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Acro vs Gymnastics


Acro vs Gymnastics... there is a BIG DIFFERENCE! Acro dance is a beautiful art form specifically for dancers. Acro has softer, more lyrical lines, with the emphasis being on lengthening “through” the tricks and holding gorgeous balances with interesting variations. In Acro, we teach our students to dance into and out of Acro tricks, with minimal OBVIOUS “prep” before & after a trick.

Despite being technically difficult to execute, acrobatic tricks are meant to blend seamlessly with dance steps, providing an extra level of incredible excitement and flair to dance choreography. In short, Gymnastics is a sport and Acro dance is an exceptional, specialized art form.

Gymnasts train on a spring-floor, with actual springs built into the mats (think 2”/4” springs under 1” of plywood, with 2” of carpet bonded foam layer over top). This allows the gymnast to get a lot of height in their tricks, & is a totally forgiving surface on which to repeatedly practice advanced tumbling passes over and over, day after day.

Dancers perform acrobatic tricks on a hard stage, and must train the body to be able to withstand the impact of the hard floor. Dancers don’t get the “rebound” action out of a hard floor like gymnasts do out of a spring-floor. Therefore, dancers must train to get the necessary lift from their bodies to safely make their tricks look light & completely effortless. Emphasis on a strong center (hips, glutes, core), and full extension through the body up into the air, is a must for an acrobat to be able to perform tricks that flow effortlessly through their dancing.

Yes, Acro dancers do tumble, but where a gymnast may perform a run into a round-off, back handspring, full-twisting back lay-out, an Acro dancer may perform a softer, more graceful line, such as: fouette turn, swinging directly into a cartwheel transitioning to a back handspring (full) step-out, finishing into a needle position, and rolling up to stand. Two very impressive passes, with two very distinguished and distinct “looks”.

A specific example of the difference between “gymnastic technique” and “acro technique” is that in gymnastics, several tricks are performed in a “hollow-body” position (think: laying down on the back in a “banana” position with the arms lengthened overhead and slightly upward, and the legs off of the ground also lengthening outward and upward off of the ground, with the chin tucked, and pulling in through the core), and Acro is performed in an “open-body” position (think of a handstand, where the dancer is lengthening out of the shoulders, the back in an arced, but not arched, position, looking in front of the finger tips with an open neck, and lengthening “over the top” with the toes).

The specific training that is required to look and perform like an Acro dancer will serve your students well in their overall dance training. A well-developed Acro dance conditioning program will create stronger, more flexible dancers, which will transfer over into other dance genres.

A dance schedule that includes true Acro dance classes will create stronger, safer, and more diverse dancers, which will, in turn, create more impressive, exciting, & artistic dancing! Acro CANNOT be replaced by gymnastics!! They are simply 2 different things!

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