Everyone is familiar with jump rope as a form of child's recreation and adult exercise, and it's not difficult to envision jump rope as a sport. Considering it a form of artistic movement, however, might not be as easy to imagine. Nevertheless, jump rope can definitely be considered a performing art for the following reasons:
- The rope is an extremely versatile apparatus and jumping over it (which in itself can be done in hundreds or thousands of ways) is only one of many options. The rope can also be tossed, wrapped, spun about the body, stepped through, tossed and retrieved, and many other actions while performing alone or with others.
- Besides variety, skills with the rope can be executed with subtlety and easily be combined with other movement disciplines like gymnastics, dance, and the martial arts.
- Given the qualities above, jump rope routines and music are natural partners which in turn lends itself to interpretive movement.
In the first thumbnail, Deb executes a 1 Hand-Walkover, a skill adapted from gymnastics.
In the second thumbnail above, Deb & Ken execute a skill from ballet - a leg scale.
One of the principles of many arts is maintaining clean "lines" with the body and prop. Foot position is also considered important for most arts.
While the above arguments might sound theoretical, jump rope is or has already been featured along side other artistic acts in various shows and in classically "artistic" venues like dance concerts (where we have appeared) and the Cirque du Soleil - which has awe-inspiring jump rope routines with their Quidame troupe.
Admittedly, jump rope "artists" per se are relatively rare today. The largest pool of artistic jump rope experts can be found in rhythmic gymnastics. The jump rope is one of 5 apparatuses used in this Olympic sport (the other apparatuses include the ball, Indian clubs, hoop, and ribbon). One look at these young gifted athletes performing/competing will convince you that jump rope definitely can be a performing art.
Tips for Becoming a More "Artistic" Jump Rope Performer
I may not be the world's expert on what separates the purely athletic jump rope enthusiast from the artistic one - and it must be noted that I am not proposing that one is better than the other nor exclusive from the other. Nevertheless, here are at least some of the qualities that jump rope artists should stress:
It's not just that the skill is executed without a miss or even just cleanly, quickly, or with a high jump. The skills and routine must be executed with:
- Purpose
- A postural style,
- Expressive facial involvement
or at least focus,- Attention to dynamics (changes
in speed, levels, location in space)
- Attention to costuming,
- Attention to nuances to all
movement, perhaps to the way
the head is turned or how the rope
is gripped, or the feet are pointed.
The routine conveys some style,
emotion, or interpretation
(usually to the music).We try to accomplish these goals in our Ropics Show - follow the link to see some other neat jump rope photos.
