

Movement can be divided into two general categories: What do dancers do? They move-this is the action they perform. George Balanchine's Apollo (Pacific Northwest Ballet)Īction is any human movement involved in the act of dancing. The three ballerinas touch their toes to the male dancer’s hand, and then link their arms through his. In this excerpt from George Balanchine’s Apollo, you can see how the dancers use individual body parts to create a beautiful effect in space. Dance can communicate this internal world, or it can be abstract, focusing on shapes and patterns.
SIMPLE DANCE MOVES SERIES
Pay extra attention to how dancers use their breath when working through a dance phrase, or series of movements.ĭancers use their bodies to take internal ideas, emotions, and intentions and express them in an outward manner, sharing them with others. They have worked hard to train their bodies (essentially their instrument of expression) to achieve superior balance, strength, and agility. Just as some colors in a painting may be more vibrant than others, you may notice dancers who have exceptional body control. Is it symmetrical, with the right and left sides doing the same thing, or not? What shape is the body making? Are the shapes sharp and angular, or soft and rounded? Is the body curved, twisted, or straight? When you watch dance, try to notice the position of the body. A dancer can use the whole body, or emphasize individual body parts, when moving. Sometimes the body is still other times, it may be in motion. The human body is what others see when they look at dance. it springs from the very breath of life.” Dance, then, is the most personal of all the arts. It is born in our body, exists in our body and dies in our body. Sounds simple, right? Dance critic Walter Terry put it best this way: “No paints nor brushes, marbles nor chisels, pianos or violins are needed to make this art, for we are the stuff that dance is made of. Imagine a body moving with rhythmic purpose and motions, usually performing to music.
