What makes a back tuck clean? When is a dancer really ready? And why does the technique matter more than just getting over?

Leah Holliday returns to break down two of acro's most sought-after skills: the back tuck and back layout. This conversation goes beyond the mechanics. We talk about the mental blocks that stop progress, the drills teachers skip (and shouldn't), the spotting mistakes that compromise safety, and what it actually looks like when these skills are done right.

If you've ever felt pressure to push a student faster than they're ready, or wondered why some dancers can do all the drills but can't commit to the skill, this episode will give you clarity and a path forward. 

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About Leah

Leah has been teaching acro and dance for over 25 years. She was born and raised in Regina, SK and studied dance and baton twirling at the Martin School of Dance. Not only was she known as a well accomplished dancer but she represented Canada in Baton Twirling at numerous World Championships as a soloist and team member. Leah has been with Acrobatic Arts for 5 years. She is a course conductor and examiner. Leah teaches dance and acro in Calgary, AB and she teachers Master Classes for Acrobatic Arts.

Previous episodes with Leah Holliday:

Ep 88 How to Spot Side Aerials with Leah Holliday - https://youtu.be/FznbWVjQUQM

Ep 111 Teaching the Heli Tips Every Teacher Needs with Leah Holliday - https://youtu.be/bDN7cLJ6_x8

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Loren  0:00  
Hey everyone, welcome to the Acrobatic Arts podcast!

Loren  0:05  
I'm Loren, and I will be interviewing some of the top leaders and innovators from the dance and acrobatic industry. If you are a teacher, performer, student, or a lifelong learner like myself, you are sure to find these episodes intriguing and full of inspiration.

Loren  0:21  
Acrobatic Arts is passionate about providing current and relevant information for everyone, so please sit back and enjoy as we share our passion with you and the world.

Loren  0:36  
I am so excited for today because we have a returning guest who you all clearly loved the first time around, Leah Holliday is back. If you caught her first episode, you know she brought so much insight to our conversation about the heli cartwheel. 

Loren  0:51  
Today we are talking about two skills that come up constantly, so much that Acrobatic Arts has created a certification course for them: the back tuck and the back layout. Leah has been teaching dance and acro for over 25 years. She is a course conductor and examiner with Acrobatic Arts, and she travels to teach master classes across North America. We are going to break down the back tuck and the back layout today in the best possible way, teaching cues, what to watch for where things go sideways and what it actually looks like when it all comes together. 

Loren  1:28  
Before we begin, a quick reminder for anyone looking for professional acro training. Acrobatic Arts trains and certifies 1000s of teachers around the globe. You can learn more about our programs and upcoming courses at Acrobatic arts.com 

Loren  1:44  
Now let's welcome our guest for today, Leah Holliday. Welcome back to the Acrobatic Arts podcast.

Leah  1:55  
Thank you so much for having me, and I'm excited to be here.

Loren  1:59  
So last time we talked about the heli together, and our listeners absolutely loved that episode. Today, we're talking about the back tuck and the back layout, which honestly feels like a conversation that's been waiting to happen for a while. To start us off, where did these skills sit for you personally? Do you have a favorite between the two, or is it one of those depends on the day type situations?

Leah  2:27  
Honestly, like, I, I actually really love teaching tumbling in general. It's like my favorite thing. I, you know, everybody kind of has their niche that they like to teach, and for me, tumbling is it. I just like the calisthenics and the power and all of the energy that goes into it, and so it's like my favorite to teach humbling anyway. Back tuck, back layout, I feel like teaching them, I, it depends on the day, I don't feel like I have a favorite in how to teach them, but when I'm thinking about the skill and how to use them, I lean towards the back layout, just because it looks prettier on stage, it's lighter, it lends well to the transition between dance moves, where as back tucks feels a little bit too, it stops, lands on two feet, and it then it feels a little gymnasticsy for me sometimes on stage, so that's the only reason why, but otherwise I love teaching both,

Loren  3:18  
And when you think about these two skills in the Acrobatic Arts syllabus, how do you explain sort of where they show up in the syllabus for teachers and on the progressions to get there?

