1. The Elements of Dance

2. Dance is a way of knowing and communicating
Dance is a way of knowing and communicating. All societies use dance to communicate on both personal and cultural levels and to meet physical and spiritual needs.
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.

3. The Language of Dance Elements: Body, Action, Space, Time, Energy
Choreographic Forms: Theme and Variations, Rondo and Narrative
Styles: Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Modern

4. Elements:
Remember: BASTE
Body, Action, Space, Time, Energy

5. Body
The body is the instrument of dance. Just as a painter paints with a brush, in dance it is through the body that movements appear.
You can use: the whole body, body parts, body zones (front, back, left side, right side, top half, etc.), and body bases (what supports the body ex: feet, hands, head ).
Initiation: Dance movements are initiated, or originated by the body.

6. Action Action is any human movement included in the act of dancing.
Action can include dance steps, facial movements, lifts, carries, and catches, and even everyday movements such as walking.
Actions can travel (locomotor) or move on the spot (non-locomotor).

7. All dance movements can be labeled as locomotor or nonlocomotor.
NONLOCOMOTOR-movements that do not change location
LOCOMOTOR-movements that travel
AH-E

8. Locomotor Movements
Dancers using locomotor movements may walk, run, skip, hop, jump, slide, leap, or gallop.. These movements may be high (possibly indicating joy), medium, or low (possibly indicating sadness.)
AH-E , 1.15, 2.23

9. Non-locomotor Movements
Dancers are using non-locomotor movements when they stay in one place but bend, stretch, twist, or swing their body.

10. Space
SPACE: Is where the body moves. It is the area occupied by the dancer’s body; includes direction, size, pathways, levels and shapes.
Direction: which way a dancer faces or moves; e.g., forward, backward, sideways, up and down.
Size: magnitude of a body shape or movement; from small to large movements
Pathways: patterns made as a dancer moves through the air or on the floor (straight, vertical, horizontal, zig-zag); can be made with locomotor or non-locomotor movements, separately or in combination.
Levels: the vertical distance from the floor. Movements take place on three levels: high, middle or low and deep.
Shapes: the form created by the body’s position in space. Aspects of shape are open/closed, symmetrical/asymmetrical, angular and curved.

11. Relationships in Space
Relationship: Compares where a person is positioned compared to where other people or things are in the space.
To what or to whom describes the relationship.
Relationship is the connection between things, be they dancers to each other, dancers to objects, or a dancer's body parts to each other.
Relationship words: in front, beside, behind, over, under

12. Varying the speed of movements provides variety.
Time
TIME: The relationship of one movement or part of a movement to another.
How fast or slow (tempo) a dance movement is
How even or uneven (beat) a dance movement is
How long or short (duration) a dance movement is
Varying the speed of movements provides variety.

13. Energy (Force)
Energy: Degree of muscular tension and use of energy while moving.
It refers to the force of an action.
HOW?
Dynamics: how a movement is done; how the body moves
Flow: continuity of movement (bound/free flowing/balanced/neutral)
Weight: strength or lightness of movement (heavy/light)

14. Choreography is the art of arranging dances
Choreographic Forms
Choreography is the art of arranging dances
Theme: the basic idea of the dance, which the choreographer dramatizes through the conflict of characters.
Rondo: a dance structure with three or more themes where one theme is repeated. ABACAD
Narrative: choreographic structure that follows a specific story line to convey specific information through a dance
Variations: contrasts in the use of the dance elements, repetitions.

15. Styles (characteristics)
Ballet: a classic form of dance growing out of the French nobility. Its root is court dances.
It is known for its:
standardized dance movements
specialized leaps and lifts
French terminology to describe each standardized movement
Pointe shoes for women
slippers for men
costumes---tights, tutus

16. Styles (characteristics)
Tap: is a percussive dance form in which dancers produce sound by wearing shoes to which metal taps have been added. Tap dance, an American dance form which concentrates on footwork and rhythm, has roots in African, Irish and English clogging traditions. Its roots lie in recreational dance (Irish Step dance, jig and African steps).
It is known for:
An emphasis on rhythm
Tap shoes
Costumes—formal to street wear
Improvisation

17. Styles (characteristics)
Jazz: American music marked by lively rhythms with unusual accents and often including melodies made up by musicians as they play. Its roots are in social dances and early musical theatre dance.
It’s known for:
Stylized movement
Accents in hands, head, hips and feet
English/French terminology to describe movements
Jazz shoes or boots
Costume related to theme of dance
Improvisation

18. Styles (characteristics)
Modern: a form of dance developed by dancers interested in breaking from ballet traditions and expressing a more liberating form of movement. It expresses complex emotions and abstract ideas.
It is known for:
Freedom of movement
Usually barefoot but can use shoes based on theme
Costume related to dance theme
Improvisation used in the development of choreography

19. How is a dance created?
Dances are created by combining locomotor and nonlocomotor movements.
A dance, like a book,
has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
AH-M

20. Dance has 3 main forms ceremonial (religion, celebration, ritual)
recreational (folk, social dancing, aerobic dance)
artistic (ballet, modern, narrative, tap, lyrical).
AH-E

21. Culture and Dance Nearly all cultures incorporate dance in some way.
Dance is a major component of many cultures.
Dance is often used to communicate or celebrate.

22. Dance is often used to tell a story
Like a story or a book, each dance has a beginning, middle, and an end. Dance is made up “movement materials”, connected into “phrases” and put together into a complete dance.