What is Body Mechanics?:
Body Mechanics refers to the natural alignment and efficient motion of the skeletal, muscular, and connective tissue systems in the human body used to move through space.
An important sub-element of Body Mechanics is Posture. A base posture or “home position” is the default alignment of the muscular-skeletal systems held with tone. The amount of tone should be the minimum amount needed to maintain the alignment that best supports the frame and connection in each style of dance. In Fusion, as its own dance form, the base posture includes:
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Parallel feet hip width apart
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Slightly bent “soft” knees
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A slight bend forward at the waist as if your tailbone is reaching to sit in a chair or riding on a motorcycle
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An elongated and lifted back and chest with an aligned spine through the top of the head
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Shoulders connected with dynamic muscular relaxation and engagement through to the back only as necessary to maintain that connection.
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Mostly relaxed arms with just enough tone used to maintain a connection to the frame (typically hand to hand or hand to shoulder).
The Purpose of Body Mechanics:
Body mechanics and posture are necessary in a partnered dance to support the frame and connection. Dancers maximize their safety and ease of movement by applying an active understanding of body mechanics as they move through space together.
Why Body Mechanics Matter:
By tuning into body mechanics dancers can prevent injuries and sustain energy throughout their movement. Injuries and exhaustion often occur when dancers compromise their own body integrity, forcing their own or someone else’s body to do something it can’t safely do, or over-exerting themselves because they are using more energy than is necessary.
Concepts for further exploration within Body Mechanics include:
- Posture (Posture is the positioning of the individual in relationship with the ground.)
- Alignment (alignment of bones, musculature in counter of outside forces.)
- Shaping
- Swing & Sway
- Body Awareness
- Side & Back Body
- Muscular Differentiation
- Isolations (solo/true & shared)
- Foot Mechanics & Positioning
- Feet - turn in, turn out & parallel
- Feet - point, flex, relax / relevé, flat
- Ways to Walking (toe, heel, flat, side, toe-heel, heel-toe)
- Weight placement (2nd partner)
- Projection
- Torque (Latin hips)
- Hip and back mechanics (Latin dances)
- Stacking (feet, knees, hips, shoulders, head)
- Bells & Bowls or Shelves of the body
- Step Patterns governed by mechanics (not choreography)
- Springs (aka The Myostatic Reflex)
- Central alignment