Mechanical Analysis of Heel Turn in Ballroom Dancing

Abstract

The Heel turn is a figure which represents the characteristic feature of international style ballroom dancing. The heel turn is mechanically analysed in the present study. The natural turn and the reverse turn in Foxtrot are taken as the representative example of the heel turn. The natural movement of dancers’ motion is represented in the analysis by assuming the continuity of the curvature of moving path and the velocity of dancers. The movement of each dancer as well as that of the couple centre, and the rotation of the couple, rise and fall, the sway are obtained by the analysis of these figures. The difference between the natural turn and the reverse turn is discussed to explain the actual feeling difference of dancers.