Photo courtesy of Mait Jüriado (left) and H-Lo (right) via Flickr

From Fame to Star Search, we all grew up watching dance on T.V. The phenomenon with dance continues with today’s popular shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with Stars. Despite the many differences in the themes of these shows, there is one thing they have in common; the dancers are challenged and advance in their ability to adapt and execute different dance styles. Dance enthusiasts easily get absorbed in the story of a Hip Hop dancer excelling in a Contemporary dance, or a Ballet dancer who can pull off a ‘down and dirty’ Salsa. The latter of these scenarios provides even more enjoyment since the two styles, Ballet and Salsa, seem fundamentally opposite.

Ballet is thought to be graceful, lifted and elegant, while Salsa is thought to be grounded, unrefined and non-technical. While the adjectives used to describe these two dance forms are seemingly correct, the science of Ballet can be applied to any dance form, and ultimately enhance it, especially Salsa.

BALANCE- Learning to stand on one foot without quivering is one of the first things you learn in a ballet class. Discovering muscles that stabilize and ground you on a narrow base is a fundamental practice in a Ballet class. Bringing the same awareness to these muscles groups and muscle mechanics in a Salsa class will improve spins and styling. This will also strengthen lead and follow technique. Followers who struggle with balance will rely on the leader’s frame for stability, which will result in the weakening of the frame. Poor balance in Salsa creates a domino effect and the equilibrium between partners will eventually be thrown off. Spins are an essential part of Salsa dancing. Ballet technique will teach you how to be solid on your legs.

Prove it. Stand on one leg and raise the other leg so that the foot is hovering beside the calf of the standing leg. Transfer your weight to the ball of the foot and imagine a zipper motion with your muscles starting at the inner edge of the foot and zipping up the leg towards your lower abdominals. This will engage your inner thigh and ground you to the floor. Now you should be balancing.

ALIGNMENT- Ballet technique explores body physics and great posture and alignment is a result of that practice. The concept of ‘stacking’ is crucial to Ballet, and even more important, yet often forgotten in Salsa dancing. Stacking gives reference to the upper body, mid body and lower body being in perfect alignment to facilitate full range of movement. Many dancers learn to dance Salsa in an informal setting, often bringing their day-to-day posture to the dance form. Women tend to sway at the lower back while men tend to hunch the shoulders forward and down. Take a moment, how are you sitting right now? Working on alignment assists in finding the ‘centre’ or ‘axis’, which is another way of describing the balance point so that regardless of the move being performed, or the direction of that movement, the body is controlled.

Prove it. Stand perpendicular to a mirror so that you can see your entire body from head to toes. Stack your shoulders over your hips and over the balls of your feet. Draw an imaginary line from the front on your shoulders, down to the front of your hip bones, and end the line to the centre part of the foot. This line should be perpendicular to the floor. Now try to balance, or lift a leg and maintain this alignment. Practice and fine-tune this position for increased freedom of movement.

CONTROL- The challenge a Ballet dancer faces is achieving a level of control while maintaining an effortless appearance. While the Ballet dancer looks quite light, there is a vast amount of pressure going in the floor to maintain this control. Salsa is considered to be a grounded dance form, pulling its energy from the pressure in the floor as well. In both styles, the dancer utilizes this floor energy to move the body in various directions. The legs are like the trunk of a tree, grounded and reaching beyond the visible limits of the floor while the upper body is free to sway with ease. Mastering the concept of floor pressure will free up the rest of the body to interpret and move with the music without constraints. This will also develop refined movements of the feet, developing quick and precise positions. Great for shines and styling.

Prove it. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart with the right foot a couple of inches in front of the left. Transfer your weight in the ball of the right foot and push the floor away from your body. This should cause your weight to transfer back on the left leg. Now try the same with left foot, but push the floor towards the wall behind you. This should cause you to move forward onto your right leg. Experiment with directions right and left, and you will soon discover how the movement in your body can be rooted in, and a direct result of the way you push into the floor.

The concepts taught in a Ballet class are almost endless and can be quite fascinating. We barely scraped the surface with these concepts above; however, it can be even more rewarding when they are applied to different dance styles. Studying Ballet can help develop a strong understanding of physiology and physics as it pertains to movement in general which will ultimately give the Salsa dancer a strong technical advantage. You may not be ready to trade in your fringe and ballroom shoes for tights and slippers (or vice versa), but I encourage you to explore a whole new concept of movement. Versatility is essential. Looking beyond the professional dance scene and into the social scene, training in other forms of dance will almost always give the dancer an advantage.

You never know, you may just discover your own inner swan!