We are a non-profit, volunteer run calisthenics club in operation since 1969. Our focus is non-competitive dance & exercise for ages three and up. Lessons are held at the Bellevue Heights Primary School on Mondays or Thursdays during school terms. There are two concerts- one in the middle of the year and one at the end of the year in November.
What is calisthenics?
Although calisthenics originated in England and Europe in the 1880’s calisthenics was formed from a Greek word known as (Kallos,sthenos ) “ Kallos “ for beauty and “ sthenos “ for strength.
Calisthenics uniquely helps students develop discipline of the mind and body, teamwork, competitive spirit, and team commitment. Appreciation for music, rhythms, and melodies is also some things students will intake as well as stage presentation, and let’s not forget the stunning costumes all the performers get to wear on stage. Between 4 to 6 routines are learnt each year depending on the age group, and routines last between 2.5 – to 4 minutes. All routines are taught and performed with the emphasis of teamwork and uniformity. A brief description of each of the routines is listed below.
A team of girls displays intricate marching figures and patterns, while highlighting good teamwork. Rhythm and precision within the team must be as identical as possible. A well-choreographed March will display many complex patterns and be very entertaining. Our youngest group the minis have a strong focus on swinging their arms and pointing their toes leading up to the senior group who focus on precision timing and intricate movement patterns.
Creative series of strength and flexibility movements developing core strength, flexibility and posture. Exercise demonstrates imaginative choreography and control and rhythm, testing the teams stamina, flexibility and timing. Younger sections start with simple basic movements such as lunges and arm movements. As the item progresses through the age groups, it becomes more challenging including forwards rolls, cartwheels and complex sequences requiring precision timing.
Aesthetic routines are a graceful form of dance, where the group wear long flowing skirts and interpret music with a variety of soft facial and body expressions. Movements should be gentle and flowing while maintaining poise, strength, and at times flexibility.
A hollow metal rod which is a customized length for each girl. The manipulation of this apparatus while demonstrating flexible use of body and legs, highlights the concentration and co-ordination required by the performers. Although the rod is the focal point, the use of the body and legs are incorporated into the set of exercises.
Our Sub Juniors learn the basic skills such as under-grip, over-grip, twisting, folding and flashing. As the girls move into older groups they learn more complex skills and can increase the speed of the routine.
This is where performers make circular swings with wooden clubs developing fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and rhythm. Club Swinging is the most difficult skill a calisthenic participant will learn, it requires determination and lots of practice. Younger groups learn basic circular swings, windmills and folds while more advanced routines include increased speed, moving through various patterns and executing leg movements.
The Dance routine is a very open and broad category in which the girls combine their skills and present a fun and exciting performance. A variety of dance styles can be used depending on the song and even theme. The dance item sometimes contain singing, acting and can come to life with expressive costumes and entertaining stage props such as hats, umbrellas, feather boas, chairs, pom poms, brooms, hoops and much more. On several occasions two teams have combined for the dance shown a few times in the videos by crossing over on stage.