Travel Steps Study Guide 6.1: Lesson Plan, Balance and Alignment

Balance and Alignment

Working without music, stand quietly and feel the floor.  Check the alignment of your body, and bring yourself to a neutral dance posture.  Move your awareness to the sensation in the soles of your feet.  Shift forward and back, jiggle your ankles and the bones in your feet, stretch and spread your toes, then restack your foot and body, making adjustments until your weight feels stable and optimally balanced.   Your foot should be relaxed, but not flattened—look for a springy feeling in the arch. 

   

Transfer all of your weight to one foot, and reach out with the free foot.  Allow the unweighted leg to roll into a gently turned-out alignment.  Point the free foot and roll it onto the floor, starting with the toes, then the ball of the foot, and finally the heel. Transfer your weight forward, and step through with your other foot.  Focus on a smooth step, adjusting your bones to find the most free and comfortable transition.  Your point, turnout, and foot shape will determine how your foot meets the floor, but using gentle technique most dancers will find that their middle toes touch the floor first.   See how your foot lands, then find the most stable and comfortable rollthrough for your anatomy.

Begin to walk, rolling every footfall down in toe-ball-heel order.  Start to transfer your weight and move your body forward as soon as your toes meet the floor; as one foot rolls down, the other peels away. If your balance feels very shaky, speed up a little, or think about bringing your heart forward over your free foot—wobbly steps are often the result of completely laying the foot down in advance of transferring weight and moving the torso forward.   Imbue the movement with sensuosity, feeling the floor’s pressure increase and decrease across the soles of the feet.  Imagine that each step leaves a shimmering footprint behind.

Speed up.  Soften the toes, and simplify the rolling footfall into a two-part ball-heel motion.  Think of leading the motion with a lengthening of the front of ankle; extend your foot with a gesture similar to the one you would use when extending your hand to be kissed.  Keep an open lifted posture, but relax your upper body and breathe. 

Walk with music.  Find a piece with a very slow tempo and languorous instrumentation.  Take a moment to ground and align your body in a neutral dance posture.  Breathe deeply.  Then walk slowly with the music, relaxing into each step.  Look for balance and stability in every transfer of weight.  Imagine a loving friendship between your feet and the floor, and feel a “high-five” reaching up to support every step.  Refuse to rush or be rushed.  Imagine that there is someone important waiting for you on the other side of the room—walk to this person, but take your time.  Whoever this person may be, he or she will have to wait for you.

Change the music to a piece with a faster tempo.  Speed up without rushing.  If you are unsteady, try shortening your steps.  Stay grounded and heavy in the hips but use your feet softly and gently.  Imagine yourself as a panther or snake.  Direct your energy horizontally into the direction of your travel, and skim or slide across the floor.  Relax against the music.

→ Next in the Travel Steps Study Guide: Connecting to Rhythm 

← Previous:  Using Footwork in Your Dance


↑      Travel Steps Study Guide Table of Contents 
↑↑    Travel Steps
↑↑↑  Autumn Ward Presents Artistic Belly Dance Student Resource Center