Leah  3:32  
Yeah, well, I think you just said the magic word there, progressions, honestly, like for teachers it's really important that dancers follow those progressions and use the building blocks from everything from primary to pre pro one, which is where the back tuck shows up first. The back tuck shows up first, making sure that your dancers have strong bodies, first of all, strong cores, strong legs, because they need to be able to jump, making sure that your dancers have built foundations in all their rolling skills, all their back walkovers, their back Arabians, and then making sure that your dancers are physically and cognitively mature enough to take on these skills, because they can be dangerous if dancers aren't ready for them. So making sure that as you approach these skills, those dancers are mature enough to handle what you're going to give them, and then if not backing up and focusing on those progressions that you're not putting too much into it for your own physical self when it comes down to spotting,

Loren  4:28  
And I think that's important. I've actually been having this conversation with a lot of studio owners and teachers about acro. A lot of their dancers are physically able to do some hard skills, how do you address, I guess, the being ready for those skills?

Leah  4:47  
Yeah, like, and as you're talking about this, like, I'm thinking to myself, too, like there's such a pressure from society and the dance world, and you know, maybe from parents, maybe from, you know, watching different things on different stages to like just. The tricks do the tricks do the tricks, so like I do think teachers tend to feel I don't know that they even maybe want to push beyond what the kids are ready to do, but they're feeling that pressure of like I'm booking privates, I want my kid to get a back tuck, I want my, you know, you're getting that pressure, and I feel like just standing your ground is really, really important with some of that, and then making sure that you, you are doing the drills, like the drills are so important, and as you know, Acrobatic Acrobatic Arts offers the back tuck back layout course after you've completed your module two to get ready to spot these more advanced skills where they show up in the pre-professional levels, and if you haven't taken it out there in the world, you should take it. 

Leah  5:34  
It's so educational, teach you all the drills, all the steps that will take you through to get these skills efficiently and with good technique. The technique is so important, and so having that strength and conditioning, doing the calisthenics, doing the jumping up and off the stack, doing your roll drills, even like having to roll the hips over the shoulders, so that they can get around properly, and they're not just chucking it. The chucking it is a big thing I do see when teachers haven't spent the time working on the drills and the progressions that you see the kids like, and we'll talk about this a little bit later, I'm sure, is like the technique of the back tuck in the back layout, but doing some, some crazy things that they're landing funny, their bodies aren't tracking properly, they're over rotating, they're under rotating, they're it's a hard landing, which becomes a big safety issue. So I think I answered the question there, but I kind of rambled a bit, because I get, I get really passionate about these things.

Loren  6:36  
Yeah, let's talk about the back tuck, it can feel like a straightforward skill once you sort of have all the pieces, but we know that the moment of commitment is a big one. What do you think is actually happening for the student when they hit a wall where they can do everything leading up to it, but then they just can't, you know, get the skill to come together,

Leah  7:03  
yeah. And I think this one is, is what we call like a mental block, right? And a lot of dancers hit this point when they are learning back handsprings, too. It's like going backwards, not knowing where the ground is, you know. The fear, I think the fear is a big thing, is like, what if I don't land it. What if I under rotate? What if I over rotate? Like they get too much in their head about it, even though they have all the building blocks, and so spending a lot of time doing visualization is really important, stopping breathing, seeing that skill in their mind, going through the drills again. I do a lot of going back to the drills, right? And I know I keep saying progressions, progressions, but I can't emphasize it enough. How important is that these dancers are feeling confident. 

Leah  7:46  
So it's confidence and working with them on visualization, working with them on the drills, taking them back, going to the spotting to help those dancers build their confidence. Like, I tend to err on the side of caution, I'll keep spotting until I can see on that dancer's face, because you do see it, you can see that mental block happening as they go in to prepare for the tuck or the layout, and there's just this look that comes over their face that I'm like, okay, you're not ready to do this by yourself, because you're just, your brain's not there yet, even though your body is there, and so I'll spend some time, like, I don't have to spot a lot at this point, because they've done all the progressions, but just I call it comfort spotting, so going in and making sure that my hands are near them, so that they build that confidence, and then slowly dialing it back. 

Leah  8:27  
But visualization, spending some time doing some deep breathing, and thinking about it really helps with that. But I do, I do think it's just a mental block, and progressions, and going back, doing the drills, reiterating that you know what you're doing, you know what the body is doing, and then, and then working towards it. I try to get creative too, and try to figure out different ways to help that particular dancer, but every kid's a little bit different, right? So finding that special, the words and the special thing that they need to help them get to that point where they get over that block.

