Use of the stomach vacuum in Standard dances

V

vcolfari

Member
This is a topic that interests me very much. To what extent do you use the navel to the spine technique (similar to the old school "stomach vacuum" exercise favored by bodybuilders) while dancing? This requires considerable strength in the transverse abdominus muscle, which can be extremely difficult to exercise. Is this part of your dancing? Do you attempt to maintain this position throughout each dance or do you adjust it as you dance for various effects? Do dancers at the highest level have a tremendous ability to create this deep movement/position at will? Is this one of the challenging aspects of dancing that separates the best dancers from the rest? Why do you use this: To create space for your partner, to reduce the curvature in the lower spine, to prevent sides from dropping, to assist in creating diagonal length in the body?
 
I never do this and I have never been instructed to do it. I am intrigued as to what the potential benefits might be. I my own case I prefer a "bracing" technique to stabilize the lumbar spine, but it is most likely due to habits picked up from other activities. Every time i have ever attempted a stomch vacuum I found that it interferes with my breathing, but maybe I wasn't doing it correctly.
 
They still use this exercise and talk about it on bodybuilding forums. I wouldn't think of doing this during the course of the dance, but as a supplemental exercise to help strengthen the core. As we all know, the stronger the core, the better.
 
I am definitely not a standard expert, but I have danced with a standard leader who has great control of this type of movement and I find it wonderful to follow. It seems be a great tool in expanding the movement/line and expressing the music.
 
we were told to never squeeze the stomach, it will proven correct breezing. we practice filling the back, by not squeezing the abs, the "fat" abs suppose to help making the most powerful movement, but that one is very hard to do, so for now we are practicing to not fall back at the lower back and keep the back strong, long, and full
 
I'm not familiar with the stomach vacuum exercises, but if it involves a navel to spine technique as you describe then I absolutely use this in my dancing. Similar to how Larinda describes navel to shoulder blades, what I have heard that works for me to think about is taking my belly to my bra strap. I realize this image may only work for ladies. ;)

To answer your question about whether it is maintained, I would say it is constantly used and r e f r e s h ed. Trying to hold it would be extremely difficult and it would be bound to fade. It also would not produce the same dynamic that a constant renewal does. I try to r e f r e s h it constantly -- when I move, when I rise, when I lower -- CONSTANTLY.

And to answer the question on why to use it, the answer is really for everything! It aids balance, provides power in movement, invites the partner, keeps movement lighter, increases stretch through the body, helps with alignment of the body, creates space... the list goes on and on.

On a personal note, this has been the hardest part about coming back to dancing after having a baby almost 8 months ago. Building back up my abdominal strength, awareness and usage has been a huge hurdle, and I'm just sort of starting to feel like I'm not completely hopeless in this area. Lacking those things has manifested itself in a way that makes all of my dancing more difficult for me, and I imagine for my partner as well.
 
I think one of the confusing concepts about using the abdominal muscles in dancing is whether one should aim for bracing/contraction or retraction/sucking. I have been taught the latter.
 
skwiggy said:
I'm not familiar with the stomach vacuum exercises, but if it involves a navel to spine technique as you describe then I absolutely use this in my dancing. Similar to how Larinda describes navel to shoulder blades, what I have heard that works for me to think about is taking my belly to my bra strap. I realize this image may only work for ladies. ;)

To answer your question about whether it is maintained, I would say it is constantly used and r e f r e s h ed. Trying to hold it would be extremely difficult and it would be bound to fade. It also would not produce the same dynamic that a constant renewal does. I try to r e f r e s h it constantly -- when I move, when I rise, when I lower -- CONSTANTLY.

And to answer the question on why to use it, the answer is really for everything! It aids balance, provides power in movement, invites the partner, keeps movement lighter, increases stretch through the body, helps with alignment of the body, creates space... the list goes on and on.

On a personal note, this has been the hardest part about coming back to dancing after having a baby almost 8 months ago. Building back up my abdominal strength, awareness and usage has been a huge hurdle, and I'm just sort of starting to feel like I'm not completely hopeless in this area. Lacking those things has manifested itself in a way that makes all of my dancing more difficult for me, and I imagine for my partner as well.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response, Skwiggy. This idea of not maintaining but instead constantly moving the abdominal muscles toward the spine (or bra strap/shoulders) throughout the dance is really interesting. Do you try to time it with certain types of movements (e.g., promenade position, shaping, lowering, rising, outside partner) or do you synchronize it with your breathing or the music?
 
vcolfari said:
I think one of the confusing concepts about using the abdominal muscles in dancing is whether one should aim for bracing/contraction or retraction/sucking. I have been taught the latter.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how you are distinguishing between these two. Can you elaborate on the distinction? Although to me the term "bracing" evokes images of something stiff and held. I think the aim should be for something more fluid and dynamic.
 
vcolfari said:
Thank you for your response, Skwiggy. This idea of not maintaining but instead constantly moving the abdominal muscles toward the spine (or bra strap/shoulders) throughout the dance is really interesting. Do you try to time it with certain types of movements (e.g., promenade position, shaping, lowering, rising, outside partner) or do you synchronize it with your breathing or the music?
Click to expand...

I try to renew it when I rise, when I lower, when I change positions, when I increase a stretch, and when I initiate movement in any direction. So, pretty much all the time. :)
 
skwiggy said:
I'm not sure how you are distinguishing between these two. Can you elaborate on the distinction? Although to me the term "bracing" evokes images of something stiff and held. I think the aim should be for something more fluid and dynamic.
Click to expand...

Yes, bracing meaning stiff and held (which I don't think one should use when dancing). I think of bracing as what is experienced during an exercise like a plank (or most weight training exercises) and retraction as bringing the navel in and up (which is almost never done except during dancing or trying to look thin at the beach).
 
Described that way, I definitely would go for retraction, not bracing. Although bracing exercises like planks are fantastic for building the strength for really effective retractions while dancing. ;)
 
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