Kick height is something that everyone wants to know how to improve. Dance expert, Haley Moorse, will teach ways to increase kick height.
In the beginning of your season, it is best to keep your kick height low (waist high) so you have time to focus on proper technique. Many dancers will kick high right away when they’re not ready yet, which will end up causing injury later on. Think of kicking high as a privilege - you should work your way up to high kicks.
What happens with most dancers is they feel they are stuck at the same height. One exercise to do to help dancers realize they can give more than they currently are, is to have them ball-change into a kick. Have dancers unhook and tell them to use their muscles to whip their leg in the air. Most of the time, dancers will kick higher than they thought they ever could!
Another drill is to have dancers go across the floor doing battements. This helps them to get more power than they would usually have when just standing in a kick line.
These two drills are very beneficial for dancers to realize the correct muscles to use. It helps them feel the release that needs to happen at the very top of the kick to gain that extra inch of flexibility.