Since the dawn of our species, we’ve done three things: tell stories and create images. We did the latter by painting on cave walls, making pottery, and dancing. Today, visual expression has achieved unprecedented heights — and when considering the world of circus arts, I meant that literally.
I firmly believe that movement is medicine. We are made to move, and to do so in extraordinary ways. We walk upright, and our upper limbs have an incredible range of motion. It’s only natural that we would use our unique kinesiology to express ourselves.
What makes movement possible? What makes it artistic?
It’s called movement theory — how human bodies can position themselves, both statically and dynamically, in a rhythm. Typically, that rhythm comes from music, but it doesn’t have to. The movement follows certain pathways in a way that we find aesthetically pleasing. In its plainest form, movement theory is about making shapes. Doing that to a rhythm in an artistic pattern is what we call dance.
Here’s how knowing movement theory can help you learn dance skills, choreograph acts, and feel more empowered in your skin.
Dance as A Movement Framework
The genre or style of dance affects which shapes we make, how quickly we transition, and so on. For example, ballet typically involves elongated body shapes, tiptoed steps, and sweeping movements. Samba, which emerged as an African-inspired response to ballet, focuses on body rolls, shaking hips, and bold poses. However, both styles have similar footwork, such as turned-in heels and rapid, small steps.
Indeed, you’ll find similar “dance steps” around the world: kick steps, spins, squats, and so on. We can see the connections among all movement arts just in the names. Many ballet skills, such as arabesque — itself a reference to Middle Eastern folk dances — and yoga asanas, such as plow, have made their way into other genres, as well as rhythmic gymnastics and aerial dance.
Movement theory describes how different body parts connect and align to create pleasing shapes in a particular rhythm. It’s the science behind the artistry. Even the most flexible bodies have limitations. And as audience members, we perceive movement from a broader perspective. That’s why dance genres throughout history have drawn upon similar patterns and shapes — it’s how we can best tell a story that makes sense to people watching it.
The Body In Space
You’re ever so aware of the world’s emptiness as you are when you’re dancing. There’s space behind you, in front of you, above you, between your legs and arms, and, if you’re an aerialist, even below you! Understanding how your body moves in space is the foundation of movement theory.
The Sagittal Plane
Imagine a ribbon running from the top of your head down between your eyes to your feet. This is the sagittal plane, which divides your right and left arm/leg/etc.
The Coronal Plane
The coronal plane divides your front from your back. Unlike the sagittal plane, the coronal plane is asymmetrical. Our bodies move fundamentally differently in the coronal plane: we can’t raise our arms forward and backward in the same shape.
The Transverse Plane
Imagine that ribbon is tied around your waist at your belly button. That’s the transverse plane, dividing your top from your bottom.
Movement Patterns
We move in many different ways. But whether we’re walking, curled up in bed, or dancing, we follow the same core patterns.
First, let’s clarify: when you move in the sagittal plane, the axis is coronal, and vice versa. So when we’re talking about movement in a body plane, we’ll describing how you move around that axis.
Expansion:
Ever made snow angels? You’re stretching all your limbs outward, away from the center of your body. Thus, you’re expanding your presence in space.
Contraction:
The fetal position is primal: our contracted, space-saving pose at the dawn of life.
Abduction (coronal):
No, not by aliens. Abduction is the movement of a body part away from your core’s sagittal axis. For example, raise one arm out to the side and point at the wall.
Push that raised arm further outward so your hand moves closer to the wall. That’s an example of expansion: a lateral movement beyond your normal range.
Protraction:
Try to spread your shoulders farther apart. This expansion into the coronal plane is made possible by the protraction of your shoulder blades.
Adduction (coronal):
Adduction is the movement of a body part toward your body’s sagittal axis. Bring that arm back down.
Compression:
As you may have guessed, compression is the opposite of extension. Squeeze your arm toward your torso. Compression is movement inside of your normal position.
Retraction:
Now, squeeze your shoulder blades together. See how this achieves a double compression?
Extension (sagittal):
Let’s repeat this exercise with the coronal axis. Raise your arm in front of you and point at the wall. This is an extension: a movement that increases the angle between body parts.
Elevation (transverse):
Keep raising your hand until you’re pointing to the ceiling. Typically, you must move your shoulder blade upward to achieve this. That’s why this movement is called an elevation — a movement up and away from the transverse plane.
Flexion (sagittal):
Lower your arm back down. This is flexion: decreasing the angle between body parts.
Depression (transverse):
Now lower your hand and point to the floor. This is an example of depression, the opposite of elevation. If you push your hand down a little more, it counts as expansion into the transverse plane.
Rotation:
Now, turn your torso toward one wall, then the other. Voilá! You’ve done a rotation. Rotations can happen on either the coronal or sagittal axis. They can be internal (rotating toward your body’s core) or external (rotating away from the core).
There you go — a crash course in kinesiology! Now that you understand the main movement patterns, let’s see how they play out in movement theory.
Common Dance Skills and Movement Theory
Plié
- How it works: With knees pointing outward, contract your hamstrings and gluteus to lower your pelvis toward the floor.
- Plane: Transverse (contraction)
- Patterns: Abduction (legs) and Depression (hips)
Arabesque
- How it works: Stand on one foot and contract the gluteus maximum and quadriceps to raise the other leg straight behind you, then push it backward.
- Plane: Coronal (expansion)
- Patterns: Extension (leg), Protraction (hip flexor), Elevation (calf, if performed en pointe or relevé)
Pirouette
- How it works: With feet apart in the coronal plane, turn backward, using the leading leg to initiate the movement as you bring your foot toward your knee.
- Plane: Sagittal and coronal (rotation)
- Patterns: Flexion (knee), Adduction (legs), Elevation (toe)
Putting Movement Theory into Practice
Are you getting a sense of how movement follows certain patterns? Now, when you know how a certain skill works, you can think about your positioning and gaze. For example, a strong pirouette requires you to really commit to rotating in the coronal plane!
But movement theory also describes how one skill connects to the next. It also shows you the pathways between different skills. If you’ve done ballet, you know that a plié cannot go directly into a pirouette. You can’t achieve the rotation if you stay within the sagittal plane.
Movement theory also guides choreography, allowing you to streamline your movement and visually tell a story. It explains how you can tune into natural rhythms, as well as the beat of your performance song.
Let’s say you’re moving upward in the transverse plane and outward in the sagittal plane. Does it make more sense to switch to an extension in the coronal plane or a flexion/compression?
Watch any professional movement artist, and you’ll see that they follow expansion with compression, elevation with depression.
As our chests rise and fall with each breath, good movement involves balance. We can only extend or expand so much before we must flex and compress. Side-to-side movement should eventually give way to front-and-back movement. And like the tides, we must vary our movement: from big crashing waves to gentle ripples.
Finding this rhythm helps you enhance your act’s musicality. It makes you more dynamic — and easier to watch. Trust me, so much is lost when you don’t fully extend into a shape. The audience is usually a distance away. For them to perceive the change, you need to make a big difference between your compressed shape and your spectacular expansion into space.
In a future blog, I’ll explore further ways you can match types of movement with your music. For now, think of every skill you’re working on with the lens of movement theory. What plane are you moving into? Which body axis are you using? Is this an expansion or compression? How can you maximize this movement? How does it lead into your next shape?
Further Reading:
- Scherb, Emily aka The Circus Doc. Applied Anatomy of Aerial Arts.
- Anatomy and Physiology. Ch. 9.5. Oregon State University.
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