Table of Contents

Foreword by Martha Swope
Preface
1: Introduction
2: Balance
3: Motions Without Turns
4: Pirouettes
5: Turns in the Air
6: The Pas de Deux
7: The Mechanics of Partnered Turns
8: The Mechanics of Lifts
9: The Effects of Body Size
10: A Step into the Future
Appendix A - Linear Mechanics and Newton's Laws
Appendix B - Rotational Mechanics
Appendix C - Anatomical Data for Dancers
Appendix D - Rotational Inertia for Some Body Configurations
Appendix E - Acceleration Away from Balance
Appendix F - Off-Balance Pirouettes
Appendix G - Arabesque Turn Analysis
Appendix H - Quantitative Analysis of the Grande Pirouette
Appendix I - Quantitative Analysis of the Fouetté Turn
Appendix J - Quantitative Analysis of the Supported Fouetté Turn
Appendix K - Lean, Don't Slip
Appendix L - Biomechanical Forces in a Dancer's Body
Glossary
Index

About the Author

Kenneth Laws is Professor Emeritus of Physics, Dickinson College, and author of The Physics of Dance (Schirmer, 1984), Physics, Dance, and the Pas de Deux (Schirmer, 1994), and Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement (OUP, 2002)

Arleen Sugano is Independent Dance Instructor, former instructor of Dance, New York University, University of North Texas, Joffrey Ballet School, Rod Rodgers Dance Company, and Lula Washington Dance Company, amongst many others.