MOVE WITH YOUR CENTER

We had learned from science class in high school that all masses or objects, whether animate or inanimate have a Center Of Gravity, located at the exact center of the mass. Maintaining this center of gravity within the confines of the mass assures balance and keeps it from toppling over. 
       In people, the center of gravity is the diaphragm, the round muscle wall separating our lungs from our stomach. Another term for it  is the solar plexus. 
       Singers focus on their diaphragm, and as they do, they involuntarily raise it, thus pushing their lungs up and out,  so that air can circulate more freely within the thoracic cavity. This action enables singers to maximize the air in their lungs, and produce more solid vocal notes. 

       In dance terminology, the Solar Plexus is referred to as the center point of balance or the CPB, and is the KEY to each dancer’s balance and body movement. 

Stand up for a while and feel your diaphragm  with  your  hand. Visualize your solar plexus in your mind’s eye, and command it to rise and fall on each count from 1 to 8. 

       You will notice that as your diaphragm rises, your chest, shoulders and practically your whole body is  also lifted up. You also feel much lighter. 

Now, put on some music, preferably disco, swing or one with a strong bass beat. Stand with your feet slightly on the each side, and do the following exercise. 
      Alternately move UP and DOWN on each count from 1 to 8. On Counts 1 2, and again on 5 6, put your weight on the left foot. On Counts 3 4 and 7 8, put your weight on the right foot. 
      If the movement is UP on Count 1, it means that the CPB will reach its peak of rise on that specific count. 
      Continue doing the exercise several times, until you feel the automatic coordination of the two movements -- shifting  weight from one foot to the other every two counts, and moving up and down on each  count. 
      Now, DROP DOWN (let your CPB fall) on every count, alternating feet on every UNIT. Accent the DROP rather than the rise. 
      To REVERSE the MOVEMENT, start with the DOWN movement on Count 1, but maintain the same weight on each foot as with the previous exercise. Concentrate on your CPB so that it controls your movement. 
      Alternately move UP and DOWN on each count from 1 to 8. On Counts 1 2, and again on 5 6, put your weight on the left foot. On Counts 3 4 and 7 8, put your weight on the right foot. 
      If the movement is UP on Count 1, it means that the CPB will reach its peak of rise on that specific count. 
      Continue doing the exercise several times, until you feel the automatic coordination of the two movements -- shifting  weight from one foot to the other every two counts, and moving up and down on each  count. 
      Now, DROP DOWN (let your CPB fall) on every count, alternating feet on every UNIT. Accent the DROP rather than the rise. 
      To REVERSE the MOVEMENT, start with the DOWN movement on Count 1, but maintain the same weight on each foot as with the previous exercise. Concentrate on your CPB so that it controls your movement. 

     Like a bouncing ball, the action  is when the ball touches down on the floor. The reaction is when it bounces back up. The action is  down on all counts. The reaction is up in between the counts, on the “&” counts. 

Press the ball of the foot into the floor to produce an UP MOVEMENT on every count.

 

1     &     2     &     3     &     4     &     5     &     6     &     7     &     8

      This action is one of the single most important elements in body movement and control. What we were actually doing was exercising control over our CPB, from which all movement --  including foot steps, arm stretches, turns, others --  starts. Movement (or the lack of Movement) adds and enhances character, form, and style to the Dance. Thus with full control of Body Movement, we can actually declare that it is the body that dances, not the feet. 

BODY FLIGHT
       All dance has some degree of vertical movement, which we practiced in the exercises earlier. But even Movement that  seems to be level or neutral, is almost always, a Vertical Movement that has been  stretched out until it appears as a horizontal movement. Specifically, the press into the floor with the balls of the feet, freeing the toes, propels the CPB through space, producing Horizontal Movement, and is known as body flight. 

Stand up and ‘Think Tall’. Place your hand on your CPB and lift up, as if you were pressing the top of your head to the ceiling. Now move an arm or a leg in any direction. 
      By adjusting your balance, you will find that you can still stay in the same place. Next, push the CPB in any horizontal direction, and  you will find that you will have to transfer your weight to one foot. 

        To help develop the feeling of Body Flight,  imagine the soles of your feet as tire treads which propel your body forward. Now move around the room counter-clockwise in 8 counts alternating a drive and a brush” on each count. As your CPB moves forward, the free foot receives the body and continues the action forward. 
     The CPB is the KEY to all  coordinated movement.  When you place the CPB over the spot where you wish to place your foot, the  foot  will  receive  the  body,  but the CPB comes first. In fact, to be “in time” with the music, the actual transfer of weight, the CPB,  is  completely transferred, on the beat, and not just the act of the foot being placed on the floor.
       Professional dancers always relate their body movements with their center point of balance, knowing and understanding that the CPB is an integral part of their dancing. The control of the CPB contributes much not only to the dancer’s confident poise and bearing, but also accounts for the ‘floating’ effect in every move. They not only look light; they actually feel light.