Lauren Giordano Curran’s Pre-class Ritual
April 13, 2016

After doing yoga poses before class, Lauren Giordano Curran likes to warm up with her students.

In our April issue’s Health column we asked four teachers what their personal warm-up practices were. Here’s what jazz teacher Lauren Giordano Curran had to say.

Lauren Giordano Curran

Specializes in jazz for students of all ages at Gus Giordano Dance

Age: in her 20s

Before class I do basic back-opening, spine-strengthening yoga poses like cat-cow and thread the needle, just to relax the side of my face on the floor and find an opening on the front side body and the back. I also do eagle pose or sometimes just eagle arms. I’ll round over and gaze up at the ceiling for a few moments. I feel so much release.

Then I’ll warm up with the kids as much as I can. I’ll make sure to get my heart rate up within the first five to seven minutes. Then by the end of the warm-up—half hour, 45 minutes—we’re all dripping sweat and ready to go across the floor. Once they’ve memorized the warm-up, I spend more time walking around the room, observing and correcting, so I’ll give myself the warm-up before class. It includes contractions and releases, isolations, cardio—like jumping jacks—pliés, tendus, dégagés, ronds de jambe and stretching.

Photo by Caitlin Hargett, courtesy of Giordano Dance

For more warm-up ideas, subscribe to Dance Teacher.

Subscribe to our newsletters

Sign up for any or all of these newsletters

You have Successfully Subscribed!