Movement Concepts
Here we will explore the foundations of all dance. These movement concepts help us understand our movements and how we can apply them to our dancing.
Body Actions: What Can Our Bodies Do?
Initiation: Where does movement begin?
Breath
Breath is often used to focus a dancer when warming up, release energy, or even create a soundtrack for choreography. Check out the creative ways these dancers use breath in this video.
Body Architecture
Joints and bony landmarks can be identified, or emphasized, through movement. For example...
Body Architecture also includes movement that occurs in the three planes of the body: Frontal (vertical), Sagittal, and Transverse (horizontal). Watch this video to see the difference between the three...
Body Part Articulation
This is another way to emphasize a body part. However, not just joints and bony landmarks are emphasized here.
Abduction vs. AdductionAbduction is a movement away from the midline.
Adduction is movement towards the midline. |
RotationLateral rotation is movement that rotates away from the midline. This dancer's hips are turned out, illustrating lateral rotation.
Medial rotation is rotation towards the midline. This woman's leg is turned in, illustrating medial rotation.
|
Elevation & Depression
Elevation is movement that reaches to a higher level (think going up). Depression is the opposite: think going down.
When this dancer goes up en relevé , she is illustrating elevation. When her feet return to the floor, she is demonstrating depression.
When this dancer goes up en relevé , she is illustrating elevation. When her feet return to the floor, she is demonstrating depression.
Pronation & Supination
The easiest way to explain pronation and supination is through the feet. Pronation is when the feet are "rolled in", and supination is when they are "rolled out". Look at this Irish step dancer's feet to visualize these concepts.
Photo from Ready to Feis
Circumduction
Circumduction is similar to a circular movement, but it is technically a conical movement of a limb extending from the joint at which the movement is controlled. This person's shoulder gives us a visual for this concept.
Body Organization
Body organization is how we classify our movements. We can place all movements into these categories to better understand them and expand our ideas in creative dance.
Breath
We have previously gone over breath and seen how it can be used in dance, but to review, here are some basic breathing exercises that can help dancers center themselves and focus on their movements.
Core-Distal
Core-Distal movements are movements that connect the core of the body to the ends of the body. This modern dancer's body starts very close to itself (bottom picture), then her movements extend outwards to the rest of her body (top picture).
Head-tail
These movements are initiated by the head, then travel down to the tail bone of the body. Watch this modern dancer warm up as she connected her head to her tail bone.
Homologous Movementmovement that occurs when the upper body is symmetrical and the lower body is symmetrical and the two halves move simultaneously
|
Homolateral Movementasymmetrical movement of the upper limb and the lower limb on the same side
watch the walking that starts at 2:56 to see an example...to understand this kind of movement, you can also picture how zombies walk!
|
Contralateral Movementdiagonal movement of one upper limb with the opposite lower limb
|
Watch this dancer combine all three of these!
Spatial Concepts
Now that we've learned how we move, let's look at where we move...
What level are the dancers moving in?
Dig Deeper
Floor work is common in styles like jazz and modern. These movements are done at a low level, sometimes reaching into a higher level.
The middle level doesn't quite reach the floor, but doesn't bring the dancers closer to the sky, either. This hip-hop routine is an example of how dancers tend to stay in the mid level in styles like hip-hop and tap.
Jumping is one way dancers get into the high level.
See it in Action
Skip ahead to 2:40 and see a professional show pop star Taylor Swift how to finger tut. Finger tutting are movements of the fingers commonly used in hip hop. The arms, hands, and fingers are usually kept close to the body and in the near reach area.
In ballet, the arms during a pique turn are traditionally kept within mid reach; they do not stay too close to the body, but do not extend as far as possible, either.
Every time Misty Copeland ("Juliet") extends her arms as far as she can (as shown in the video still), she is illustrating a far reach.
How are the dancers approaching their kinespheres?
The term kinosphere refers to the area around a person, or their personal space. There are three commons types of ways dancers (and everyday people, too) use their kinospheres to create different movements.
