A sciency look at dancing the Romanian way: physics of the movement of the centre-of-mass

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2018 science approaches Graz

This analysis is based on a comparison of my particular experience of two dance cultures-western classical dance training and participation in Romanian traditional dance. I discuss aspects of movement of the centre-of-mass based on a consideration of vertical and lateral movement in the context of very fast stepped dances that are typical of the traditional dances of southeastern Europe (often known as “Balkan dancing”). These are community dances where the group of dancers are physically connected by various forms of hand holds so that there is little freedom for an individual interpretation of macro-movements. These chain dances can be walking dances, such as the Romanian Hora, where the basic step is just walking at a slow 80 to 120 steps per minute, and “running” dances where the steps are far more rapid.

Green, Nick (2019). “A Sciency Look at Dancing the Romanian Way: Physics of the Movement of the Centre-of-Mass “. Kendra Stepputat and Christopher S Dick (editors), Symposium on Scientific Approaches in Sound and Movement Research 2018 – Extended Abstracts:33–40. Düren, Austria: Shaker Verlag.