Castellano Català

IMPROVING TRIPLE STEPS

1- Basic level: weight change

First of all, it must be understood that triples involves a change of weight, from one foot to the other in each step. This video allows us to work on this concept. You will see that in these exercises each step has the same duration. In later videos we will see the importance of lengthening the first step f the triple step, since music implies this rhythmic implication and expressing it in triples will be more natural in our dance, especially in slower music. But, for the time being we will focus on changing the weight with agility and naturalness.

Once you can take the steps in all directions in an easy and relaxed way, move on to the next video.

2- Basic level: three steps, "shaa-ga-da" and bouncing

As its name indicates, the triple step is really three steps in a row. We make these three steps every two pulsations (what is musically called a triplet). In addition, to make our triples more natural and better express the swing of the music, we will extend the duration of the first (to say shaa-ga-da is a good way to verbally express the duration of each of the three steps).

Once you have this movement more internalised, it is time to add bouncing. This video shows you exercises to help you do it.

Once you can do the triples with minimal fluidity, move on to the next video.

3- Basic level: combine steps and triples (at 95 bpm)

In the next exercise we will add steps to triple steps and complicate it further by changing the direction of the steps. We will make back to front (rock step back, triple, rock step forward), front to back (we start with a rock step forward), back to back (both rock steps are back) and front to front (both rock steps forward).

Repeat the previous exercises until you can do them easily. When you get it, we will work at a slightly faster rate.

4- Basic level: combine steps and triples (at 105 bpm)

A good way to gain agility is to work with a faster music. We will play with back to fronts, front to backs, back to backs and front to fronts.

Repeat these exercises until you can do them quite easily. Upcoming videos will help you automate your triples.

5- Basic level: rock step and triples with arms

We need to acquire naturalness in the movements. A good way to achieve this is to introduce a second, simple activity but one that requires a certain degree of concentration and coordination to aid the automation of our triples. Therefore, in the next video, we suggest combining simple arm and leg movements.

It is important not to move on to the next video until you can easily coordinate both activities.

6- Basic level: rock steps and triples with reversed arms

We will now complicate the second task a bit more. The arms will change the moment when you clap hands.

Practice these exercises until you can do them without too much difficulty.

7- Intermediate level: rock step and triple with clap changes

This exercise slightly increases the difficulty of coordinating arms and legs with the idea of consolidating the automation of triples.

We recommend practising with this video and also with preceding ones as changing exercises or their order promotes learning.

8- Intermediate level: rock step rock step and triples with swinging arms

Now, instead of clapping our hands, we will swing our arms. We will do this assymmetrically to our legs (each arm moves in the opposite direction to that of the leg on the same side) or symmetrically (the arms move in the same direction as the legs). When we move our arms asymmetrically, the movement is easier as this is what we do naturally when we walk. These exercises are a little more difficult and so it is normal that you may feel a little stressed when you do them. But if you keep practising (also mixing them randomly with the others), your brain will improve the coordination of movements and your triples will get more and more free and spontaneous.

9- Intermediate level: lateral triples and twists at 104bpm

Often, when we make the triples, we have the body blocked, tense. This hinders both the realization of the triples and the freedom of the body when it comes to dancing. We propose the following exercises that try to unlock the trunk through different strategies. First we will work the contrast between triples with a lot of bouncing and relaxed body and rigid triples. We also propose that you experiment with the inclination of the body and with different positions of the legs, hips and body. Practice these exercises trying to be aware of the behavior of the trunk when you do them. Try to achieve, with practice, that the movement of the legs does not affect the trunk.

10- Intermediate level: lateral triples and twists at 117bpm

In this video we propose the same kind of exercises from the previous video but increasing the speed a bit. When the music is faster we tend unconsciously to tense a little more. Precisely for this reason we think that, once you consider that you can perform the video 9 exercises quite easily, working this video can help you to consolidate the relaxation and independence of the trunk with respect to the legs.

11- Intermediate level: triples turning

One of the thing that we often have trouble doing, while doing triples, is turning. To work it we propose crossing exercises of the triples that end up evolving into 360-degree turns while doing triples.

The fast laps can easily make us dizzy. A good strategy to avoid it is to keep your gaze at a fixed point when you start the turn, and so the body's rotation prevents us from keeping the head at that point, turning it around and going back to find the starting point. In any case, if this is difficult for you, try, at the end of the round, to find a point where you can fix your gaze as quickly as possible.

If, when you do the exercise, you see that, despite trying to keep the gaze, you still feel very unstable, do not do the full turn, turn only half a turn or even less until you have found the strategy to solve it.

We will try to add even more videos, with exercises of greater difficulty. In the meantime, we advise you to repeat the exercises in these videos systematically. The more confidence you gain the more you will consolidate the changes and improvements in your style.