24 Jun Principles of Dance: Posture, Poise and Frame

It is hard to overestimate the importance of posture, poise and frame in our bodies, whether you are a dancer or not.

Correct posture allows us to control the balance and freedom of movement in all the joints. What is posture? In the simplest way, it is how we line up the horizontal blocks (such as head, shoulders, rib cage and hips) and the vertical lines (shoulder to hip on the left and right sides) of our bodies.

In dancing, poise refers to the “pitch of the body and the placement of the body weight relative to the feet.” Proper poise helps the dancer maintain balance, movement, shape and connections with a dance partner. Poise may be in neutral position, that is the body weight may be distributed equally over the left and right foot, or it may be on the ball, heel or center of one foot.

The last, but certainly not the least important, element in partnered dancing is the frame. Basically, it is how we connect our arms to our bodies. By stretching elbows against each other, using the chest and shoulder blades, we create both a flexible and structured dance frame.

Developing and maintaining good posture, proper poise and a good frame takes time and constant adjustment as we grow as dancers. The professionals at the Ballroom Dance Center can answer your questions and help you with these technical elements.

Until next time ….

#Dancesmart & Happy Dancing,

~ Val