Loren  8:56  
Yeah, Leah, I love that you mentioned when you're spotting, you can see it on their face, or you can sort of tell in their body, and that only comes from experience spotting, you know, hundreds of dancers, which are doing 1000s of back tucks over the course of your teaching career and your spotting career, and I think it's important that new teachers to the skill understand that it's not going to happen overnight, you know, to get that feeling from them, like that just comes with doing it over and over and over.

Leah  9:30  
Oh, absolutely. And like that look that comes over their face. I mean, maybe when I was less experienced teacher, that's when you know that things are going to go wrong, if that makes sense, like I see it on their face, and then I'm like, oh boy, this means, like, get in there, get in there, and spot, make sure that it's safe, because the biggest thing for me is safety, making sure that these dancers aren't getting hurt, and they have trust in me, and they trust that I'm gonna get them through the process, right, trust is a big thing, having trust between the spotter and. A dancer, but that, that look, that look is what I'm like, no, I'm in there, even if they look at me and say, can I try by myself, and then they go to set, and I'm like, oh no, we're gonna, I'm gonna spot this one, let's do it again, let's go back to the drill, let's do your jump ups on the mats, like just that look, I know that look, and it is a feeling, it does take experience, but also talking to the dancer too, like if you don't have the experience, and make sure that they know that it is a safe environment to be honest, because safety comes first. So be honest with me. Tell me what you're feeling like. Are you ready? If not, no problem, I can help you through this. We're gonna, we're gonna work our way through it until you are comfortable, and verbalizing that as well.

Loren  10:43  
And then on the other side, once they do have it all together and they're committed to doing it, what does a clean back tuck look like to you? and I think it's really important to talk about this, because we're in the dance industry and we know what a technical pirouette looks like, we know what a nice leap looks like, but sometimes we see back tucks, and we're impressed because it's a big skill. But technically, what does a clean back tuck look like for you?

Leah  11:11  
Yes, and describing this verbally is like an interesting thing, because it's really nice to have a visual, but I'm going to do my best to like walk through it and explain to you, like, what I see when I close my eyes, and I see the best back tuck I've ever seen. The really, really, really important thing is that this dancer has enough height in their jump, so number one is like their tuck jump needs to be super solid, so they need to be going up first. This back tuck should not travel backwards, it should basically be occurring straight up on the spot, so that's number one of height and no travel. 

Leah  11:43  
So, when they do travel, what we see is they're throwing the shoulders and their head back and they're chucking their head. So, what's really important is that set jumping straight up with their head in line. So, this is really, really important because what dancers want to do is they want to look for the floor right away, but that's not okay. We want them to go up and be looking upwards in a diagonal trajectory, and then bringing their knees up, but their head should never really come on out of line. So, if you can imagine a backwards, a perfect tucked backward roll, that's what this tuck should look like in the air, their chin in, their knees in towards their chest, and like a long straight curved back, well, not straight, but curved back, so not a chucking head, so that's really, really important. 

Leah  12:25  
And then those hips need to roll over the shoulders as they pass through the air, and again, that head is still online, their eyes will just come out as their feet are approaching the floor. And then when their feet land, they land in a nice squat-like position, so they're not landing too far forward, where their hands are nearing the floor or over rotating and falling backwards, like you'll see that if they have too much power, if they've pulled out of the tuck too soon, they'll they'll rotate backwards. So those are the things again, straight up, knees into chest, chin in line, height, no distance, and landing with a strong stick at landing

Loren  13:01  
Amazing! I could actually visualize that.

Leah  13:04  
Oh, I hope so. I'm trying. I'm trying here.

Loren  13:09  
Let's talk a little bit about what you see teachers maybe skipping or not paying enough attention to when they're training the back tuck, whether it's how they present the skill, how they teach it, or even how they spot it, or maybe it's just habits that creep in.

Leah  13:27  
Yeah, for sure. So, I think the big thing is, is the set, honestly. So that's the jump that goes in, as you, if you, if you're not aware, if people aren't aware who are listening, it's the set is when they're jumping up to begin the back tuck. So, I think teachers sometimes forget that that set needs to go straight up and that that the head shouldn't be chucking backwards, right. So you'll see kids, or I will anyway, um, run down the mat and run. I say this because I, instead of doing like a hurdle or a proper entry, they like do like a five mile run, a jog down the mat, they power into this round off, and then they just chuck and open, so teachers are forgetting that they need to like bring everything in nice and tight, and that core strength is so important. 

