As dancers, we always here that we need to move from our centers. This is a difficult concept for me to grasp. Are there any excercises or recommendations any one can tell me about to help achieve this? Is it just a matter of time, or are there things you can focus on to achieve "moving from the center"?

Great thanks for any advice.

ChaCha Guy. Think of your spine as your centre. In Modern do not twist the spine.Try an Open Telemark. Did you turn around a straight spine or did you get a bit of a twist there. It doesn't matter if this is a Feather or whatever.Take a look at a sprinter. isn't the spine dead in the middle, and when the comentator said he lost his shape, or technique that is most likely what has happened. We are very much the same.

I was given another idea to toy with in regards to finding "center". I was told to tighten or flex the muscles of my abdominal region and to take note of the feeling that developed. Without bringing my shoulders forward or doing anything that would effect my upper body line to now feel as though the energy from this "center" was what was moving me forward, my feet and lower body controling and keeping in check this energy that now wanted to make me fly across the floor. It made sense to me and according to both my partner and my coach change my style of dancing. Suddenly there was an energy and a sense of movement that had not been there before. Does this make sense to anyone?

Amber. One more thing to add That is draw your buttocks in tight in either Latin or Modern.

Well, in standard the hips should be neutral - don't draw the buttocks in so far that the thighs project forwards. Of course don't roll the hip back either.

Ah, but if I don't roll my hips back, my abdominal region will not retain its flat appearance. We are all built differently. And in doing so this also keeps the buttocks tucked in, both retaining a natural, not forced appearance. Despite what we are taught this makes it clear that we have to take everything and adapt the "lesson" in posture to fit ourselves. Great responses you guys. You actually got me up from in front of my computer and into dance position just to check and be sure of where my body was.

Amber. Try Pilates, which a lot of our top dancers are into. They , the Polates instructors are always on about getting the back onto the floor to take the arch out of the back. If this is done succssfully and you stand up it feels as if a person has grown a couple of inches in height.

Thank you Don. Yes, I have given Pilates some serious thought, understanding that it has become quite popular with the dance community. Finding the time, finding the time..... Of course that is a cheesy excuse, I need to make the time. haha

Thanks for all the feedback. I do pilates, and I'm definitely discovering how to tighten my abdominal muscles and eliminate that space in the small of my back. Perhaps that tightening feeling will become more natural in time, and I'll begin to move from my center.