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Gymnastics
All beginner students at Vogler Dance Studios
study gymnastics in a 30 minute special segment after their
dancing class. As they get older the gymnastics segment stretches
to 45 minutes and then to a one hour class after dance. An EXTRA
GYMNASTICS class is also available for those wishing to practice
twice a week. I have students every  week
learning back handsprings. We had two side aerials in our Spring
Show. I had a student just this past Saturday perform a front
aerial in class. Every week I see wonderful feats of balance,
strength, and flexibility as we conduct class. Some students
take their skills to competitive University cheer leading teams.
The studio itself won a National Championship at Showstopper
Talent Competitions in Exhibition Gymnastics. But most students
just enjoy learning and mastering new skills.
All gymnastics at Vogler Studios is limited to
tumbling/floor exercise skills. Why?
- from a safety standpoint. The hazards and injuries
in gymnastics come from falling. If the student is working
on mats the farthest distance she can fall is determined
by how high she can jump. If an instructor has placed
a child up on a high balance beam or uneven bar the possibility
for injury increases dramatically. I picked my five year
old daughter (now 14) up from school one day and she told
me how she had been walking across a high balance beam.
I personally felt that nothing was gained by subjecting
my child to such unnecessary risks and I do not want your
child at risk or injured. I want her to progress and learn
new stunts and skills as safely as possible.
- from a time standpoint. Class time for learning new
skills is severely limited. Each class must have a warm
up time, a time for review of basics (if this is skipped
even the best students will lose skills they have worked
years to master), and then something new. In my class
that something new is a progression of tumbling skills
building on what they have done before, with the a clear-cut
future goal in mind. Every simple gymnastics skill builds
onto the next. Most parents will not pay but for so much
class time. If I spent that time going from balance beam
to vault to uneven bars the students I feel would be literally
playing on the equipment rather than progressing. There
are successful gymnastics programs utilizing all pieces
of equipment and they require sometimes up to five days
a week of commitment. If I only have one hour per week
I want to work on the mats.
- from a transfer standpoint. Floor exercise skills transfer
to cheer leading groups and dance routines. They can also
be practiced outdoors on lawns or even indoors at home
with the purchase of a practice mats.
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