Central Approach
Central approach is when the dancers' body parts extend in and out from the core. To get into this arabesque, the dancer would have extended her left arm out from her core.
Every time Clara in The Nutcracker lifts up her toy nutcracker and when she extends her leg in arabesque, she is doing central movement.
Peripheral Approach
Peripheral movement is when dancers create and move in the space around them. For example, these dancers have their arms to the sides of their bodies and are moving them in the space around them. Photo from Facebook
The first dancer in the video does a lot of arm movements/peripheral movement while they are extended from his sides.
Transverse Approach
A transverse approach is when dancers cross the planes of their body through their movement. In these video stills, we see the dancers rise their heads and torsos in a circular motion.
Watch the images come to life in this video from 0:42 to 0:45.
Defining Space
One-Dimensional Movement
One-Dimensional Movement is movement that has one spacial pull that occurs in two opposite directions. All central movement and peripheral movement is one-dimensional. There are three dimensions of movement...
Vertical dimension is movement that is done directly up and down. The dancers illustrate this at 4:12 when they reach directly up to the ceiling with their arms.
|
Horizontal Dimension's pulls are right and left. When this young dancer moves her arms directly to her right or to her left, she is moving them in the horizontal dimension (specifically her arm movements from 0:32 to 0:42).
|
Sagittal Dimension is front and back movement. Locomotor movement, such as running, is an example of movement that is done to the front and to the back of the body.
|
One-Dimensional movement is done within the crystalline form the octahedron. Picture you are within the shape pictured here. All of your movement you do will fit within this shape.
Two-Dimensional Movement
Two-Dimensional Movement is movement that occurs in the planes of the body. Each plane contains two unequal spatial pulls. Central and peripheral movement is done in the planes. All of this movement occurs in the crystalline form the icosahedron, as pictured below. To understand this concept, imagine you are in the center of a giant icosahedron. You can only move along the lines that make up this shape.
The vertical plane, also known as the door plane, has a main pull of up and down. It has a secondary pull of right and left; when this movement occurs, it crosses into the horizontal plane. To visualize the vertical plane, imagine you are standing in a door frame, and can only move within that door frame...you can't step forwards or backwards to exit the door frame. The four corners of the vertical plane are right side high, left side high, right side low, and left side low. Jumping jacks are an example of moving within the vertical plane...
The horizontal plane, also known as the table plane, has clear pulls to the right and to the left sides of the body, with a slight pull to the front and back of the body (entering the sagittal plane). Its positions include right forward middle, left forward middle, right back middle, and left back middle, and the movements in this plane are going from one of these positions to another. Moving in this plane is like standing through the middle of a table with only your upper body sticking out. Your legs must stay still to support you, but you can move your upper body as freely as your want within the restraints of the table. Mother Ginger is a character in The Nutcracker whose skirt is very table like. When her children appear from under her skirt, she moves her arms and upper bodies on top of her table like skirt. Watch this video to get a clearer understanding of the table plane...
The sagittal plane, also referred to as the wheel plane, has a primary pull of front and back, with a lesser pull of up and down (which enters into the vertical plane). Its positions include forward high, forward low, back high, and back low, and the movements occur when within these positions. Watch this young dancer perform a front aerial, a stunt done in the sagittal plane...
Three-Dimensional Movement
Movement in the icosahedron is transverse movement. This movement cuts through the planes that exist within this shape (the vertical plane, the horizontal plane, and the sagittal plane). This movement begins in one plane, crosses through another, and ends in the third plane. Let's revisit transverse movement, and analyze which planes it starts, crosses through, and ends in...
The dancers' bodies have a downwards pull and are in the vertical plane.
As most clearly shown by the dancer on stage left (the most far right dancer from the audience's view), the dancers are pushing their heads to their right. The are using a right pull and are in the horizontal plane.
The dancers' bodies now have a backwards pull. They are in the sagittal plane.
