Characteristics of limb motions associated with generating angular momentum and balance maintenance in pirouette ed dehor in classic ballet

In a turn around the longitudinal axis of the body in classical ballet dancing, it is necessary to maintain balance and generate sufficient angular momentum. The purpose of this study is to clarify the dynamics of angular momentum generation and balance maintenance. We captured turns with single leg support by professional ballet dancers from 1 to 6 revolutions, determined the kinematic parameters of the left and right upper limbs, and calculated each joint torque by inverse dynamics calculation. By using the equation of motion of the target system, the kinetic contribution was calculated such as joint torque, gravity and motion dependent terms to the angular momentum around the center of mass of the upper body. The angular momentum of the upper limb increased with the immediate effect of the joint torque and then increased due to the contribution of the motion dependent term which appears as the cumulative effect of the joint torque.