Why is it easier to balance standing up straight than bending at the waist? Lauren of Art Intercepts delves deeper into the science of balancing to answer that question and more.
biomechanics
Lightbulb Moments: Pas De Chat
Every jump in ballet is preceded by a counter-movement, namely, a plie, and this is exceedingly effective in getting more height out of a jump (try jumping from straight legs and see what happens), not to mention protecting the achilles tendon from injury. In fact, people have studied jump height and found that maximum vertical height in a jump is higher using a counter movement than not (3). So it makes sense that we bend our knees before jumping.
