Ballroom dancing is an activity enjoyed by people worldwide, adding excitement to their lives. There are many types of ballroom dances, and many people who are looking to master these dancing styles. The most important part of performing any dance well, however, is the position of your body throughout the dance. The key to graceful, beautiful ballroom dancing is the ability to maintain proper form and posture throughout your dance routine. The best way to learn proper dance posture is to practice it all day, every day.
So, here’s what you should know about posture:
- Head: A dancer’s head needs to be upright with their chin parallel to the dance floor; stretching the neck upward, dancers need to take caution that they don’t lean to one side of their neck. Make sure that the back of your neck isn’t shorter because you are holding your chin to high; your head should be held like a plate sitting flat on the table.
- Chest/Abdomen: The chest needs to be in alignment with the hips. Lift your ribcage off of your hips in order to gain straightening in your spine. It’s important not to rotate your shoulders with your hips when dancing.
- Hips: The pelvis should be held in the center of your body not pushing out forward or backward while your hips allow for natural curvature in your spine.
- Legs: The hips and feet should always be vertically aligned when standing with feet beside each other. When legs are straight, legs should form a perfect V. When knees are bending, the hips should stay in alignment with the feet. It should feel like you are pulling your shoulders back away from your legs slightly to maintain posture and spine curvature.
- Feet: Your feet should move from ball to heel, and when you are in standing position, the weight of your body should be distributed to the middle so that it relieves pressure off of the toes and heels. During Latin dance, the weight should always be placed on the balls of your feet.
Did You Know?
Many Latin ballroom dances imply that there are a lot of hip movements, but it is important to remember that you shouldn’t force movement in your hips as it comes naturally from the natural rhythm of the legs, more specifically the knees. It is believed that because of the bending and straightening of the knees, the rhythm runs up the leg and creates the Latin Hip Motion.
We are so used to slouching, that learning and sticking to good posture can be a difficult thing. Once you have learned your posture skills and put them into practice regularly, you will feel much more graceful in your dance step. Being able to maintain body position will give you more control over your dance movements and more control over the flow of your dance. There are many benefits to having good posture including good spine health, as well – so it’s definitely something that deserves a shot!
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