acro dance

The tradition & historical record

Acro dance is a style of dance that combines classical dance technique with acrobatic elements. It is defined by its athletic character, its unique choreography, which blends dance and acrobatics, and its use of acrobatics in a dance context. It is a popular dance style in amateur competitive dance as well as in professional dance theater and in contemporary circus productions such as those by Cirque du Soleil. This is in contrast to acrobatic, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, which are sports that employ dance elements in a gymnastics context under the auspices of a governing gymnastics organization (such as FIG) and subject to a Code of Points. Acro dance is known by various other names including acrobatic dance and gymnastic dance, though it is most commonly referred to simply as acro by dancers and dance professionals. Acro is an especially challenging dance style for dancers as it requires them to be trained in both dance and acrobatic skills. ¹

Acrobatic dance emerged in the United States and Canada in the early 1900s, as one of the types of acts performed in vaudeville. Although individual dance and acrobatic acts had been performed in vaudeville for several decades prior to 1900, it was not until the early 1900s that it became popular to perform acts that combined dance and acrobatic movements. Acrobatic dance did not suddenly appear in vaudeville; rather, it appeared gradually over time in a variety of forms, and consequently no individual performer has been cited as its originator. Sherman Coates (1872–1912), who performed with the Watermelon Trust from 1900 to 1914, was recalled by fellow dancers as the first acrobatic dancer they had ever seen. Another of the earliest documented acrobatic dance performers was Tommy Woods, who became well known for his slow-motion acrobatic dance in Shuffle Along, in which he would execute acrobatic movements precisely in time with the music. In 1914, acrobat Lulu Coates formed the Crackerjacks, a popular vaudeville troupe that included acrobatic dance in their performance repertoire up until the group disbanded in 1952. Many other popular vaudeville companies combined acrobatics and dance in their shows, including the Gaines Brothers, and Miriam (The acrobatic Tapper) who performed with the Wells & The Four Fays "Tumbling Acrobats" on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, Since the decline of the vaudeville era, acrobatic dance has undergone a multi-faceted evolution to arrive at its present-day form. The most significant aspect of this evolution is the integration of ballet technique as the foundation for dance movements, thus bringing into acro dance a precision of form and movement that was absent in vaudeville acrobatic dance. ¹

A defining characteristic of acro is the smooth, graceful transitions between dance and acrobatic movements. Also, a dance must have a significant percentage of dance movement, with respect to its acrobatic content, in order for it to be categorized as acro. For example, a gymnastics floor exercise is not considered to be Acro Dance because it has little or no technical dance movement, compared to its acrobatic content. It also lacks smooth transitions between dance and gymnastic movements. Also, Acro Dance does not employ supporting apparatus such as those used in acrobatic gymnastics. ¹

The dance movements in Acro Dance are founded in ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and modern dance styles. Acro dance movements are not restricted to these dance styles, but the complete absence of these styles will typically cause a dance to be categorized as something other than acro (e.g., breakdance). ¹

The acrobatic movements and acts of balance performed in an acro dance are referred to as tricks. A variety of tricks are commonly performed in acro dance, varying widely in complexity and the skills required to perform them. Aside from the obvious requirement that dancers possess the requisite skills to perform tricks, the types of tricks that can be performed in an acro dance depends on the number of dancers. Solo tricks can be performed by independent dancers in solo or group dances. Examples of this are: ¹

"Strength, flexibility and balance are also major pillars of Acro Dance, and postures often inspired by those of contortion are used throughout Acro Dance along side agility (tricks) and dance technique." - says BethanyRose Boutwell (Salt Lake City's Acrobatic Dance Teacher since 2012) An Example of strength needed could be for example: a press up handstand. ¹

Double tricks—also known as partnering tricks—Is inspired by partner dance(ballroom and Latin styles), circus acrobatics (adagio) and can only be performed by a pair of dancers. An example of this is the pitch tuck, in which one dancer forms a "saddle" with his hands. The second dancer steps onto the saddle and then the first dancer thrusts the saddle upward. The second dancer, who is propelled upward with back rotation, lands on her feet after a complete revolution in the air. Acro partners will sometimes execute lifts and adagio in addition to single and double tricks. ¹

Group tricks generally require three or more dancers, but again moving in transitions is important to make it Acro Dance. Examples of these group tricks are: ¹

Bridge pyramid Triple cartwheel ¹

Acro dances are typically performed on hard stages with widely varying surfaces. Such floors differ substantially from a gymnastics floor, which is constructed by layering a standard surface over cushioning foam and spring floor. Whereas gymnasts perform barefoot and rely on the standard gymnastics floor for traction and cushioning, acro dancers seldom dance barefoot, instead depending on footwear such as acro shoes or foot thongs to provide the necessary traction and cushioning. All of the most common types of acro footwear provide both traction and cushioning. In addition, acro performance surfaces are frequently rough, so acro footwear must protect the bottom of the foot from skin abrasion. Abrasion protection is particularly important on the ball of the foot, which is subjected to a great deal of friction during dance turns and leaps. Traction is essential to prevent lateral slipping that could result in dangerous falls to the hard floor. Cushioning serves to soften the impact when performing tricks such as tucks and layouts, in which a dancer's feet may strike the floor at high velocity. Cushioning is especially important when a Marley floor is unavailable, because uncovered performance surfaces have no cushioning whatsoever and thus may be extremely hard and unyielding. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Acro dance”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

acro dance is style of dance that combines classical dance technique with precision acrobatic elements, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 4 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²