Donna Culp

Culp’s Letter (number four): The World of Style
October 8, 2009
by Donna Culp

I’m the sort of choreographer who is convinced all coaches are choreographers. But getting them to see that will not only be my biggest challenge ever— but also why I created the STYLE ROPE.

Back in my pre-STYLE ROPE days, I would freelance a choreography job, and, as is the case for many choreographers preparing for the challenge of creating routines, the coach would have briefed me on the gymnast. So before the start of the routine, I’d listen and have a better idea of what might work with the gymnast’s body. As the coach described the gymnast, always there were three types:

1. There was the “boxy” gymnast: she had the shape that tends to look like a boy. (But that is actually the girl with big-ticket tumbling just waiting to be artistic.)
2. There was also the “trickster” kid: she had the cool eye-popping elements to suit our Code of Points. On the down side: too sloppy, too wobbly, too loose.
3. And there was the “dancer.” Ugh, I’d think: “dancer” can mean ANYTHING. Anything from the reckless-unflattering to the ballet-costume thing, or the kind of dancing that doesn’t work aside from those mirror ballet-barre rooms in gyms.

Once the coach had drawn a picture for me, I’d hear the music played from the loud-speaker and, luckily, it wasn’t a movie tune. In fact, it was pretty darn good. Until, that is, the gymnast articulated her own idea of herself—not boxy, not trickster, not dancer.
“I can’t dance,” she said shamefully, dropping her head down and looking at her feet, causing the coach to panic. Oddly enough, the gymnast doesn’t look up for another ten minutes. Who knew that she would decide to check out at the beginning of a choreography session?
So I decided to bring out the STYLE ROPE I had been carrying on this particular trip. The STYLE ROPE frames and supports the gymnast so she gets to work her body beyond what she’d normally perform. Then the next thing, I choose a few of my favorite drills. I went through a number of reshaping drills to maximize the volume of her movement and the speed and line of her actions. She doesn’t shy away from anything!
Something is working— because before the clock has even passed ten minutes, it’s evident all things are possible. One of the coolest things about working with the STYLE ROPE is you don’t have to push-pull gymnasts into overtime to develop the extraordinary line—stability, dynamics, and poise that it takes to ascend to the class of “artistic.”
At the end of the day, I felt that we rocked this routine, causing the three of us to look forward to a high score! As the coach was about to take me to the airport, he asked the question “What’s in that rope?” My answer: Hope. Because, in my opinion, that’s a “product” every coach needs.

Those of you who want to view Donna Culp’s STYLE ROPE drills, purchase your DVD (at $29.95) from GymSmarts.

Culp’s Letter (number three): The World of Style

December 17, 2008
by donna culp

When the holiday season is telling me to rush around frantically at its most extreme and demanding pace, how does one live sanely? By going to the gym! Gymnastics should make our lives easier and more fun, not add unnecessary frustrations. That’s the reason I continue to love to work and, as it turns out, to travel with the GUTS workshops.

Almost 10 years have passed since the launch of GUTS, my creative workshop that builds the artistic gymnast, and its introduction to the STYLE ROPE, a 4-foot piece of rope - so simple! (I can be grateful to not have to explain so many details for artistry.) The STYLE ROPE works on everything: continuity between movement, musicality, creating an artist from a gymnast.

I truly believe gymnastics should be playful—and playful should be artful. It’s that kind of play—when a gymnast focuses on technique, but also understands how to make the movements with poise, and performs her routines with more intense style. Being able to execute to Code and to perform every skill as a whole routine has to be one of the most challenging things in the sport. There are no shortcuts. It’s just hard work.

As we approach the New Year, I want to thank the coaches who brought GUTS to their gym, and those gymnasts who came willing to make the journey with their clubs. Thanks Tom & Reiko (GymSmarts) for being my best support—you guys do things so linearly, and I do not!

Happy New Year, this year is for fun.