A supporting apparatus for supporting a table having N degrees of freedom, where N is an integer greater than one. The apparatus includes a stage and a leaf spring mounted on the stage. The spring initially contacts the table at a contact point and has a coefficient of elasticity greater in the horizontal direction and smaller in the vertical direction. The spring also has a characteristic of positive rigidity. A pair of permanent magnets are mounted in an area between the stage and table in a vertical direction for counterbalancing the characteristic of positive rigidity of the leaf spring.