Pom Foundation

“To dance is to challenge the body which is also the self. To generate an action which has a force of its own and allow the movement to penetrate the inner sensibilities, or to calculate the action and try to tune out--this is difficult, perhaps impossible.”

 -Katherine Litz

Pom is a type of dance that is performed at the high school dance team level, as well as by college dance teams. It is a completely foreign studio genre that is not practiced much or at all, unless the studio is specific to it. Poms combines elements of jazz technique, such as turn, leaps, extensions and jumps, and combines it with hip-hop levels and dynamics. Setting it aside from other dance styles the distinguishing factor of poms is in fact the use of poms during the dance. Poms takes the different jazz, hip-hop, upbeat styles and incorporates them with motion of poms in the hand. It’s a very fast pace, team collaborative, and if properly executed, clean style of dance.

Poms uses hip-hop, jazz and fast tempo music variety in performance. The hip-hop elements dig deeper into level changes such as; going from a high v to a low v, giving a bending of the legs verse a releve, knees to a standing position, or having a jump sequence that ultimately travels to a landing split. These hip-hop assortments give the pom routine a breakdown section, which adds diversity into the overall performance. Jazz features bring the pom, technique options like turns, leaps, extensions and jumps. You need the foundation of jazz for small things too, like pointing the feet, turning out from the hip and engaging the core. Pom has its own style as well, new components are clarified and specified to make the dance look like one, in a collaborative team effort.

Pom in itself has to have a fast tempo base, and watch out for pom technique. Moves are done very quickly and need lots of cleaning to get them precise. Arms are important for hyperextending purposes, as are the placements of wrists, one cracked wrist could be detrimental as it bends the poms the wrong way in the hand. Pom also requires a team collaboration, members have to work together to look like one common union. Dancing as one is important for the overall “look” of a pom routine because everyone is wearing a solid uniform and is meant to look exactly alike, like a uniform. Teams clean pom routines to get this effect, not only to look the same, but to display key small group spotlights. One last note about pom characteristics is the need of crazy, outrageous, dramatic faces. Faces are meant to keep the energy flowing between dancer and audience, also to show excitement and school spirit. They get crazy because the dance is exhausting, but they need to be kept up for performance standards. Faces are crucial for a competitive pom routine.

The most distinctive part of poms is the use of poms in the hands during the whole entire dance. It’s an element that brings color and dimension into the routine. The movement of them is the base grading of how a pom routine is scored. The execution has to be done clean, without sloppy wrists or arms. Breaking is usually a do, to make the movements go by faster. Cleaning the poms to the body is also an important note for making the routine look clean. Finally it is key to remember that you should never under any circumstances let a pom fall from your grasp. Dropping a pom during competition is a deduction to the team and easily avoided by holding them in a correct position.

Pom is a difficult style to master and is typically only performed by high school and college dance teams. It pushes the body to its limits, with the speed and precision it requires. It is forceful and difficult, and not easy to just pick up and compete. It requires a foundation in other dance styles, time to clean and clarify, and a commitment to a new thinking level for a style that is not common to a dancer before any dance team experience.

~Julia