DanceTalk Australia

[Kitten]

I've been wondering where movement starts. I have heard a few different ideas but I was just wondering what everyone else thought.

For me movement starts in the legs as in lowering to move, directional, ect except for promenades and some parts of rotation where I feel it comes from the chest and the legs fall underneath.

Does anyone else share these view points or think completely differently?

[3fallaways]

Fantastic, someone trying to get this thread "moving"!

Many would respond with the answer being your centre of gravity must commence to move first. Cannot fault this one too much!

I have had many thoughts thrown at me over the years to answer this. All worked in their own way depending on where I was at in my learning and thought process at the time.

Thinking of lowering through the legs first has its dangers. The legs are generally already flexed in a static position prior to any forward, backward or rotation commencing. In a swing dance lowering is "fall". This is not only a verticle action but a sequence of swing. However prior to commencing a pendulum (swing) action, the opposite must exist in a metronome action. This has good argument that the head moves first, falling away from the fixed point (your foot).

Other ideas that have helped me are thinking of your hands moving first, where they go you tend to follow. Same with the head or ears thought.

Sorry to get carried away with this, but I am passionate about these topics.


Hoping to hear more ideas.

[Kitten]

Haha I liked your pun

Yes, I have heard head starting movement as well, but at the stage I am at at the moment, I use it for rotation, sway and (this is probably a bad way to explain) counter swing or more the rise at the end of the swing action. That is a very interesting thought.

When I think of lowering to start the movement (this is hard to explain in writing!), I think of my other leg moving back. Being a girl, it's not often I have forward movements (I'm pretty average at them) so it's probably completely different.

I have never thought of using hands although I have heard people mention it before, wouldn't it create a danger of an unclean topline and too much energy going through your shoulders and hands? I forget that I even have arms when dancing, just shoulders, sides, that's as close to my hands than I think.

I was a bit sick of gossip and interested in to know what people think about the way of dancing. I feel that hearing different opinions can greatly increase your (anyones) quality of dancing as in you have a coach telling you something that you just don't understand but if someone else tells you in different words, it clicks

[Rachelle]

I often think of my hands and/or elbows creating the movement, especially in foxtrot

[Kitten]

Can you please elaborate on the hands? I don't really understand. I feel the hands are connected to the sides, that's why I don't think about them but I may be missing something.

I realised that the word lowering I have been using is actually the incorrect word, I understand the the knees need the be slightly flexed but they would compress on the commence movement, wouldn't they? And then everything else starts moving? Maybe it's too delayed doing it that way?

I find this topic very interesting I am learning

[3fallaways]

In relation to the hands, it is just a teaching tool really. The hands, arms are connected to the sides. The feeling of your hands flying out in front of you when moving forwards, or leaving your hands in place when moving backwards just promotes a nice free feeling. This thought is quite advanced and would not be appropriate for a lower level dancer or one who is already too physical with their upper body. It should promote harmony between the frame and spine.

As far as compression of the legs goes, gravity rules everything. So if you allow gravity to dictate what we are doing and it causes your weight to compress into your legs then it may be correct.

[Filcha]

Hmm, this is interesting. I shall try some of these thoughts. I know I recently started thinking about one particualr thing in a step we were having trouble with and it seems to help - although I have no idea what it makes me do differently!
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Kind regards,
Filcha