Ma * Shuqa Mira Murjan presents The Skipping Experiment
they must move quickly and distract and protect cowboys . So very different than the elegant movement of European harlequin pierrot clowns who wear dance slippers and move with light footfalls for delicate artistic pantomime movements . Thus , footwear type and movement intention can result in very different performances .
Physical Aspects of Posture and Movement Quality
Other aspects of footfalls and posture may also affect your dance movement quality . Among them : foot pronation , hip and leg length , resulting in balance issues , and muscle tightness in the illiosacral area that affects the knees , skeletal structure that affects the knees and leg position – ( e . g ., genetically inherited physical characteristics like knock knees , bowed legs ). I ’ ll not discuss these aspects here , but it is important to consider and address body mechanics resulting from physical body characteristics . There are several approaches to adapt posture , footfall styling , and release knees and legs during dance . In my article “ Core Stabilization ” – I discuss why , how-to , and when core energy is important to dance . I promote posture appropriate for dance before starting to dance and resetting posture during dance .
Tips for Setting Dance Posture
Here are a few simple tips for setting your posture . Use these same posture setting techniques to re-set posture while dancing and add professional polish to your performance .
1 ) Create a lifted torso posture : Adjust your head to be sure you are level , pull your chin up to create a long neck ; then , dance looking at your audience with eyes downcast , rather than tipping your head down to look at your audience ( which naturally happens when performing on a raised stage ). The head-down position pulls your shoulders and torso down into a slumping position making it more difficult to smoothly dance undulations and isolations .
2 ) Energize the upper body and arms . Pull arms together into the center front in a circle , with the back of wrists meeting briefly . Next , move wrists in a small gentle circle with hands following , while moving arms to the side ; and lifting arms and turning elbows up , you continue arms in a wide sweep out to the sides . At arm extension out to the side , gently turn your wrist and hand in a small figure 8 , then into a “ you may kiss my hand ” position with the palm facing down and fingers delicately extended to finish .
36 The Belly Dance Chronicles � May 2021