Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how some of the simplest concepts in physics affect us in our everyday life, but not just anyone, in particular dancers. Dancers will complete combinations across the floor without really thinking about how they accomplish them. They learn the combination and apply the correct technique to each movement. It is common in dance for certain steps to inevitably go together in certain types of combinations. The dancers don't realize that the reason this is done is to cancel out or create forces and momentum as needed for a given combination. I will be addressing this very topic. While with the acquisition of data that I measured it is possible to "plug and chug" the numerical values into force equations and get out a number, the number is not really that important. It is very hard to attach a significance to the idea of experiencing 4000 lbs. of force. The number, although useful for physicists, is not as important as the theory behind the forces themselves. It is sometimes possible to attach a physical meaning to a concept in physics. One example would be what physicists refer to as the normal force but what everyone else terms weight. So with a slight introduction into the laws of physics I hope that dancers will better understand how their movements relate to each other. For anyone else I hope to introduce a window into the realm of physics and ballet.
