The Art of Dance Level 2-Control
Lesson 2-2: Weight Control (Thursday, January 29, 2020)
Operational Definitions:
Equilibrium: a state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.
Balance Point: A part of the body generally that is touching the ground controlling the displacement of weight
Origin Point: the focal point of control. *Generally, where you will wish to mentally generate movements from*
Levels: In dance this refers to different tiers of space one occupies on a “y-axis” from from the ground, we will use a system of 1-5 with 1 being lying on the ground and 5 being in the air for learning purposes.
Weight Change: In dance this refers to a shift of the displacement of weight within balance points. *It does not necessarily mean that the balance points themselves will change*
It is time to come to a deeper understanding of our bodies and where and how they occupy space. It is important first to understand that the body will always try to shift to a point of Equilibrium, displacing its weight among the balance points available according to strength/posture/feeling etc, and this is what we are essentially manipulating in order to “dance”.
The Origin point is a tool used to help determine how one should mentally perceive motion while dancing. It is important to understand with this that illusions are a very important part of dance, and while you may be able to point out visually the body part that is impressing you, often that is not the part the dancer is utilizing to make the illusion happen. The origin point is also very useful in finding variations of moves while staying true to the initial nature of them, as well as finding new ways to move in abstract positions or levels. *The origin point is crucial if one wishes to enter the worlds of popping and/or animation, it is how one can control tension output within different body parts. *When one understands the origin point of a move and the motion associated with it, it is very beneficial to work out variations through different levels while staying true to the initial motion. The reason so many dancers shy away from dancing close to the floor and why breakin’ is so impressive is because you have a lower center of gravity and therefore each balance point must bear more compressed weight.
Weight changes and understanding them is crucial when you start to get into more complex movements. If you find your body not keeping up with what you are trying to do odds are there is a problem within your weight changes. We are going to focus this class on really getting in control of our bodies mass in different shapes and motions working through balance points and origin points and feeling and seeing how they change the movement. Once comfortable we will begin to explore different textures one can produce and other applications to enhance our dance with these techniques.
The Step Vs The Tap:
One extremely important distinction to make as a dancer is between stepping and tapping your feet.
Stepping implies that you are actually shifting your weight onto the foot, whereas tapping refers to when your foot makes contact with the ground without any weight being shifted onto it.
Two very common mistakes are; 1) to try to always step when tapping, resulting your weight control not being in line with the choreography that you are learning or the music you are trying to freestyle to, or 2) to not fully shift your weight when stepping resulting in a loss of control for the proceeding movement and likely resulting in a loss of equilibrium.
If one can master the different types of steps and taps and recognize them, learning choreography as well as navigating through space when freestyling will become remarkably easier.
Videos to watch for better understanding:
- Sadeck (Popping/Animation)
- Watch to see if you can tell where he is generating the movements from/how he is able to maintain balance and control throughout as well as produce the effects he does. A LOT of it has to do with weight control.
- Henry Link (Hip Hop)
- Watch for how he grooves through the transitions of movement and how the bounces/grooves he produces are generated from weight shifts.