Presentation by Noel Davis

Dance is a way of knowing and communicating. It’s universal--all societies use dance to communicate on both personal and cultural levels. Dance, as with all the arts, has its own language. We need to learn this language in order to fully understand and appreciate the world of dance.

The Language of Dance Remember the acronym: B. A. S. T. E.

B: The art of dance takes place in and through the human body. A: Action is any human movement included in the act of dancing. S: There are countless variations and combinations of ways that movement can occur in space. T: The keyword for the element of time is “when”. E: Energy is about “how”—it refers to the force of an action and it means a physical energy that drives and characterizes movement.

 In dance, the body is the mobile figure or shape, felt by the dancer, seen by others.  The body is sometimes still and sometimes changing as the dancer moves in place or travels through the dance area.  Dancers may emphasize specific parts of their body in a dance phrase or their whole body.

 An action can include dance steps, facial movements, lifts, carries, and catches, and even everyday movements such as walking.  Dancers may choose movement that has been done before.  Dancers may also revise or embellish movement they have learned from others.  Dance is made up of streams of movement and pauses, so action refers not only to steps and sequences, but also to pauses and moments of stillness.

 Dancers interact with space in many ways.  They may stay in one place and move parts of their body or their whole body, or they may travel from one place to another.  They may alter the direction, level, size, and pathways of their movements.  Dancers may focus their movement and attention outwardly to the space or inwardly, into themselves.

 Human movement is naturally rhythmic in the broad sense that we alternate activity and rest.  Breath and waves are examples of rhythms in nature that repeat, but not as consistently as in a meter.  Spoken word and conversation have rhythm and dynamics, but the patterns are characteristically more inconsistent and unpredictable.

 Choices about energy include variations in movement flow and use of force, tension, and weight.  A run might be free flowing or easily stopped, and it may be powerful or gentle, tight or loose, heavy or light.  Energy choices may also reveal emotional states. For example, a powerful push might be aggressive or playfully boisterous depending on the intent and situation.  A delicate touch might appear affectionate or uncertain, or perhaps suggest concern.

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Video

Jitterbug  The jitterbug originated in the 1930s but its popularity continued into the 1940s.  Considered a modern dance of the day.  The jitterbug moves are still being performed today.  Type of Swing dance.  dtD1CXc&feature=related

 Type of swing dance  American social dance  Evolved in Harlem, NYC  Based on the swing rhythms of jazz music.

Many dances of the fifties had songs with the same name. Once you heard the song you knew exactly want dance moves to use. Dance moves were also combined to create new combinations of dance styles. For example, the “Jitterbug Stroll”.

 Originated from Cuban.  Enrique Jorrin, Cuban composer & violinist.  Rhythm of the guiro & shuffling of dancers’ feet.  Hips are moved while torso remains still.  Many levels of the Cha-Cha-Cha.

 Slow Rock-N-Roll dance  In the dance, two lines of dancers face each other.  One person from each line partner and dance together until they reach the end of the line again.  Basic dance 

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. ~Edwin Denby Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! ~Constanze