How To Plan A Successful Rhythmic Gymnastics Program that incorporates Ropes, Hoops, Balls, and Ribbons & a final routine.
Warm-Up Activities
Ropes – Skipping to music, how many skips, cross skips, backward skips, doubled rope skips, turning skips or double jumps in 1 minute
Combine your own skips from the above to make a routine.
- Big rope skipping, how many in a row, how many students in the rope at one the time, or without missing a loop.
Hoops – Hoola hoop (standing, turning, and walking). - Game of Out, Students sit in their hoops in a circle with one student in the
middle. The teacher calls out different scenarios for example ‘students with
brown eyes’ then all students with brown eyes have to change positions with
someone else with brown eyes including the person in the middle, the student
without a hoop then gets the letter O followed by U and T.
Freehand – Aerobics routine to music. - Running games.
Ball – Running, sidestepping, skipping, jumping in a circle to music in conjunction with
bouncing, rolling, or throwing and catching a ball
Stretching
Students in a circle or lines using music lead a stretching routine to cover all major muscle groups.
Body Work Skills
Students work in lines traveling down the gym
Leaps – Walking, jumping, turning vertical jumps, side chasses, chasses, step hops, cat
leaps, scissor leaps, turning cat leaps, stag leaps, and split leaps.
Balances – Feet together, passé, attitude, arabesque front and back and kneeling
front/side arabesque
Pivots – Chaine, passé, attitude, arabesque front and back
Flexibilities – Bodywave, body circle, spiral turn, penchee kick and passé promenade
Apparatus skills
Rope – Skipping (fwd, backward, crossover, turning, doubled rope, double jumps, partner)
- Rotations (fwd, backward, in front of the body, overhead)
- Releases (rope stretched out behind pull up to catch the end, backward release behind back to catch in front, stir, fwd release over one arm)
- Throws and Catches (knot rope backward rotation to throw, open rope throw, skip
throw. Catch in hands or on different body parts for example legs.) - Handling (Swings, circumductions/circles, figures of 8, sails, mills)
If students are using ropes with handles throws and catches and releases should not be performed.
Hoop – Rolls (on the body- up stomach down back, across arms and on the floor fwd, backward and retro rolls)
- Rotations (on hand or other body part or axis of the hoop)
- Throws and Catches (from a swing, from rotations, axis, skip throw. Catch in hands or legs).
- Passing through/over the hoop (skipping through, bringing down over the body, jumping over).
- Handling (Swings, circles/circumductions, figures of 8).
Plastic hoops are preferable to cane hoops and should come to the student’s hips in height.
If using smaller hoops passing through the hoop will be difficult.
Ball – Throws and catches (from a swing or push throw. Catch with a swing, with legs,
behind back).
- Bounces (single, series, hands or different parts of the body or any
combination). - Freerolls on the body (up stomach down arms, up stomach down back, across arms or up legs).
- Rolls on the floor
- Handling (swings, circumductions/circles, figures of 8 or balance ball on the hand or other parts of the body).
A medium-size ball is preferable but even basketball and tennis balls can be used.
Ribbon – Snakes (horizontal or vertical beside/in front/above the body).
- Spirals (standing or traveling).
- Throws and Catches (free throw or pull back throw).
- Small tosses
- Passing through or over the ribbon (running through frontal circles, over
snakes). - Handling (swings, circles, figures of 8).
If there are no ribbons available scarves can be used but forming patterns such as spirals
and snakes will be difficult.
Multiples
Pairs, trios, and groups are a great way of combining learning the elements of rhythmic gymnastics and having fun. Exchanges of the apparatus and formations play a major part in the choreography of a routine.
Students also enjoy working in music when performing
their routines. Routines may be performed with one or two different apparatus.
Task
Create your own multiples routine using the hoop as your apparatus. In your routine you are to include: 2 exchanges, 2 different formations, a roll on the body, a roll on the floor, 2 sets of rotations, a throw and catch, passing through or over the hoop, a pivot, balance,
flexibility and leap.