In this study, I tested the amount of force per square centimeter that is put on a dancer's toes while dancing en pointe. I also tested how this number changes when the dancer is in different positions. My hypothesis was that there would be the most force on a dancer's foot when they are standing on one foot en pointe and that the force would be the least per square centimeter when a dancer is standing flat on two feet.
To test my hypothesis, I traced seventeen dancers' feet in three different positions ( flat, demi-pointe, and full-pointe). I then measured their weight and converted it to Newtons. Next, I drew polygons on the tracings and found their area. I then used the formula (N/cm^2) to find the amount of force per square centimeter for each of the trials. I conducted fifty-one trials with seventeen test subjects.
The average force per square centimeter for the two feet flat position was the least and the average for one foot full-pointe was the greatest. The average force for two flat feet was 1.926371 N, which means that it was the position with the least amount of force. The average force on one fool flat was. 3.852742 N. The average force for two feet in the demi-pointe position (ball of the foot) was 5.932413 N. The average force for one foot in demi-pointe 11.86483 N. The average amount of force for one foot in the full-pointe position was 20.4075 N. One foot in the full-pointe position had the most force: 40.81501 N per square centimeter.
I found that as the area of the position became larger, there was less force per square centimeter. This is because the force is applied to a larger area. That means that there is the least force on flat positions and the most on full-pointe positions. Demi-pointe positions had numbers in between flat and full-pointe. This proved my hypothesis the be correct.
