New floors at Inspire

For all my beautiful local dancers, here are some photos from the studio last night. The floors in Studios 1 and 2 (2 is where I teach) have been quadruple sprung and covered with medium gray marley.

If you're thinking about coming to take class with me, I hope these photos will encourage you!

If you're not familiar with sprung floors, construction begins with a basket weave of plywood that is layered so there is space between them and a lot of "give." The number of layers at Inspire is 4 which means it's got a nice give without too much bounce. It is this space and give that helps you jump properly and gives you enough height to roll through your feet. It also is more gentle on your joints: knees, ankles and back.

On top of the plywood is a layer of vinyl flooring called marley. It comes in different thicknesses and slicknesses. Some versions of marley are very light gray and shiny while others are close to black and more matte. The texture is slightly different for each and will result in a different amount of friction under your feet. Super slick is not very good for ballet or bare feet, for instance, but quite good for ballroom. The dark matte gray is good for bare feet, not bad for slippers. The medium gray is good for all, especially pointe.

Last night was the first night the new floors were down at Inspire. The marley will level out as it settles. Here are a few pictures from my classes:

 

I wish I could have gotten them in motion so you could see the difference during jumping and turning! Happy dancing~