Dance partnering is dancing performed by two or more

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

rs (traditionally a male leader and a female follower, though forms such as

Contact improvisation Contact Improvisation (CI) is a postmodern dance practice that explores movement through shared weight, touch, and physical awareness. Originating in the United States in 1972, contact improvisation was developed by dancer and choreographer Steve ...

and Fusion dance have troubled this traditional dynamic), that strive to achieve a harmony of coordinated movements. Many forms of dance rely on the application of partnering dance techniques that facilitate coordinated movements by dancers. Dance partnering technique appears in various forms in many types of dance and is an essential part of all

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s. Scholars of dance, including anthropologist Cynthia Novack, philosopher

Ilya Vidrin Ilya Vidrin is an academic research-practitioner notable for his work on the theory and practice of partnering. He is Assistant Professor of Creative Practice Research and Core Faculty at the Institute of Experiential Robotics at Northeastern Univ ...

, ethnomusicology David Kaminsky, cognitive scientist Michael Kimmel, among others, have written about techniques of partnering in different forms.

Technique

A variety of partner dance techniques are employed in dance partnering. Typically, the technique used for a particular dance style is generally focused on either communication between partners or physical support of one partner by the other.

Guidance

In many partner dances (e.g.,

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...

) the male dancer typically assumes the role of

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and provides guidance to his typically female partner, the follower. This may simply be a matter of guiding his partner to the next fixed position during a set routine, or in free-form dances may include deciding and communicating the sequence of figures to be danced on the fly.

Support

In a ballet

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

, the male dancer may provide support for his partner when she performs balancing feats that would be difficult or impossible without assistance. File:Penché.gif File:Ballet Teresa Carreño.jpg File:Pirouette.gif

Lifts

A dance lift is a sequence of acrobatic movements in which one dancer (typically the male) lifts and, in many cases, holds their dance partner above the floor. In some cases (e.g.,

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dance), the dance partner may actually be propelled into the air. When performing a lift, the lifting dancer typically strives to gracefully and confidently lift, catch and carry their partner. Dance lifts are commonly performed in various types of dance, including acro,

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, jive and

jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...

. File:NWFusion6.jpg File:NWFusionPaquitaPasLift.jpg File:NutcrackerPasDeDeux2.jpg File:Rocknroll-dancing-swan.jpg File:Rocknroll-dancing-somersault-worldgames2005.jpg

References

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External links

Article on partnering
in the Australian Ballet Education site. Ballet technique Partner dance technique