Three-Dimensional movement also includes movement that occurs within a cube, as pictured here. There are four diagonals that people can move along within the cube. They are defined by whether they are in front of (forward) or behind (backward) the body, whether they are to the right or to the left of the body, and whether they are on the high level or on the low level. These diagonals are from one corner of the cube to the another, and cross through the center of the cube. Here are some examples of these diagonals being used in dance...
Forward Left High to Back Right Low
In The Washington Ballet's rendition of Peter Pan, Peter (the dancer in green) is creating this diagonal with his body. His left arm is slightly extended forward to his left and is on the high level, while his right leg is slightly pulling towards the back to the right and is on the low level (0:18)
|
Forward Right High to Back Left Low
Now Wendy's (the dancer in pink) right arm is slightly facing forward to the right and is on the high level, while her knee is slightly pushed back to the left (underneath her costume) and is on the low level (even though she is flying!) (0:20)
|
Watch them create these diagonals...
Back Right High to Forward Left Low
Back Left High to Forward Right Low
Pathways
A pathway is the route we do our movements in; it is the road we take to get from Point A to Point B. There are four pathways that dancers move in.
Straight Pathway
Zig-Zag Pathway
Curved Pathway
Random Pathway
Negative Space vs. Positive Space
Negative Space is the space between two objects (or two people, or between a person and an object). It is also the space not taken up by the body.
Positive Space is the space taken up by the body itself.
Look at this modern dancer. In the image on the right, the positive space is what is in black (the dancer's body), and the negative space is blue (the space not taken up by the dancer's body).
Positive Space is the space taken up by the body itself.
Look at this modern dancer. In the image on the right, the positive space is what is in black (the dancer's body), and the negative space is blue (the space not taken up by the dancer's body).
Time
Time is when movement occurs. There are a few ways that we classify the timing of a movement...
Beat
The beat of movement is its pulse and its basic unit of time; it is the regularly repeating event and it is made by the distance between the sound and the silence (of the music).
The dancers clap along to the beat of the music before dancing, then move to this same beat.
Tempo/Speed
The tempo, or speed, of movement is the pace of the movement; it is how fast or slow the movement is.
The running that begins at 1:55 is very fast.
Meter
Meter is the rhythmic structure of music, or its pattern of stressed and unstressed beats.
This ballet dancer points her fingers on the stressed beats of the music.
Duration
The duration of a movement is how long it takes for a person to complete that movement.
The turn done from 1:53 to 1:55 has a duration of 2 seconds.
Rhythm
By definition, rhythm is the regularly repeating pulse of beat that establishes a tempo along with patterns of accents/rests or stronger/softer movements. Basically, dancing the rhythm of the music is bring the elements of the music to life through movement, like these ballroom dancers do...
Acceleration & Deceleration
Acceleration occurs when movement gradually becomes faster, or increase in tempo/speed. Deceleration occurs when movement gradually becomes slower, or decreases in tempo speed.
At 2:08, this ballet dancer accelerates and runs to her final place, then decelerates when she comes to the ground and pretends to fall asleep. Watch it here...
At 2:08, this ballet dancer accelerates and runs to her final place, then decelerates when she comes to the ground and pretends to fall asleep. Watch it here...
Dance Elements
Shape
Shape is a static position in space. There are 7 different types of shapes that we can make with our bodies...
Effort
Effort is the quality of movement. It is how a dancer exerts his/her/their energy and one's inner impulse to move. The effort of a movement can reveal one's inner intentions behind that movement. There are four factors of effort, each with two elements (like styles) that the movement can be executed as.
Weight
Weight is the intention towards exerting the mass of our bodies; it is the impact of our bodies. In terms of weight, our movements can be light or strong.
Light
Ballet is known for its light arm movements. The soloist dancing at the beginning of this video has very light arm movements.
|
Strong
Hip-hop is a style that features many strong arm movements.
|
Flow
Flow is how a movement continues. One's flow can either be bound or free.