Leah  14:09  
So, forgetting to go back to those drills of rock and roll, from standing to tuck, from standing to candle, with the arms over the head, because that simulates that that set position, but on the floor, so making sure that those foundational skills on the ground before they're actually jumping and doing the tuck is so, so important. So, just like forgetting to go back and do those drills, I think is the big thing, and making sure that your dancers know what's going to be required of them while they're on the ground, so whether they're laying on the ground and they're practicing their roll to tuck and getting up on their shoulders, so their hips are rolling over their, their heads, or forgetting to do the calisthenic stuff, the jumping, so jumping up and off the stack, doing tuck jumps off of the stack, tuck jump straight up, tuck going backwards off the stack, so that they understand that the upward trajectory, so those are. 

Leah  14:59  
Things that, like, I find the chucking is what I call it, when they're chucking their heads and they're just throwing themselves over, that's a bad habit that builds in. And then teachers maybe sometimes are feeling pressured, and they're like, well, I want the dancers to have fun in class, and I want them to feel challenged, and sometimes the drills are boring, and the kids don't want to do them, and then they don't want to do that, but, like, just forgetting to explain how important those foundations are, so that the dancers are safe, and then on the other side, the spotting piece is just not getting in there to put the hand on the back and helping them with that set, because a lot of the spotting comes down to helping them going up rather than allowing them to chuck back, so like my arm that rests on their back, or my hand that is on their back is the hand that is helping to drive them up, and then my other hand is helping rotate the hips over, so not focusing enough on that upward before they rotate their hips over, and then just in talking to dancers about this skill, in terms of like the back tuck spotting, is dancers have said to me like some things that they see teachers doing wrong is like over spotting, so like holding them so much that they don't have any ability to mobilize, and so then they kind of get stuck in the air, and then they feel like they're falling down, right? So, remember, I talked about trust, so that's a big thing when we're spotting these skills, these dancers are going backwards and they're trusting that you're keeping them safe, but when teachers are like over spotting and like stopping the motion, there's a real skill to spotting this, like there's a real technique to spotting this, which is why it's so important that you attend a course and learn how to do it right, especially if you have zero experience doing these skills, like that back tuck back layout course. 

Leah  16:36  
I will plug it again, because it is one of the best courses that you can attend to wrap your head around these skills and to get some really good drills and foundations and learn how to spot it with another person tandemly or spotting by yourself but again like that spotting either like not allowing them to rotate or throwing them so then it's like a whip and chuck and the kid just like smashes into the ground so like those are some bad teacher habits I guess, that creep in when, when we're spotting these skills, and I can appreciate that. Like, you get a dancer standing in front of you that has never done this, and you're like, 'Oh my god, I'm doing this, I'm spotting them. They don't know what they're doing, like, maybe you don't know what you're doing. So, it is, it is nerve-wracking, but making sure, like, again, attend the course, do it, just do it, and learn, because it's just.. I don't know, it's just so important to work with another person who's knowledgeable and understands how to spot these skills, rather than just going in and playing a guessing game.

Loren  17:32  
Amazing, Leah. Now let's talk about the back layout. It's in the same family as the back tuck, but it's such a different skill, what shifts for the student and what shifts for the teacher in how you're cueing, spotting, and even the progressions building up towards the back layout.

Leah  17:52  
Yeah, so like you said, they're in the same family, so they come from the same set. So remember how I talked about the back tuck, that set is the jump up now. That's where things start to differ. So, the set is the same, but the difference is now instead of the hips rolling over the shoulders, we're driving the hips upward to get the height, so that the hip, the legs can come up and over. So, I think that's a big piece. I find teachers like this skill better because it more resembles a back handspring, so they're like, okay, my dancers can do a really good solid back handspring step out, and they're getting that, and they're getting it higher, which is all great, right? 

