#dance stuff

aright hang onto your hats cause were about to go to back to algebra 2 (maybe 1, i dont remember). and if you havent had the absolute pleasure of taking algebra 2 well...

so there is an Art to jumping and looking like you're floating. and it can be attributed to this lovely thing:

thats right. a parabola.

no i have not gone crazy, i promise this will make sense in a few minutes !!

so when you jump there is naturally the Peak of the Jump, which is when you hit the Full Position (like a split for example). and, if you so happen to hit the peak of the jump at the top of the arc of the jump it looks like you are Floating. 

i realize that this probably sounds very confusing. lets sketch up some diagrams.

also ive never had to take a pedagogy class so i have no idea how to spell any of the french ballet terms. i am aware they are all going to be spelled wrong. just deal with it.

if you are remotely familiar with ballet (as in taken like maybe one class) you're probably familiar with the classic base of almost every grande allegro ever (the bigs jumps at the end of class): tombe, pas de bourree, glissade, shousha. 

if you're not, see this video (its not the best example but it will do)

so as the dancer does the split (shousha) there is an arc to the jump. this is because she is moving across the floor horizontally. (as in, this is not a jump that stays in place) 

the arc of the jump can be shown by the pathway of her legs:

we have the beginning of the jump

the peak of the jump

and the end of the jump. 

and, if you notice, the entirety of the jump creates the parabola shape i was talking about earlier. the key to looking like you are floating (which the dancer in the clip doesnt do very well) is to hit the full position of the jump just as you reach the top of the parabola arc so that you hang there for a few seconds before coming back down. this also helps if you put more momentum into the jump because it will help with the suspension at the top.

pretty much all of the ex newsies are Really Good At This and its generally something that makes a dancer more interesting to watch cause you're like “how in the Fuck are they floating”

for example:

if you watch chaz specifically (second row center) you can see how his legs completely open just a few moments before he reaches the full arc of the jump and then hangs there for a second before landing.

this idea of floating applies to pretty much any kind of Big Jump

ben’s legs fully open in the split just as he reaches the top, giving the floating affect

ryan reaches the full arc of the stag Before he turns in the air, making it look like hes floating as he comes around the second half of the turn

chaz and i cant tell who the person behind him is use their bottom leg to kick themselves slightly higher in their jump and hold the position before coming down, again floating

and i wish this gif worked better because you can literally see how sky levitates a little higher than everyone else in his Newsies Jump because he propels himself forward and keeps his legs extended in the position for as long as possible