Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1979 - 15

The following report reflects a study of "synthetic" floor
materials as they might relate to dance and theatre. "Synthetic flooring," which encompasses a wide range of products
from an equally wide range of manufacturers, has become a
common surface for gymnasiums, tennis courts, and other
athletic facilities. The fact that athletic and other mUlti-purpose facilities often must serve various performing arts activities, plus the fact that substantive data regarding the relationship of "synthetic flooring" to the performing arts has not
been developed, made testing such material appear advantageous. Such testing, however, was not without its inherent
limitations, contingencies, and uncontrollable variables.
The budget and physical resources available combined to
limit the study to a specific type of material, "poly-vinyl"
(specifications indicated below), which appears to be the
most common type of material used in athletic arenas. The
principal difficulty for the study was the fact that no universal,
measurable standards for acceptability of flooring materials
exist for either dance or theatre. As some of the test results
will show, it is clear when the product is totally acceptable or
unacceptable. However, when test results fall into a middle
range, for whatever reasons, conclusions tend to be subjective. In some cases, the tests and test results themselves
are intrinsically subjective. The difficulty is particularly acute
where dance is concerned, and certainly three dancers' judgments cannot be considered scientific data. Those judgments
are, however, a base of information, and I chose participants
with professional credentials which, among them, ranged
from classical ballet to modern. Most notable was George
Zorich, former premier danseur of the Ballet Russe de Monte
Carlo, whose expertise rests on years of world-wide performance.
Finally, since any synthetic surface material must be
placed over a sub-floor of some type, whether wood, concrete, earth, or something else, there was a problem in isolating data relating to the sub-floor, the poly-vinyl, or the interaction of sub-floor and poly-vinyl.
Within the parameters described, poly-vinyl was studied on
the hypothesis, "Can poly-Vinyl flooring serve as a multipurpose floor for dance and theatre?'"

Description of Material Tested
The material tested was a solid, poly-vinyl, uniformly resilient material containing no more than fifteen percent inert
fillers. Laminated products and heavily filled polyurethane
products do not fall under this description. Thicknesses
tested were 1f4" and %". The surface texture was smooth,
although the material is available with a "pebbled" or "embossed" surface. Embossed surface material was not tested
principally because the manufacturer's specifications indicated that surface texture would not alter performance
data.

Color of material tested: Beige. (Colors available: wide
range.)
Surface: Semi-gloss.
(The following data were supplied by Robbins Flooring, Memphis, Tennessee):

Weight in lbs/sq. ft.: 1f4" -1.57; %"-2.35.
Tensile strength: 1000 psi.
Elongation at break: 350%.
Compression set (see Test 5):
After 72 hours at 50% compression (2716 psi):
Immediate recovery
After 24 hou rs
After 72 hours
50% compression-immediate release recovery

60% original thickness
80-90% original thickness
100% original thickness
96.5% original thickness

After 72 hours at 1000 psi-35.1% modulus:
Immediate recovery
After 1/2 hour
After 24 hours
After 72 hours

84% original thickness
94.7% original thickness
97.8% original thickness
100.0% original thickness

Temperature stability: Resiliency unaffected from 30°F to
120°F.
Linear coefficient of thermal expansion: Less than 1.0 X 10- 4
FtlftlDegree F.
Fungus resistance: Completely resistant.
Flame resistance: Maximum burn area %" dia.

General Criteria
Dance
In general, floors for dance require a slight "give" under the
weight of the body. Such resiliency helps to reduce fatigue
and/or chance of injury. The surface of the floor should be
smooth, but not slippery. Dancers' use of rosin also suggests
that a slight stickiness is, in fact, desirable. (See Ballet Basics
by Sandra Hammond, Mayfield Publishing Company, Palo
Alto, California, 1975.)

Theatre
The stage floor of any theatre must provide for two basic
needs. First, it is a surface on which actors can act and as
such, should be smooth enough to allow comfortable movement and action, and dense enough to absorb foot noise.
Second, it must function as a part of the stage machinery for
the rigging and moving of scenery and in that function, must
be receptive to nails, screws, and bolts in order to anchor
scenery and wagons to the floor, and be durable enough to
withstand such treatment over a period of many years. Since
the traditional soft pine theatre floor is increasingly being
painted black and then repainted for specific productions,
when temporary floors such as masonite or canvas prove
unsuitable, the ability to withstand numerous repaintings also
appears important.

TEST 1
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether or not poly-vinyl offered resiliency conducive to dance movements, and to what
extent differences were discernible between 1f4" and %" thicknesses; to what extent the sub-floor contributed to resiliency;
and whether resiliency was sufficient to reduce fatigue.
TEST COMPONENTS AND CONDITIONS: Three professional dancers in soft leather ballet shoes, leather and satin
point shoes, character dance shoes, jazz oxfords with a slight
heel, and bare feet.

Dennis J. Sporre is Director and Associate Professor of General Education in the Arts at Pennsylvania State University. He is a scene designer
and author of Perceiving the Arts: An tntroduction.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1979