Leah  18:31  
We want that back handspring to start to loft and get a little bit higher, so that they're learning to get that height, but then the next piece is cueing the hip driving, because if the hips aren't driving up and we're not getting that long body in the air after the set, then we're, we're looking at basically what I don't know if they still call this, but we used to call it back in the day a whip back, or like a back aerial, I guess would be maybe more what people would call it, and what it's more like a back handspring that whips over, right, so we're getting over, but we're not maybe following the right technique. So, getting that hips, the hips driving up, so like laying them down on the floor, putting their feet up on the mat, having them reach up their arms smashed to the floor to get that drive, that's your set. And then bringing those hands down towards the mat, smashing the mat by their hips, and then driving the hips up is what happens with rotation, so it's a little bit of a different motion in terms of the tuck, where your knees are pulling into your chest. Now we're stretching out our bodies and driving our hips up and over, so that's a really, really big difference. 

Leah  19:34  
And so the drills for that one look a little bit different in terms of the floor drills, laying on the ground and doing those, those hip drive drills, hip drive with a leg are really, really important, and then the jump up and the roll over a little bit different too. So we do a lot of drills where we're jumping up onto a stack, we're doing our set, we're sitting up on the stack in the tuck, we're pulling our knees into our chest and bringing the body in, but on the layout we're working. Of rolling our hips up and over, but with the hip drive, so they have to pass through that basically almost candle position as they go over, and then spotting wise, I think it's it's different in that you're not helping their hips roll over, you're helping their hips go up, so it's a bit of a different scale, but you're still helping with the drive up through the back, so that they're not chucking it as well, because dancers tend to tuck backwards again.

Loren  20:23  
How early do you start introducing these drills and skills, and do you introduce the back tuck before the back layout? And does it depend on the dancer?

Leah  20:36  
Hmm, that's a good question. I'll answer the first part of it first. Is that how early do I introduce these skills and drills, like you're doing them in primary, right? When you're practicing your rock and roll, and then you're moving on to your log rolls, and all your shaping. Body shaping is so important that they understand their hollow and their superhero, their tuck position, their rock and roll, rolling their hips over their shoulders. Like when my little ones come into primary class, I'm, I'm telling them, or level one, I'm telling them, I know you want to work on those big tricks that you see the big kids doing, we're not there yet, but guess what, we are working on our back tucks, we're working on our rock and roll, right, I'm talking to them about that already, again, the progressions in the syllabus, if you have the AcroDance Resource Center and you're following that syllabus, you're already the dancers don't know this, maybe you don't even know this, but you are already building up those foundations into those dancers. 

Leah  21:29  
Those drills can be done anytime, jumping up onto a stack, jumping off, that can be part of your conditioning class, even at your low levels with your level ones, your level twos, your level threes, jumping up and down, building up their leg strength. How about frog jumps? Great leg strength, right. We're already building those up as we go through, so the drills can be happening intermittently throughout your work in the syllabus as you progress towards pre pro one, which is where these all start to show up. 

Leah  21:55  
Now, part two is, which one do I teach first? If you're following your acrodance resource center, and you're following the syllabus from beginning to end, you're going to see that that back tuck enters first, and I think you know there's a bit of a different mindset out there, like in terms of what should you teach first, which is your favorite. Some dancers, for some reason, get really afraid of the back tuck, but they're okay to try the back layout, and you kind of want to work with that a little bit, right, in terms of, you know, their preference and what they're naturally inclined to do, because sometimes once they get, if you do the layout first, they get that first, then the back tuck comes a bit easier, but the reason why tuck comes first is because of that set, that set is much easier to get that straight up feeling in the tuck, as opposed to the back layout, right, and if you're just letting your dancers go and chuck that back layout from a back handspring and not really thinking about the hips driving up, using the arms going up, bringing them down past the hips, like I see a lot of dancers go across the stage, and even proficient dancers that know how to do this scale properly, and they're tired in the middle of their routine, and they go across the stage, and they prep for their back layout. They are not using their arms, and nothing makes me crazier. I'm like, why aren't you using your arms? It would be so much better if you did your set with your arms up, so that those arms can come down to help those hips drive up with helps with the rotation. 

