Gravity affects living dancers and puppets differently. Puppets have two key points - a center of gravity and a pivotal point. They have advantages over living dancers as they are not subject to gravity, inertia of matter, or affectation. Their lifting force is greater than their binding force to earth. Since our bodies naturally resist falling due to gravity, we subconsciously keep ourselves balanced as if our bodies are safely on a tray moving downward.

1. Gravity
Natural attitude

2. Perception vs. Technique
Plummet Leveler

3. Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811)

4. What advantage would these puppets
have over living dancers?
• no affectation [Ziererei]
• not elsewhere than at the
center of gravity.

5. What advantage would these puppets
have over living dancers?
• not subject to the law of
gravity.
• know nothing of the inertia of
matter;
• the force which lifts them into
the air is greater than that
which binds them to earth.

6. Two points
Center of gravity Pivotal point

7. Natural Twice
• Since the natural force of gravitation makes
the body fall,
• therefore the body has formed the natural
anti-gravitational attitude
– to resist such fall.

8. “Body on the Tray” phenomenon
• Because we are used to perform downward
movement in this natural manner
– against the fall –
• thus we as if keep our bodies safely on the tray
moving downward.

9. The Fallen-ness (Verfallen) in Heidegger
• It takes the gravity in cosmic, metaphysical,
or/and metaphorical sense
• We fall into the midst of the world away from our
authentic being
• It also implies rush in time (ruinant(e), Ruinanz,
‘falling, fall, into ruin’, from the Latin ruere , ‘to fall
down, rush’).

10. Quiz
Differentiate
Center of gravity: Pivotal point:
• a point where the • a point on which
gravitational weight of a something turns or
body acts as if it were hangs.
concentrated.
Center of mass: Geometric center:
• the average location of • a point in the middle of
the mass distribution. the figure.
Click the Quiz button on iSpring Pro
toolbar to edit your quiz

11. Reading
Heinrich von Kleist. Puppet theatre.
In What is Dance. Ed. by Roger Copeland and
Marshall Cohen, Oxford University Press, 1983.
P.178-184.