Acro dance

Acrobatic dance emerged in the United States and Canada in the early 1900s, as one of the types of acts performed in vaudeville.

[citation needed] The acrobatic movements and acts of balance (inspired by tumbling or gymnastic) performed in an acro dance are referred to as tricks.

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: Acro dances are typically performed on hard stages with widely varying surfaces.

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.

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.

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.

Because of their thin, pliable leather uppers and split soles, acro shoes have excellent flexibility, thus enabling dancers to attain both good dance form and acrobatic control.

Less commonly, acro dancers may wear foot thongs, which are variously called Dance Paws and FootUndeez, depending on the manufacturer.

In particular, flesh colored foot thongs endow the wearer with the appearance of having bare feet, while retaining some degree of the traction, cushioning, and abrasion protection provided by acro shoes.

Aside from the safety aspect, form-fitting clothing also helps to expose a dancer's body lines, which can add significantly to the visual impact of an acro dance performance.

[1] Some dance competition companies require an acro routine to have a minimum of four or five tricks with at most fifty percent acrobatic content.