Dancing the Natural Way: Learn Where Your Weight Should Be

Stepan Matkovski | Aug 09, 2008 | 2

These dancers shift their body weight to balance appropriately.

In my last article you learned where our energy comes from, how to control it and how to use it in our different dances. Remember readers, that the information I am giving you is general. You can use your own interpretation...

Remember the most important thing: as many people as there are in the world, that is how many different styles of dancing there are. Everybody has his or her own style.

Let us begin to talk about something else that will help everybody`s dancing. It is our weight. I am not referring to whether you are gaining or losing weight. No! No! No!

I will explain to you how our weight will help make our body movement faster or slower. We all know how to move our bodies. We begin to run if we want to move fast. If we want to move slowly, we just walk. Think about your ordinary life. Everyday we spend a lot of time moving our body from one place to another. When we move forward, we automatically bring our body`s weight a little bit in front. The faster we want to move the more our body weight should be in front. When we go back, it is the opposite movement. We bring our body weight back to move back. Don`t bring your body too much in front or back or it might make you fall.

If you have ever watched sprinters, you will see that when they begin to run their body weight is in front. When they want to stop their movement, they bring their body weight back to the middle and very slightly back.

We can use the same principle to move our body to the side. We also need to learn what neutral position is. This is when our body does not move. Our body`s weight is in the middle, which equals zero movement. We now have a little bit of understanding of how our body moves.

Let us begin to use this knowledge to improve our dancing. To prepare our body correctly for dancing we must focus our attention on three main points of our body. Remember this is general information and will have slight adjustments depending on the particular step or dance you are doing.

First: Put your body in the neutral position: Bring your feet together, stand up straight and line up all your body parts into a vertical line, your hips your knees, shoulders, everything.

Second: Point your foot in the direction that you want to move, (forward, back or side).

The Third: Transfer your weight to your pointing foot. Make sure you transfer ALL your weight. It is very, very important that you move your body in one piece as you transfer your weight. Be careful not to distort your top by leaning over forward or backward as you move. This is the most common mistake that beginning and sometimes even more advanced students make. If you lean over forward or backward with your top as you move, you will not look good, and it will affect your balance. Your body should always move as one piece.

Every step in dancing always includes these three points. It will be middle, preparation and transfer your weight. The above principles may be applied to the many different styles of dance

Let me take one specific dance and explain how the above principle would work. Lets use International Rumba for an example.

Counting of International Rumba is & 4-1 & 2 & 3.

All & counts include 2 movements (points) : a) Collect your feet

b) Pointing foot

Another beats 4-1, 2, 3 it`s ordinary steps (forward or back) !

Remember that when you practice this element, (Basic rumba movement) You need have your weight only on one foot . If you apply these basic principals and remember to have your weight right, your dancing will improve and it will be made easier.

Print Email Link

• Share
  • add to facebook
  • add to del.icio.us
  • add to digg
  • add to yahoo
  • related at technorati

Ballroom, Teacher (all tags)