Principles of Movement
Principle 1
Where the movement is SEEN and where the movement is GENERATED are two different things.
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Think about it like this:
Let's say you have a flag on a long pole, and you wave the flag around. What is the primary movement you see? It's the flag waving around. Or more specifically, you see the end of the pole moving and the flag trailing and amplifying the visibility of it. But the movement is being generated at the end you are holding. And that end is not moving much at all.
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People observe things from within the context they already have.
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If you have knowledge and understanding of a particular way of doing things, you will observe other things from that perspective. As Westerners, we tend to think of generating movement from the ends of the limbs rather from the core body. So when we observe movements that are created from the center to the outside we tend to see them as if they were generated at the outside and miss the whole process of generation from the center.
We see the flag and don't notice the person waving it.
Over time, we may begin to notice the pole, then the person waving it, but initially our awareness begins with the things we are already familiar with. And often we stop there.
So let's apply these two principles to a dance step. This is an exercise from my classes... if you want to play along, you'll need:
- A pencil, pen, or chop stick
- A Styrofoam or paper cup
- A piece of tape
Got 'em? Ok...
Hop to the Top
URL: http://www.ZillTech.com
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Designed and built by Aziza Sa'id herself, with assistance from her engineering alter ego Megan Marti'n.
Last Revised: 3/25/01
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