dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, floorwork refers to movements performed on the floor. Floorwork is used extensively in modern dance, particularly

Graham technique Graham technique is a modern dance movement style and pedagogy created by American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham (1894–1991). Graham technique has been called the "cornerstone" of American modern dance, and has been taught worldwi ...

and Hawkins technique, as well as in vernacular

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

. Some dance training practices, notably

Floor-Barre Floor-barre is a technique in ballet training that "takes the basic ballet barre training from the standing position to the floor, "taking the effort of standing out of the equation." Zena Rommett(R) originated Floor Barre in the 1960s in New York ...

, consist entirely of floorwork. Floorwork changes the body's relationship with

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

, and requires dancers to navigate between higher and lower levels ("going in and out of the floor"). These features are central to the use of floorwork in choreography, and also affect its role in technique classes. Executing floorwork smoothly requires flexible joints, a relaxed body, and attention to the kinesthetic feedback provided by the floor. The "low" or floorwork level is one of three principal spatial levels dancers may occupy, along with the middle or bipedestrian (upright) and the high or aerial (jumping) levels.

Concert dance

Francesco Gabriele Frola, Caliban - Prix de Lausanne 2010

The use of floorwork is one of the major differences between

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

and previous Western

concert dance Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and p ...

genres.

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

incorporated floorwork in dances as early as 1911, although credit for its introduction is more often given to her successor

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

. The concept is closely associated with

, because of Graham's extensive use of floorwork and widely imitated innovations, as well as the technique's unique repertoire of falls.

Doris Humphrey Doris Batcheller Humphrey (October 17, 1895 – December 29, 1958) was an American dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Along with her contemporaries Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham, Humphrey was one of the second gen ...

has been credited with floorwork innovations in a concert dance context. Later movements derived from classical modern dance also used floorwork extensively.

Contemporary ballet Contemporary ballet is a genre of dance that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows greater range of movement of the u ...

uses the floor as an integral part of the choreography, rather than the occasional kneel or collapse to be found in older

romantic ballet The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Salle Le Peletier, Thé ...

styles. Floorwork is essential in the

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

genre of

contact improvisation Contact improvisation is a form of improvised partner dancing that has been developing internationally since 1972. It involves the exploration of one's body in relationship to others by using the fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, and movemen ...

, in which the floor can even be treated as a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

B-boying

Floorwork in

b-boying Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

(breakdancing) includes floor-based footwork, or downrock, as well as certain more athletic

power moves Power moves are dance moves which are loosely defined as moves relying on speed, momentum, and acrobatic elements for performance. They are prominent in B-boying, often the centerpieces of routines featuring the other elements (toprock, downrock, ...

. Downrock is performed with the body supported on the hands and feet. It allows the dancer to display their proficiency with foot speed and control by performing intricate footwork combinations. The foundational move of downrock is the

6-step The ''6-step'' is the basic sequence of breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. ...

, although innumerable variants exist. The hands, legs and knees may also be featured or support the body. Downrock often transitions into dramatic power moves, including floor-based moves such as

windmills A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some par ...

and flares. Downrock became common in the mid-1970s; Keith and Kevin Smith, known as the "Nigga Twinz", have been credited with popularizing it, as has the original

Rock Steady Crew Rock Steady Crew is an American breaking and hip hop group which has become a franchise name for multiple groups in other locations. The group's 1983 international hit song " (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew" (from the group's first studio album ...

. The emergence of floorwork was an important development in breaking, marking the end of the early or "old-school" style.

Belly dance

Floorwork is a feature of many kinds of

belly dance Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

, often involving the manipulation of a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

while lying on the floor and intended to showcase the dancer's control.

Masha Archer Fat Chance Belly Dance or FCBD (formerly known as American Tribal Style or ATS) is a modern style of belly dance created by Fat Chance Belly Dance director, Carolena Nericcio-Bohlman. The primary defining characteristic of FCBD style is group im ...

, as part of an effort to change what she saw as the over-sexualized and exploitative features of belly dance, rejected floorwork because she did not want audiences to look down on her dancers.

Gallery

File:Alice Sheppard performs "So, I Will Wait.".JPG, alt=A woman in dark, close-fitting clothes and a wheelchair lies on her back, stabilizing herself with her arms and lifting her legs, along with the wheelchair, over her head, In a solo

adaptive dance The physically integrated dance movement is part of the disability culture movement, which recognizes and celebrates the first-person experience of disability, not as a medical model construct but as a social phenomenon, through artistic, litera ...

File:Allah Garibou.jpg, alt=Two men in loose clothing on a dance floor, one lifting his leg and the other leaning back to rest on the first man's lower body, In a

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

duet File:NWFusion9.jpg, alt=Three women in black leotards, each kneeling on one leg with the other foot on the floor, leaning back to support herself on one hand, and looking at the other hand, which is raised, In a

Concert dance

B-boying

Belly dance

Gallery

References

Further reading