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Rhythmic Gymnastics combines ballet and creative movements to music, as well as utilizing
certain equipment. The five pieces of equipment used are rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon.
Swings, circles, mills (figure-eight-type circling movement), tosses and catches of the rope. Also common are skips,
leaps and jumps with the open or folded rope.
Common movements with the hoop include swings, rolls, tosses and catches, spins, passes through and over the hoop, rotations
of the hoop on the floor and rotations of the around the hand and other parts of the body. Most impressive here are
the hight tosses and complex techniques for catching the hoop in a different fashion each time.
Waves, circles, tosses and catches, movements with the ball balanced on the hand, bouncing and rolling the ball on the floor
and along parts of the body are all key movements.
Swings, large circles, small circles, mills,
tosses and catches, rolls along the body and rhythmical tapping are all common tricks of the clubs.
Ribbon routines are comprised of snakes, spiral, swings,
circles, tosses and catches and figure-eight movements.
Rhythmic Gymnastics involves athletic skills, strength,
power, flexibility, endurance, and dance.
Rhythmic Gymnastics is considered one of the most
beautiful sports to watch.
In 1962, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officially recognized rhythmic gymnastics as a sport. Rhythmic
Gymnastics made its Olympic debut in 1984, and it immediately sparked the interest of the American public. The delicately
flowing movements of the rhythmic gymnast and her apparatus, a hoop, ball, clubs, rope, and satin ribbon, were a smash hit
at the Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games.
Spectators and participants quickly recognized
the sport's potential. Young girls and women can begin the sport at almost any age and participate on the fun
and fitness level, or progress into competition. Rhythmic is safe, inexpensive, fun and can be taught in small or large groups.
Rhythmic Gymnastics is one of the most fundamental
an exciting of all physical exercises. Basic rhythmics skils develop attributes that are perfect stepping
stones for other sports and activities. Some of these are: flexibility, balance, strength, agility, and hand-eye coordination.
Through proper instruction, children enrolled in rhythmic gymnastics programs demonstrate progress in a number of key developmental
areas:
- Coordination - by learning basic rhythmic gymnastics
skills, a child develops a keener sense of blalance, body awareness and coordinated movements.
- Confidence - rhythmic gymnastics is based on
learning a progression of skills. As a child advances from easy movements to complex skills, she develops a sense
of accomplishment and a natural confidence in her abilities.
- Discipline - rhythmic is its own best reward.
As a child progresses, she learns that things must be done in a certain way to chieve success. This requires discipline.
The incentive for applying that discipline is basic, pure fun.
- Creativity - gymnastics allows children to express
themselves in a unique and individualized way. Much of gymnastics is exploration. Children are constantly challenged
to learn new skills and to discover just how much they can accomplish through hard work and creative thinking.
The most striking thing about a rhythmic gymnast
is the sublime grace she projects while on the floor. The delicacy with which she handles her apparatus is breathtaking,
and the fact that she spent hours in the gym perfecting that delicate touch is unnoticed. The purity of form is essential
in this sport. Here is where line and dimension create a visual geometrical display, interlacing music and movement
like no other sport, save perhaps ice dancing. Beauty, form, line and amplitude are nothing without an inner spark.
The drama that comes from each gymnast is her own. Expression is one of the components of a rhythmic routine.
The subtle details required to become a high level gymnast are not unfamiliar to the artist. An artist, with an eye
to see, an ear to listen, and a soul to feel, has a high regard for the rhythmic gymnast.
Rhythmic gymnastics
is just coming into its own in the United States. The feminine beauty of the sport can be appreciated by any person
who can enjoy technical precision combined with grace and artistic expression.
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