The little dancing during gymnastics floor is stupid

[Anonymous]

Why isn’t the choreography good at least? I’m sure they could execute any dance move, so why do they go with “prance back and forth and flap your hands?” It’s ridiculous. The athleticism of the tumbling passes is amazing. The rest of it is so lame.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input

[Anonymous]

I agree, op. Watching with my teen dd and she just said “I bet the male gymnasts don’t have to jazz hands.”

[Anonymous]

Yep

[Anonymous]

Agree. A throwback.

[Anonymous]

Agree, and on the beam it looks especially foolish.

The men don't do this, but on the other hand their floor exercises aren't usually televised so I guess people like the dancing.

[Anonymous]

There’s no music in men’s floor, what are they supposed to bop to?

[Anonymous]

As a former elite gymnast the dancing gives you a quick second to breathe. In between the dance elements are leaps and turns. Both of which require significant athleticism. While men don’t dance, they do have several required non-tumbling elements that highlight both flexibility and (extreme) strength. On the beam the moves help you move back and forth on the beam in smaller increments. Also, the leaps and turns on beam can have the same difficulty score as some of the tumbling moves. One of my most serious injuries was the result of a missed turn on beam.

[Anonymous]

I watched Mykayla Skinner being taught her choreography for floor, and what I realized was that the choreographer was just a MUCH better dancer than she is. They made it look great - and Mykayla just had this way of watering it all down and taking it from electric to blah. She's a gymnast, not a dancer.

[Anonymous]

Ha, my DH and I were just talking about this.

I understand PP's point about the athletes needing time to take a breath or recover from the intense tumbling passes or other skills. But I'm a former ballet dancer and simply wish these little moves didn't look as dumb. It's the stiff, splayed jazz hands and often hyper extended joints that bug me. The Russians are often more ballet trained that gymnasts from other countries and it often shows in their dance moves, where they understand how to position their arms in particular to create unbroken lines that look more graceful. I really enjoy gymnastics and find it all amazing, but I've never gotten over how bad this looks to a dancer's eye. I am certain these athletes would be capable of better lines, but it is not emphasized in training and this is just what the aesthetics of gymnastics are which is unfortunate.

This is why uneven bars and vault are my favorite women events. No weird dance moves. And as a result they look much more graceful to me.

[Anonymous]

Disagree. Love it and think it gives the routine polish.

[Anonymous]

It would be much better if they just paused to breathe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha, my DH and I were just talking about this.

I understand PP's point about the athletes needing time to take a breath or recover from the intense tumbling passes or other skills. But I'm a former ballet dancer and simply wish these little moves didn't look as dumb. It's the stiff, splayed jazz hands and often hyper extended joints that bug me. The Russians are often more ballet trained that gymnasts from other countries and it often shows in their dance moves, where they understand how to position their arms in particular to create unbroken lines that look more graceful. I really enjoy gymnastics and find it all amazing, but I've never gotten over how bad this looks to a dancer's eye. I am certain these athletes would be capable of better lines, but it is not emphasized in training and this is just what the aesthetics of gymnastics are which is unfortunate.

This is why uneven bars and vault are my favorite women events. No weird dance moves. And as a result they look much more graceful to me.

I was actually just going to mention a couple of Russian gymnasts who were known to have great dance moves - and you're right about their ballet training.

[Anonymous]

Watch some of the Netherlands gymnasts. Or Brooklyn Moors from Canada.

The problem is that most American gymnasts don't get sufficient dance training. Gymnasts like mykayla skinner and jade Carey have probably never taken a dance class in their lives.

[Anonymous]

Different Question

Do we usually watch qualifications live? I thought everyone who went participated. But my brain is mush.