Weak Phases of action
- Thread starter Chris Stratton
- Start date
Chris Stratton
New Member
The specific issue is keeping the bones of the feet in the desired alignment to support the body mass, against the substantially off-axis distorting force that is the weight of that body mass.
Standing barefoot, rise until your heels are about an inch off the floor and the ball of foot has risen slightly, so that only the toe pads (your most forward point of support possible) have floor pressure. The task of keeping the bones in your feet in position for this is what I am referring to.
In dancing you may generally prefer to use the ball of foot, however being able to support the weight two inches further forward means two things: If you go to the end of the toes just before leaving the foot, thats two inches less you need to reach you moving leg ahead of your body into your partner's space. Second, if you are carrying weight on the ball of foot and you start to accidentally overbalance forward, the ability to support your weight from two inches further forward than you were can help you recover.
pruthe
Member
I was in a lecture at last year's OSB where Charlotte Jorgensen discussed topic of balance and importance of using the toes, along with ball of foot, to help maintain that balance. The combination of toes and front half of ball seems to me to me a more stable platform for balance than ball alone, thus providing for more controlled movement. So I'm thinking if one uses toes/ball combo as much as possible during all phases of dance movement, it will look better, which is probably one of the points OP is trying to bring out.
Angelo
Member
I don't really disagree with any of this but what is missing from the analysis is the explicit presumption that all the "body blocks" as I have heard them referred to are in an appropriate postural alignment. I think it may have been implied in your original post, but I would like to point out that if the appropriate postural alignment is not in place, the ability to support your weight on the foot in the position you describe will be quite limited no matter how strong your feet and ankles are.
Chris Stratton
New Member
Sorry, but that's simple not true. You can have all sorts of body alignment problems and still carry your weight forward on the foot - shoulders hunched forward being a commonly seen one.
What is true is that posture alignment problems can often be caused by an inability to supprt the weight forward in the feet. The common fault of leaving the hips behind in a forward movement is often little more than attempt to keep the balance back over the strong part of the foot, rather than bring it forward onto the weaker toes and then beyond, committing to the movement.
What is true is that posture alignment problems can often be caused by an inability to supprt the weight forward in the feet. The common fault of leaving the hips behind in a forward movement is often little more than attempt to keep the balance back over the strong part of the foot, rather than bring it forward onto the weaker toes and then beyond, committing to the movement.
Angelo
Member
I never said you couldn't carry your weight forward on your foot with body alignment problems. If you do however, the movement quality is not likely to be smoothly even like the advanced dancers you alluded to.
What is also true is that in a dance context, the inability to support the weight forward in the feet can often be caused by posture alignment problems. The common problem of leaving the hips behind in a forward movement is also often caused by some level of instinctual resistance to commiting to a forward movement when someone is standing directly in front of you, and may have nothing to do with inadequacies in the feet. The same people who might show this problem while dancing with a partner usually have no inadequacies committing their hips forward while walking.
Chris Stratton
New Member
That "instinct" to which you refer is their gut level awareness that their feet aren't yet strong enough to send their weight forward with the kind of control and support that would be polite to the person in front of them. Quite often they've even been scolded by teachers for making the attempt.
This is one area where female students often have an advantage - a male teacher is often more safely free to encourage a female student to commit her weight forward past her present ability while he gives her some physical support so that she can exercise and build the full range of action, wheras a female teacher might be understandably more reluctant to encourage a perhaps larger male student to over commit on top of her.
Thought of this thread last night dancing a slow foxtrot with my pro--after a long day at work, a demanding technique class, and a two hour party.
I kept getting just slightly ahead of the beat, so I said to him, "Sorry, I'm too tired to dance slow."
He knew exactly what I meant and laughed.
I kept getting just slightly ahead of the beat, so I said to him, "Sorry, I'm too tired to dance slow."
He knew exactly what I meant and laughed.
Angelo
Member
No that is not what I am referring to. The instinct I am refering to is a more primal and visceral object-avoidance reflex. Even someone with extremely strong feet but no partner dance experience will show some resistance to commiting to a forward movement into another human being until they learn, consciously or unconsciously that nothing bad will happen.
Chris Stratton
New Member
I'm not sure I am yet convinced that there are people without a partner dance background who have all of the specific physical strengths needed such that its only a mental hangup holding them back.
A ballet dancer's feet are certainly very strong, but not it seems in precisely the way needed for ballroom where we need to create support from a foot that is not necessarily still under our body.
But I would be prepared to believe that the mental hangup may remain even as the body has started to gain some readiness.
A ballet dancer's feet are certainly very strong, but not it seems in precisely the way needed for ballroom where we need to create support from a foot that is not necessarily still under our body.
But I would be prepared to believe that the mental hangup may remain even as the body has started to gain some readiness.