ELEMENTS OF DANCE FUNDAMENTALS OF MOVEMENT - PART 2

ELEMENTS OF DANCE / FUNDAMENTALS OF MOVEMENT

Part 2

Here is Part 2 as promised. I hope these articles are of help to you. They are the basis of all great dancing. You need all of them to be a good dancer. Do not leave any out. Be the best you can be. While we are all on this lockdown called COVID-19 spend your time wisely. These are the building blocks of dance.

5. BALANCE: Balance is concerned with more than balancing on one leg. Your aim is to achieve and constantly maintain an inner balance of the whole body. It is tension of mutual support among all parts that bring the whole together in a new way. It is an inner relationship between all the points of your body which you hold your awareness. It is not something you do once in a while. It is constant. A sense of balance whether you are moving or standing. In the actual act of balancing, if you can find inner balance, you are nearly there. If you are aware internally of the need for the sensation of balance, you should be able to get it. * Remember, balancing in both states is an active state.
6. RHYTHM:
Finding rhythm is largely a matter of paying attention. It is something everybody has, though, some people are not as aware or sensitive to it. Our hearts beat to a rhythm, our lungs breathe to another. Rhythm is essential for a dancer. Pay attention! Generally, the beat is carried by the drum. Make sure you are right on the beat, not slightly late. All the work going into making a beat has already been completed by the time you hear it. In fact to get it right, you have to anticipate the beat slightly. Feel as if you are making the beat with your body as well as hearing it. Try to be at one with it, rather than dancing to it. It is the rhythm and the beat of the dance that form the "threads" which allow you to memorize the structure of the dance.

7. MOVING in SPACE:
You need to be as aware of the space around you like a cat. You have to move with care and awareness, gauging the space. Space is not just empty air but a tangible element that you move through. Consider the space an area you must go through. Consciously go through space. Feel your accomplishment as a journey through space. You will express your thoughts and emotions. Actually, press your feelings out through your torso and limbs in such a way as to show other people how we are feeling and to satisfy our desire for movement. Our muscles feel better when they are used, and once we get used to moving them, the whole body will respond by working in harmony with itself; to dance.

8.BREATHING:
Breathing is crucial to dancing. Not only does it bring oxygen to the body but it also gives your movement fluency and harmony. It is an expressive tool. Calm slow breathing suggests a certain degree of self-control. It denotes a specific quality of movement. Also a movement with breath has a controlled and considered extension of time. A clear beginning and end no matter how fast or slow the phrase. A phrase without breath looks stiff and mechanical. It is important to learn how to do two or three things at the same time. You frequently have to divide your attention while dancing. You must learn to breathe deeply expanding your ribs at the back of the body rather than from the front. This will also give a more emotional, organic look.
Here then are the elements of dance that make up the word TECHNIQUE. This is a dirty word in a lot of circles. This is the sum total of the tools of DANCE. Makes no difference whether you are doing improvisation or choreography.




ENJOY!
Morwenna Assaf
Walid Assaf
Art/Dance Academy
Tales1001
Cedar Productions

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