Mad Monday Equal and Opposite

Mad Monday Equal and Opposite

For every movement in dance there is an equal and opposite movement and/or energy pattern. Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes it is more subtle. But ballet technique has evolved over centuries to use the laws of physics and the rules of aesthetics to become what it is today: an extraordinarily effective system.

One of the most important ways to think about this equal and opposite idea is in the area of those scary bad habit patterns. When a dancer attempts to change a single element in their technique it usually isn’t enough. There is something else – something equal and opposite  - that must be addressed and changed as well.

For example, a dancer who works in a chin-down position has to do more than raise the chin to correct the problem. That’s because in order to balance and dance successfully with the chin lowered, the shoulders and/or the upper back will lean backwards to compensate. This is so the dancer doesn’t fall over. The body is smart. This ability to compensate is unconscious, it is just what the body does.

Start thinking about all the ways the body balances itself through and equal and opposite reactions. There are many!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #7pp:  

“For every movement there is an equal and opposite movement.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2l1e_QPOes

Quote of the Day:

““The major work of the world is not done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people, with balance in their lives, who have learned to work in an extraordinary manner.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

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