Leah  23:19  
So that's why the tuck comes first, because it teaches that set, and then when you get to the layout, they already understand what's supposed to happen with their body. Now, just the change of the hips driving up is where the change happens, because it's very hard to correct a chuck back layout, where they're basically just doing a back handspring and not putting their hands down. It's very hard to correct that, and dancers don't get it. They're like, "What do you mean? I'm doing my back leg" and you're like, "Yeah, yes, you are, honey." But we need to fix these things that you can actually get enough height, and your head's not so close to floor, and you can get enough height and drive through your hips, that your foot is coming underneath you, your knees tracking over your toe, and you're keeping your body safe as you land, and you're not having a hard impact.

Loren  23:59  
Yeah, again, I think it's making the judges and the audience aware of the actual technique of a proper back layout, right, as opposed to the child just getting over without putting their hands down. 

Loren  24:13  
Leah, I love that you mentioned the primary skills or the beginner skills that they are leading up to these big skills, because I think some teachers, you know, they see frog jumps has a cute name, animal name, but really, if you don't have the power and the strength to do a nice powerful frog jump, you are not going to, in five to seven years, have the strength to do the power tumbling you're talking about, so it really does pay to work on every part of what you're training to the best of their ability, right.

Leah  24:49  
Yeah, technique is everything, and like correct technique when they're doing those lower level skills too, right, making sure they're using the right body parts and whatnot. So yeah,

Loren  24:58  
You've been teaching acro for a long time, what tends to surprise teachers about these skills, like what do they not know that they don't know yet?

Leah  25:10  
I love that question. What do they not know? What they don't know yet. Oh man, yeah, like I think inexperienced teachers, and I don't say that in a condescending bad way, but just teachers that are just learning, and they're just out there, and they're just, they're beginning to take on this journey of acro, and again, like, like you said, I've been teaching acro for a long time, started when I was very young, lucky enough to have somebody in our community that was able to teach us these skills, I mean, but since then, there's been a lot of research too, right, so can't say that we all didn't start somewhere, and we didn't make mistakes, right? 

Leah  25:44  
So I think I think the big thing is understanding the technique. I think that's what teachers don't understand, they don't know yet. They're like, "Yep, these kids can just go" and they're just like, or even if you take them to a gym, and like a trampoline gym, and kids are just like whipping over, and they're like, "Oh yeah, like I can do my back tuck" and then teachers are watching, like, yeah, yeah, that looks good, but they're not understanding like the body alignment, the technique, all of the things that like good gymnasts and like high-level gymnasts have already learned, and they're doing on these trampolines, like, you see kids go in the trampoline park and they're chucking these back tucks, and they're like, everybody can do a back tuck, and so, yeah, everybody, everybody can just chuck a back tuck, but the technique is so important, especially when we're transitioning these skills to the stage. 

Leah  26:29  
So, I think the biggest thing they don't know yet is how important that technique is. And then, again, I'm gonna like sound like a broken record, but like going back to the foundations and making sure that, like, I think some people just like are doing the exams to just do them, and they don't understand how well laid out this syllabus is, like, and, and I don't even say that just because you know I'm part of acrobatic arts, and I work for it, like this syllabus has so much built into it for you as a teacher that if you just look at each skill and watch it as it goes through, build yourself a diagram, you will see that it is all there for you, and I think that's the piece that some teachers like, not on purpose, they're not doing on purpose, it's just miss, like it's there, it's all there for you, just just follow it and make sure that the technique is there.

Loren  27:20  
And Leah, what I was thinking about was it's almost harder when a teacher gets a few dancers or maybe even one dancer that comes to the studio that has those skills, and you know they might feel really good and spotlight them in a, in a routine, but then they get frustrated because they don't know how to help the other dancers get to that level, because they haven't really gone through it with that dancer. Does that make sense?

Leah  27:49  
Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean, like they have that dancer, maybe took gymnastics or something, and came into the studio kind of already knowing how to do the skill, but they haven't seen all the foundations building up to it, so then they're like, okay, like this girl can do it, like Susie can do it. How do I help Julie do it, right? Like, how do I get there? And guess how you do it, Lauren. Guess how you do it. You attend Acrobatic Arts Back Tuck Back Layout course, you do your module two before you do that, and you learn how to do it, we teach you everything there. We teach you everything. So, come join us. We will make you help Julie arrive at Susie's back tuck. You can do it. It's possible. Follow progressions. Join us. Learn. We're so happy to have people come. We want, we want that.

