Oksana Omelianchik - the importance of choreography

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I came across this journal article by joint World Champion 1985, Oksana Omelianchik.  Oksana is a senior judge at major FIG competitions under her married name of Oksana Omelianchik-Ziurkalova.

She analyses eight floor routines of the Ukrainian women gymnasts, and draws conclusions regarding the composition of floor routines, and the importance of choreography in floor exercise.

I like her review of the importance of choreography to the sport:

'In choreographic training of female gymnasts aesthetic, physical and educational tasks are solved. Aesthetic tasks mean cultivation of musical sense and horizon, training of movement under music; physical – mean development of coordination, flexibility, plasticity, expressiveness and accuracy of movements; educational tasks mean psychological relaxation, cultivation of ability to feel, think, remember and estimate culture of movements [3, 4, 10].

Choreographic training in gymnastic is closely connected with technical training and is a component of training process. It is difficult to demarcate these two kinds of training because in training for example of jumps, turns, flies simultaneously technical level of floor exercises is improved. Expressiveness of arms’ head’s body’s movements, expressiveness and completeness of posture permit to demonstrate individual style, performance mastering and artistry that give advantage with evaluation of exercise [2, 4].

Floor exercises are a synthesis of complex acrobatic jumps and choreographic elements, dance and gymnastic movements that, in their turn, condition complexity of the whole exercise [5, 6].

The main condition of floor exercises’ composition depends on skillfull combination of all components, obeying of this wholeness to emotionality of music [5, 7]. '

After considering the various routines, Omelianchik concludes that purity of technique and execution is highly important and in the full article (link given below) makes several suggestions to optimise marks, including the development of routines with only three acrobatic lines, but additional choreographic elements (as we saw Mustafina demonstrate this year).  She also suggests an increase in the difficulty of choreographic elements.

'Having analyzed all results and marks and basing on existing rules of competitions in sport gymnastic we came to conclusion that it is important to pay more attention to technique of fulfillment of gymnastic elements. In this connection it is necessary to replace acrobatic element with element of choreography. We should orient on individual potentials of female gymnasts, no matter if elements will be of “turn” or “jump” character. In any case it is necessary to use basic dance elements with further their complicating.'

Omelychik-Ziurkalova, O A 'Influence choreographic readiness to gymnasts final assessment of performance skills' Pedagogics, Psychology, Medical-Biological Problems of Physical Training and Sport Vol 10 pp 28-34

Accessible at : http://journals.uran.ua/olympicedu.org/pps/article/download/32881/29500