Physics Paper on the Physical Aspects of Dance

Physics can simply be defined as the science that studies the mechanics of matter, motion, energy, and force. Dance in my opinion is a type of performance categorized as a form of art that involves the mind, body, soul, and a little something called physics. Dancing is a personal favorite hobby of mine, but I’ve never really considered the physics side of dancing which seems odd considering all the different movements and techniques that involve many principles of physics such as rotational inertia, gravitational force, motion, velocity, momentum, and torque. Balance is a huge element in a dancer’s life, without balance a dancer cannot perform any type of movement or technique. This is where the concept of The Center of Gravity steps in because it is the point at which an object will balance and stay balanced with minimal instability. This statement can only be proven true if a dancer concentrates his or her entire weight at this point. There are other things that act on a dancer such as gravity which pulls down, the support from the floor which pulls up, and the friction from the floor which resists relative motion from either side of the dancer.

Gravity Floor Support
Balance can be described as an equation that involves no total force and no total torque, without total force the momentum doesn’t change and without total torque the angular momentum doesn’t change either. Balance is a key ingredient in turns as well as other components. There are four specific components needed to perform a graceful turn which are balance, angular velocity, rotational inertia, and angular momentum. These four components illustrate the dancers ability to have poise or carry oneself without toppling