Loren  28:39  
I can hear in your voice, Leah, how you appreciate people wanting to learn and improve themselves. So, I hope that makes everyone comfortable. If they're wondering, you know, they've never taught a back tuck por back layout before, but they think their students are ready for it, you know, not to be scared, because Leah is one of the course conductors, and if you're at that level and you're ready, she will welcome you with open arms, as all our course conductors do.

Leah  29:08  
Yeah, we have an amazing group of people, and everybody is just awesome, and we all love to teach. So, join us, we want you.

Loren  29:16  
I think you already mentioned a few things that you love, but is there anything that you genuinely love about teaching these skills, like what really lights you up when you get the chance to work with your students on a particular thing, is there one thing that you love?

Leah  29:34  
Yeah, yeah, honestly, like it's it's the success at the end, right? Like you know, you spend all this time building them up, teaching them the foundations, doing the drills, and like you're walking your way through it, and you can see this dancer is just like it's they're getting there, they're getting there, they're getting there, and then when that moment comes together and they get that skill and they're doing it like safely, confidently, and like with good technique, not only are they excited, but that, like, that enthusiasm, that excitement, like, is just.. it's like a adrenaline rush for you as a teacher, like, to watch that student and how they light up and see the success, and when they understand, too, that like everything that they've done to work up to this point has led to this moment, I got my back tuck finally, and like, their face lights up, like that's just like, I don't know, it's, it's like sugar to me, it's like the best thing ever. 

Leah  30:30  
I love it, and helping these kids move forward, and, and learn things, new things, and get new things, and be successful, and I mean, it can be everything from just like doing a rock and roll tight and perfect when that kid does that and and how they feel, it's just like that's why we do what we do, make them successful and make them feel good about themselves and like give them skills to carry forward in life too, that hard work leads to something and that will lead into their next chapter of their life, no matter what they do, whether it's acro dance or if they're becoming an engineer and they're going to university, whatever it is, whatever they choose to do in life, like I think that's what you know that gets me, making a difference.

Loren  31:13  
Listeners, if you are hearing Leah and you're getting excited and you want to take on the back tuck, the back layouts she already mentioned that Acrobatic Arts does have a course for this. We'll put it in the show notes, of course, but you can always go to Acrobatic arts.com and if you have a question or email, you can send it to admin at Acrobatic arts.com and someone will point you in the right direction towards a back tech and back layout certification course, and Leah, just before we wrap up, if you had to choose one quality that's carried you across all of your career, what would it be?

Leah  31:57  
That's not like it's like an intense question, just so you know, like, I don't know, I just.. I find that you learn so much through sport in general that carries you into life, teamwork, hard work, resilience, you know, like life. life is a long road, and there's lots of ups and downs, and bumps and valleys, and I think when you're training at that level, you see it like you're not successful every time, you're not, you know, like you're always learning, you're always having to shift and adapt, and I think I think that's what, what I use every day in my day to day work, in my day to day life, even just like in parenting my children or coaching dancers, is that like shifting, adapting, troubleshooting, I guess, because you're constantly thinking and working towards things is one of the things, and resilience, and like how important the people around you are, the community that you get from all of this. 

Leah  33:07  
Sorry, I feel like there's so many things, but I can't pinpoint just one, but like that community are people that I grew up with, as you know, we grew up like in the same studio, are the people that I still lean on today for like emotional support, and how that teamwork got us through that really hard training period, but like we're all still like no matter how often we see each other or how often we talk, we're like a really great unit, and so that community, that teamwork, the ability to shift and adapt, I think like I know that's a lot of things, but honestly I don't have one, because this is such a, like, such an important part of my life that has carried me through and made me the person I am today.

Loren  33:48  
I can say we are all very thankful you are the person you are today, because you bring so much to the Acro community, the dance community, and Leah. I just want to thank you so much. This was an amazing conversation, and I really appreciate you sharing your passion with us. 

Leah  34:07  
Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, that's really sweet of you to say too, but I, I love it. It's awesome to be here. Thanks for having me.

Loren  34:22  
If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe and follow, so you never miss an episode. And if you know a dance teacher, student, or parent who would love to hear this discussion, send it their way. 

Loren  34:35  
Sharing the show is one of the best ways to support the podcast. Until next time, find power in your strength, freedom in your flexibility, and know that we are here to support you on your acro journey. 

Loren  34:52  
Thanks for listening, everyone, and have a great day!