At its best, dancing appears fluid and effortless. Dancers give the appearance of moving and turning through space with ease. With some knowledge of the physics behind basic dance movements, a dancer can understand the mechanics better and in turn learn to dance better.
In ballroom dancing, we need clear directional movements. An easy way to approach this is to consider 8 different directions in which we can move:
- Forward
- Backward
- Left
- Right
- Up
- Down
- Rotate Right
- Rotate Left
All our more complex movements can be described as a combination of these 8 different directions.
Up and Down – Gravity
The gravitational forces acting on a dancer creates a push-pull between the dancer and the floor. When you move, you exert a force against the floor that is equal to the force of gravity being exerted on you.
Forward, Back, Left & Right – Directional Movement
Momentum is mass in motion. Moving in a constant direction creates momentum. The amount of momentum depends on the amount of mass moving and how fast that mass is moving. A sequence of dance moves across the floor produce linear momentum.
Rotate Left and Rotate Right – Torque and Turns
Turns involve angular momentum. Torque and rotational inertia are the principles of physics that can affect your turns. Torque is important in many dance turns and in ballroom dancing we will frequently produce torque with the leg. The extension and retraction of the leg or the arms in turns, affects the rotational inertia of the turn. You slow down when the leg or arm is extended and speed up when the leg or arm is retracted.
NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER!
Are you ready to make a move?