Your muscular skeletal system provides a structural support to keep you upright and your body is supported by a point of contact with the ground, which forms your base of support.

As you perform movements you alter your base of support. This then shifts the centre of gravity.(The place where all your weight becomes more heavily concentrated). If this heavy centre is aligned over a base of support the movements are more controlled, performed safely, reduces stress on muscles therefore being a more efficient way to move. and enhances the performance quality.

The directional pull of gravity on your body can be represented by an imaginary vertical line called the line of gravity (plumb line).

For ideal alignment your bones rather than your muscles should carry most of the body weight, each body part should be properly balanced over the part below it. If anatomical structures are continually misaligned muscle imbalances can develop between the working and opposing muscle groups and over-stretching of ligaments can occur. This can increase the risk of injury such as dislocations, strains and sprains.

In correct standing posture the line of gravity runs down through the central axis of the body and the centre of gravity is in the core of the pelvis. This position requires the least amount of effort by the muscles. The further away from the line of gravity that your body parts move, the greater muscle effort required. So, correct alignment is also necessary to ensure that movement is performed with ease and efficient use of energy. The line of gravity is always a vertical line. Your alignment plays a crucial role in expression and your aesthetic and artistic quality of line. It is also necessary for control and stability in body skills such as turns, balances, falls, jumps and transferences of weight.

Contemporary dance allows you to contract, tilt, twist, flex, rotate and extend your torso and limbs in a whole range of diverse and unique bodily postures and alignments. You perform movements on and off your centre of gravity and with a high and low centre of gravity. Your centre of gravity is unique to you and will depend on your individual body type and type of movements that are performed.

Principles of alignment

The centre of the knee should line up with the middle of the toes so there is no inward (medial) or outward (lateral) rotation of the knees.

• The placement of the feet should match the rotation of the hip joint and knee joint in turned out and parallel positions so that the femur, tibia and tarsals/metatarsals and phalanges are aligned.
• The pelvis should not tilt forward (anterior) or tuck under (posterior) so that alignment of the trunk over the legs is maintained.
• The natural curves of the spine should be lengthened and not hyper-extended or “crunched” and the ribcage should be narrowed at the front and broadened at the back.
• The ankle bones should be vertically aligned so that there is no inward sickling (pronation) or outward rolling (supination) of the ankles and the feet.
• On demi pointe, the forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot should be aligned and all toes should be flat on the ground with equal weight distribution across the ball of the foot.
• The chin should not protrude forward or be tucked in.
• The scapula should be anchored on the spine and shoulder girdle and should not be allowed to protract or elevate.
• Core support should be maintained at all times.

Copy and paste the images below into your journal/word document. Draw in the line of gravity and base of support. Remember the line of gravity is always a vertical line. Share with your teacher.