Function?

Posted February 26, 2025

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Words To Dance By

In this post I define form and function in dance technique. I will explain why teaching movements for their purpose or function produces reliable form, stylistic versatility, and a healthier dancer. A function-first approach creates…

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Welcome to Words To Dance By

What is technique? Part 1 – The Laws of Nature

What is technique? Part 2- Style, Versatility & Building The Instrument

What is Technique? Part 3 – Form or Function?

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