Physics Of Dance Research Paper

There is much more to the arabesque, grand jeté, and fouetté than just hours of practice and strong toes. Dancers do not often understand the physics and mathematics describing their movements, but they know how to execute them with grace. If ballerinas were not able to feel physics, they would fall over. Legs, arms and head are oscillating as they turn– moving back and forth in seemingly separate patterns. For dancers, everything must move in separate patterns, yet at the same time, move at the same rhythm. This presentation introduces the history, mathematics, and physics behind ballet.
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts during the 15th century. Noblemen and women attended special events, such as wedding celebrations, where
Static balance is the point of center of gravity at which an object, like a dancer, has the ability to balance. All of the forces acting upon a balanced dancer sum to equal zero. A dancer 's center of gravity must remain directly above the area of contact with the floor; otherwise, he or she will fall over. Smaller floor contact area, like en pointe, for example, makes balance more difficult. Maintaining such balance involves constant shifts and adjustments of the body. The net effect of gravity on a dancer is the same as if it were only acting upon the center of gravity, and not on all parts of the body. Forces on a balanced dancer like gravity (pulls down, acts upon center of gravity) and the support from floor (pushes up, acts upon feet) equal zero. Both forces act through the center of gravity, and so, the dancer’s torque also equals
If the rotational inertia (I) is decreased, then the angular velocity (ω) must increase, or spin faster. If the rotational inertia (I) is increased, then the angular velocity must decrease, or spin slower. Rotational inertia is an object’s resistance to its rotation. Through calculations, it is proven that the greater the mass of an object, the greater the rotational inertia. When mass is distributed farther from its rotational axis, there is a larger rotational inertia. The equation, I=mr2, represents how increasing the rotational inertia will decrease the rate at which a dancer