Women Dance leap vs Gymnastics leap?

[2G1B]

My DD is about to finish up her level 3 season. Last year she took a year off of dance due to scheduling conflicts; but started back doing ballet (and tap and jazz) this year. One thing that her ballet teacher immediately started working on was her leaps. She explained that there is a difference between a dance leap (split jump specifically) and a gymnastics one and that DD was doing the gymnastics one.

Now, several months back into dance and the dance teacher is happy with her leap; but now her floor coach tells me that she is doing a "stag leap". Apparently she is doing the dance leap in her floor routine instead of the gymnastics style. Oy. Her coach worked and worked on the leap last week and I *think* that she did it correctly at the competition over the weekend.

I plan to ask her dance teacher if, just until states are through (2 weeks) if she can NOT work on the leap for dance. I am pretty sure that her dance teacher will be OK with this.

For future though, I was wondering... once they get out of compulsories, is it ok to do the leaps as they would in dance, or do they always have to be the "gymnastics style"?

 

[Quadqueen]

I can't say I understand what your DD has been doing....? A stag leap is very different than a split leap or jump. What level is she? Are we talking about a regular split leap?

In terms of what leaps they can do in optionals, there are tons.

 

[2G1B]

She is level 3, so it is just the split leap. I don't know exactly what the differences are; but the dance teacher and the floor coach have both centered in on her doing the wrong leap for their activity (first the dance teacher saying, "she is doing a gymnastics leap" and fixing it to a dance leap and now the gym coach saying, "she is doing a dance leap" and trying to fix it back to the gymnastics one). I don't really know what the dance teacher saw that was different, she just told me the first day that there was a difference and she was working on getting DD doing it the "dance way". The gym coach said that instead of taking her front leg straight up and out that she is now kind of bending it up before shooting it out in front. Does that make sense?

 

[2G1B]

OK, I youtubed it and can see the difference; but wonder if the dance kind will ever be OK.

This is what DD is now doing:


and if I'm understanding correctly, for gymnastics she needs to stop bending that front let and then shooting it out, rather it just needs to go up already straight?

 

[Quadqueen]

oh, ok, yes, legs need to be straight throughout

 

[Becauseisaid]

Ditto being confused. My DD is level 3 and her floor coach is also a dance coach. The split leap and stag leap are completely different. A split leap is exactly that - the splits in the air. A stag leap has the back leg much higher. The video you posted is a split leap and what she should be doing in her floor routine.

 

[Becauseisaid]

I should also mention that there is not supposed to be any difference between a "dance" leap and a "gymnastics" leap. The floor routines incorporate a LOT more dance elements this year. (Our floor coach was thrilled to see that since she is also a dance teacher) But the dance elements are just that - DANCE elements. Either you are doing them correctly or you are not.

 

[sglemon]

My dd has been dancing for 8 years, ballet, pointe, etc. She competed gymnastics last year, level 5. There was never an issue with her leaps. She had straight legs, ponted toes, full split sometimes greater than 180 degrees. It is gorgeous en pointe! Her split leaps put her front center on stage in dance and she was always the example the coaches used in gymnastics. The 4 years she competed at gymnastics she averaged around 9.5 on floor. In judge critique type meets, they always commented on her leaps. I definitely see a difference in the YouTube video, but my dd dance leaps never looked like those either. They look like her gymnastic leap. She will start competing this year in dance, I will be curious what the judges say. I know when girls are starting to learn those leaps, they mostly look like the ones in the video, minus the turned bodies.

 

[sglemon]

Ditto being confused. My DD is level 3 and her floor coach is also a dance coach. The split leap and stag leap are completely different. A split leap is exactly that - the splits in the air. A stag leap has the back leg much higher. The video you posted is a split leap and what she should be doing in her floor routine.

Isn't a stag leap, a bent front leg in the air? I know when girls are learning split leaps, they can bend their legs while going up in the air, before the split.

 

[coachmolly]

A stag leap (in gymnastics) is just bending the front leg going into the leap. It used to be a pretty hefty deduction for a gymnast to stag their split leaps in the compulsory routine, but I think in the last few years they've started to allow it. And they are absolutely allowed at the optional level.

 

[CoachTodd]

That's basically just a different leap. Most gyms I've worked with in my area have a dance teacher work with the gymnasts on leaps. Unfortunately, there is a deduction for the bent legged leap in compulsories. She just needs to know the difference. In optional levels they may put the stag leap in her routine. Right now, they are looking for a split leap.

 

[AmandaLynn]

The video shows a developpe into a split leap. The compulsory text states that there is a deduction "up to 0.10" for bending the lead leg on take off.

 

[aerials]

I agree with AmandaLynn. The video is a developpe into a split leap. A grand jete would be more similar to a split leap.

 

[Sixmonkeyjungle]

My dd who competes both dance and l3 gym told me that the difference was in the steps leading into the leap and not the leap itself. I can't say I know enough about either to comment but I know her dance teacher has corrected her "approach" and had that conversation with her. But the split leap itself is the same.

 

[Jenny]

who knew it was so complicated!