62 The QUEE NS Courier • dance • august 27, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com dance s s Cleaner Pickups – the techniques to learn BY SHAWN BYFIELD For most of us, a Pickup (also known as pull backs) is a light, hopping step that has two sounds, done on the ball of the foot. For standard pickups, both feet take off with a brush back. Then you land on the balls of your feet at the same time. With practice, a pickup can also be done standing on one foot. There are variations of the step of course, just like any step in tap dance. Four count (I’ve also heard them called delayed pickups) happen when one foot makes a brush, followed by the other. You then land on the first foot, and the other quickly lands after it. However, you’ll discover the above technique has two major flaws. The first problem – That brush back adds a “scrapey” sound. If you’ve been tap dancing for a while, you know the difference between a clear brush and a scrape. Listen to your shuffles; Your taps should resonate with a crisp sound. The second problem – Psychologically speaking, once you brush back, your body wants to put the foot down behind you, instead of landing on your start position. This makes you travel backward (ever learned pickups traveling across the floor?) and makes it much more difficult to stay on the spot. So how to avoid traveling, and make cleaner pickups? Follow these three steps: FIRST: Take lift off. JUMP. Don’t even think about the brush back. Spring off the balls of your feet, and only jump straight up in the air. SECOND: Once you’re in mid air, quickly tap on the way DOWN. You need to time that split second before gravity pulls you back down. Tap in the space before you land. LASTLY: Land on balls of your feet, making sure to bend your knees. NO HEELS! Always keep your weight on your toes. This most likely involves reprogramming the physics that you’ve learned from previous teachers. Because tapping on the way DOWN requires a bit more stomach, thigh and shin muscle strength, as well as perfect timing. But it can be done. Try this today, and make it a habit from now on. The best way to perfect this is to sit in a chair, lift your feet off the floor by pushing off the balls of your feet, then tap, then land. Repeat. Once you get it, you’ll immediately hear and feel the difference in your technique. Congratulations! ©Shawn Byfield (www.ShawnByfield. com) is an award winning choreographer, show director and a leading expert in dance lessons and industry advice. Open-End Repertory Theatre Company Chosen For Havoc Show At the SOHO Film Festival, the Open-End Repertory Theatre Company was chosen to do a show at the June Havoc Theatre. This was a Red Carpet Event, a very special performance of 1 act plays, mostly comedies from different periods. It was greatly received, a wonderful, enjoyable evening. This was a standing ovation on this Red Carpet Event. Everyone loved the show. One of the reporters from CBS, Al Cole said that Open-End is one of the finest repertory theatres he has ever seen, along with many rave reviews from the critics. A member of the company, Lancelot Theobald also received a Humanitarian Award. The Open-End Repertory was at one time AET, performing regional New York Theatres for fifteen years. The actors are professional actors who have appeared in plays, musicals and films and have won many awards. The company is a Queens based group, and the actors all reside in Queens. It was developed at the American Dance & Drama Studio located in Fresh Meadows. It’s home is the American Stage, a Black Box theatre connected with American Dance & Drama. At ADD, many artists have worked in Broadway shows, nightclubs, recordings and film. These projects were developed at the studio where the artists could develop their show. American Dance & Drama for 41 years has a lot of history. They have developed many projects and gave birth to many talented students who have performed leads on Broadway, T.V. and Films.
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