Free
These dancers' arms are moving freely.
|
Bound
In tap dance, dancers usually keep their arms down and cannot move them as freely as in other styles like ballet, modern, or jazz. They are more restricted in how far away from their bodies their arms can move.
|
Time
Time is how fast a dancer is moving. A movement can be quick or sustained (movement down slowly)
Quick
These dancers move quickly and do not hold their movements for very long.
|
Sustained
From the beginning of this dance to 0:17, the movements are done very slowly and are held longer than a quick movement. The dancers are sustaining their movements.
|
Space
In this context, space is the manner in which you approach the space around you. Movements can either travel to a specific location is space (direct movement), or can move indirectly.
Direct
It is clear where this dancer's movements are going in space.
|
Indirect
This dancer has no clear or direct pathway for his movements.
|
States
The Effort States exist when two effort elements are combined. Each state is made up of one kind of each element. Here are the states, and one example of how they can exist:
Awake State
The awake state combines space and time.
At 3:19, the girl in white slowly moves her arms downwards. She is moving in direct space in a sustained manner.
Dream State
The dream state combines flow and weight.
At 0:12, the dancer in the very center of the stage pushes her arms outwards. Her arms have a free flow and are moving in a strong way.
Remote State
The remote state combines space and flow.
The dancer's arm movements starting at 0:10 are direct and free.
Rhythm State
The rhythm state combines weight and time.
The dancers' movements from 0:10 to 0:19 are quick and direct.
Stable State
The stable state combines space and weight.
The dancer's movements from 0:20 to 0:29 are strong and direct.
Mobile State
The mobile state combines flow and time.
The dancers' arm movements from 0:07 to 0:10 are free flow and sustained.
Effort Actions
Effort actions occur when three different effort elements exist at the same time in a movement. There are eight basic effort actions, each with a polar opposite action.
FloatA float is light, indirect, and sustained.
From 0:47 to 0:52, the dancer's movements are indirect, light, and sustained.
|
PunchA punch is strong, direct, and quick.
The man's kick at 2:09 is strong, direct, and quick.
|
GlideA glide is light, direct, and sustained.
A common step in ballet is a glissade, which translates as "to glide". This dancer demonstrates this light, direct, and sustained movement at 1:38.
|
SlashA slash is strong, indirect, and quick.
The girl's movements from 0:06 to 0:10 are strong, indirect, and sudden.
|
FlickA flick is light, indirect, and quick.
At 0:11, the man flicks his wrists. His movement is light, indirect, and quick.
|
PressA press is strong, direct, and sustained.
Push-ups are an example of press. When the man presses his weight into the ground, his movement is strong, direct, and sustained.
|
DabA dab is light, direct, and sudden.
In 2016, "The Dab" became a popular dance move around the world. This move is light, direct, and sudden, and gets its names from our dance vocabulary.
|
WringA wring is strong, indirect, and sustained.
Wringing out a towel involves strong, indirect, and sustained movement.
|
Energy
Energy elements are adjectives used to describe movement. There are countless ways to describe movement in this way, so let's look at a few examples...
The dancers' movements from the beginning of this video to 0:15 are smooth. From 0:16 to 0:19, their movements are sharp.
|
|
This dancer illustrates collapsing movement from 0:51 to 0:53.
|
|
Relationships
Relationships describe how the body relates to itself, to others, to props, and to the environment the body is moving in. The body can have many different kinds of relationships, and here are a few examples...
|
From 0:11 to 0:13, the female dancer is above the male dancer.
Oppositely, the male dancer is below the female dancer during that same movement. |
|
If you pause the video at 1:02, you see that the two dancers have moved to be next to, or beside, each other.
|
|
From 0:08 to 0:11, we can see that the ball is in close proximity of, or near, the gymnast.
|
Now that you've got the basics down, there are many more movement and dance concepts to learn! Thank you for learning with us, and happy dancing!