08 30 2012 Dance Defining Dance Anthropological Approach o Defined as movement that is Purposeful Intentionally rhythmic Culturally patterned sequences of Non verbal body movements Other than ordinary motor activities Motion having inherent and aesthetic value All of these existing at the same time DANCE False Positives look like dance but are not o Playing sports yoga o Separated from dance by intention and aesthetic Aesthetic BEAUTY what is it o Purposefully crafted or fashioned o Culturally defined o Requires shared knowledge o Meaningful on numerous levels First Function o Immediate rainbows paintings o Elements experienced for their own sake o Art for art s sake o Kids who dance moving to move Second Function o Transcendent o Specific meaning communicated o Uses culturally defined symbols o More common Dance in World Cultures From the textbook o World Concert ritual Dance o Folk Dance Dance Through Time Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic Periods o Dance was Used for COMMUNICATION Done to WORSHIP APPEASE gods Focused on FERTILITY of land BASIC IMITATIVE of nature RITUAL o RITUAL Tribal group oriented Spontaneous Anonymous unself conscious Expresses core values No deliberate aesthetic concerns Contemporary ritualistic experiences include Dancing in a mosh pit at a rave Participating in the wave These are unchoreographed experiences in which we lose ourselves amidst the group activity Indian possession ritual to appease serpent deities Features ecstatic dancing which erases the mandala Video dancing Lord of the Dance o Aboriginial Dance Native people of Australia Ancient Period o Dance was Purposely aesthetic Influenced by SOCIO POLITICAL events Combined with other art forms Religious rituals transform into ceremony o CEREMONY Formal sacred observance Gestures adhere strictly to CONVENTIONAL FORMS External display Contemporary counterpart wedding rites of passage Roman masked performers dance in a theatrical performance BHARATA NATYAM 1 of 7 principal classical Indian dance forms began as a WORSHIP in Hindu temples women starting as young girls danced in honor of temple Deities formal classes and set performance structures developed there are man different ways of interpreting attributing and interpreting the name one way is through Sanskrit language o BHA stands for Bhav feelings expression o RA represents Raga melody tune o TA is for Tala rhythm Together they describe a dance that tells a story through expression melody and rhythm o Polynesian Dance Hawaii of the Hawaiian islands Hawaiian hula Began as worship Became celebration to entertain royalty Language song or chant primary way to transmit meaning Hand gestures now more important as language fades Kahiko old style Ancient style with chants and percussion only head and shoulder leis skirts and anklets men and women bare Western music and instrumentation with more elaborate chested Auana modern style costumes New Zealand Haka of New Zealand Traditional Haka Dance of welcome warning The Medieval Period o Dance was BANNED by most European religions unless used to glorify the church FLOURISHING in Islamic lands as ritual ceremony and entertainment o Similarities and differences in western and eastern Mandala e and labyrinth w o Ritual whirling sacred ceremony Performed by Turkish dervishes or sufi monks o Bedouin dance of the united arab emirates Ayala MUSIC always part of dance SYMBOLIC instruments RAS DRUM meaning POETRY or language song or chant PRIMARY way to transmit Renaissance Period o Dance was More codified rules Focused on the individual artist Becoming a professional endeavor Characterized according to CLASS Working folk Noble court dance ballet o European folk dance SOCIAL community oriented Typically danced in a CIRCLE Men and women dance TOGETHER Some parts dedicated to skills by GENDER men strength Women grace LIVE MUSIC Video virsky spirit of the Ukraine o Japanese Court Dance and Music Plots are ABSTRACT Bugaku storyline Focuses on a SINGLE SIGNIFICANT EPISODE from a larger Movements follows philosophy of JO HA KYU Jo clear introduction Ha development Kyu rapid ending Video Dancing Dance at Court Program 4 o Who participates in it Emporer and courtiers they watch it too o How has that changed with time Used to only be danced by emporer and Never meant to be seen outside of court now shown to outside o What is the purpose of the dance music Emporer maintains duty of harmony in the courtiers universe First time we have seen the usage of masks Worn to keep them from contorting their face This type of dance is SACRED because they are communicating with their gods There is NO FOLK DANCE that is sacred The Contemporary Period o Dance is MIGRATING across cultures COMBINING world dance with many different techniques and styles Drawing on EVERYTHING that has gone before Looking ahead to NEW POSSIBILITIES o The Dance Experience Some cultures still maintain traditional dance forms though the context and conventions have changed for most In some cultures dance is a separate pursuit practiced by a limited portion of society Dance continues to reflect the concerns society through RITUAL CEREMONY and ENTERTAINMENT Dance Participants after the Renaissance period CHOREOGRAPHER A CREATOR of dance The Creative Process o Requires discipline and focus o There is no formula Individual who utilizes the medium of movement to create express o Choreographers tend to develop an individual approach o Every choreographer must consider the same basic elements Space Time Energy o See outline 5 for more info Terms o SPACE o TIME Shape and line level direction focus points in space stage directions floor pattern depth width Center stage is the most powerful place in space Tempo speed pulse underlying beat phrasing rhythmic pattern meter time signature felt time no counts breath phrasing stillness sounds words silence o ENERGY The force behind the movement The capacity to overcome gravity or resistance Fainting is zero energy Tell us what the dancer is feeling Affects how we feel o MOVEMENT COMPOSITION MOVEMENT PHRASE Collection of movements that work together to make a definitive statement Clear beginning middle and end TRANSITIONS Link movement phrases together so that definitive statements become larger whole Determines the feel of the piece o ADDICTIONAL ELEMENTS Music time energy Costume space of body Prop space Set space Light space energy Multi media space time and energy DANCER An INSTRUMENT of dance Individual who utilizes movement