Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Elements of Dance:
SHAPE
Dance shapes are created by the human body. Your body is your instrument, your
tool, your paint brush. Dancers have advantage over visual artists in that body kinesthetic
shapes are constantly changing. Besides movement noticed by the viewer, the dance is a
series of hopefully beautiful and interesting shapes; that is why dancers often stop or pause
for a split second of emphasis. Those shapes convey various emotional impact:
Organic & curving vs. angular/straight:
Organic- curving shapes are natural and organic, human, soft, relaxing, soothing;
Angular straight shapes are machine like, unyielding, inflexible;
Symmetrical vs. asymmetrical:
Symmetry - The design is exactly the same on both sides: stable, strength, authority,
control, balanced, safe;
Asymmetry - The design or shape differs, is not the same, for variety, contrast,
complexity, excitement, creative risk taking.
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Classical ballet tends to be more formal and symmetrical while modern and jazz
dance styles are asymmetrical- informally balanced. However, even classical ballet needs
some asymmetry for variety. The point is that a dance piece that shows only symmetry
can be boring; a little organic design adds interest, and also makes for emotionally charged
scenes. Solo performance may be more asymmetrical. Too much asymmetry can be
unsettling; a little of the opposite makes for variety to engage audience.
"Symmetry is lifeless." Doris Humphrey
SPACE
Level:
low, earthiness; lying, crawling, crouching, sitting, kneeling;
middle, moving, going, demi plie, relave, traveling, standing off point;
high, on pointe arms up, jumps, leaps, partnering-lifts, group-lifts;
(You may chart your use of levels to see if you have sufficient variety- see example).
Direction:
personal- in front of, behind, sides;
group- away, toward, around, under, together;
Floor pattern:
Direction as applied to the use of a stage in a performance;
Imagine you have chalk on your feet and you are leaving a record of your dance;
Use the whole stage well! (Chart your dance to be sure).
"Two-dimensional design is lifeless." Doris Humphrey
Stage space: Some parts of the stage are stronger and others are more intimate.
"Movement looks slower and weaker on the stage." Doris Humphrey
Front vs Back:
Generally, action takes on greater significance (demands attention) as it moves downstage,
getting closer to the audience space. There is a tradition that scenes of intimacy are staged
down left (front of stage) and movements of less importance are up (back of stage left).
This is similar to body language of humans. Although it is an optical illusion, dancers
seem smaller upstage and appear to get larger as they come forward.
Remember: movement and action downstage must be balanced with dance upstage.
Left vs Right:
Human visual scanning patterns work from left to right; we scan so quickly that we are
aware of this only on a subconscious level. This is true in cultures that read from right to
left or left to right. As seen from the audience, on a subliminal level, time passes from
stage right to stage left (that is -left to right- for the audience) Stage left -from audience
view- would represent the past, center- the present, and right- the future.
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TIME
Changing rhythmns of beat and tempo gives a dance work variety and/or creates
communicates- specific emotional reactions for the viewer.
Strong Gentle
Expression:
Positive bold, authoritative soft, adaptable
Goals dominant, controlling pliable, subtle
powerful, aggressive caring
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Expression:
Negative inflexible submissive
Goals hard, tough weak, wishy-washy
stubborn malleable
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A phrase is the smallest and simplest unit of form. It is a short but complete unit
in that it has a beginning, middle, and end. Every phrase, even the shortest, contains this
basic structure; it starts, goes somewhere or does something, and comes to resolution.
A phrase is to dance as a sentence is to poetry. A sentence is comprised of separate words
that fit together. A phrase is not just accumulation of movements strung together; just as
a sentence is more than a mere list of words. Phrases of both written language and dance
must make sense. Movements share some common element of intent; so a phrase has both
form and content (Blom & Chapman; page 23).
Choreographic phrase is often confused with movement combination, such can be
merely movements strung together like beads, without notice of individual shape, color,
texture, or relationship to one another. The purpose of a movement combination is to
provide technical challenge such as coordination skills, strength development, endurance,
or spatial discrimination. A choreographic phrase, however, has a different intention- to
convey feelings, images, ideas, to present visual impressions, a story, symbol, or design
element (Blom & Chapman; pages 29-30).
This involves sequencing of the parts of the work. Transitions are how you put sections
of a dance together and need to be of a quality matching the rest of the work.
There are some traditional forms of dance choreography combinations
AB form: a theme and a contrasting form; opposites;
ABA form: a theme, contrasting form; then repeat theme again with transitions between;
Rhondo form ABABAB: a theme that keeps returning in a pure or modified form;
Narrative: the form is driven by a story.
*A rule of thumb is to only repeat things for as many times as you have dancers.
A solo would not require repetition, a duet only twice, but a group of twelve dancers
(corps de ballet) could repeat a phrase twelve times.
OVERALL FORM: No matter how complex the dance work is, the piece must work as
a unit. A completed dance should be reviewed (possibly on video) with an eye to the
whole. The ending is should be a critical part of the whole. Most dances are too long!
"A good ending is forty percent of the dance." Humphrey, The Art of Making Dances
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Before starting the phrases and movements a choreographer should consider the
intent of the dance. Here are questions to ask yourself:
What do you want to say; what is your message?
How do you want the audience to react?
"Know what your intention is - then say it with clarity and simplicity." Humphfrey
The intent of the Broadway musical Bring on the Funk, Bring on the Noise was to
portray black history through a dance style (tap) that originated by African Americans.
That show could have been quite boring were it not for a second goal to create a high
level of energy. At Funk, the audience was pulled in and energised by the dancing and
percussion working together. Being there, I found myself far more alert and upright in my
seat than I had the night before at another play- Chicago; where the audience was
expected to laugh, enjoy the songs and dance and be as mellow - relaxed-as jazz music.
So, as a choreographer, begin by examining your intent in terms of energy, audience
reaction, and content! Many young dancers select a piece of music they like, and then
choreograph movements they choose to fit the pace and feeling of the song. This way may
not be the best approach, though certainly one of many valid ways to begin to dance.
Dance may develop from any one of these seven (7) starting points:
1. Music: Try choosing a piece of music without words so that movement and character
development is the core of the dance. Listen to the music intensely and see what dance
images are conjured. Two good choices are music from the movie Edward Scizzorhand
and the play by Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite. Find a video tape of the Joffery Ballet,
Billboards; four choreographers each chose a song by the rock star Prince; each rehearsed
the dancers separately. One dance was traditional, elegant, graceful, and did not involve
storytelling. Three others used the words for inspiration, yet results involved a wide range
of dance style. In none of these works was music a slave to dance.
2. Storytelling: Classical ballet is full of storytelling, from the Nutcracker to Swan Lake.
Remember, a story can be told in many different ways; there are a variety of Nutcrackers
(see The Hard Nut); and Swan Lake has been performed in unique ways. In storytelling,
dance gestures become important because dance is silent. Modern dance often tells stories,
yet they convey more personal and contemporary meanings than classical dance.
3. Art (sculptures, paintings) & poetry: Choose a work of art or a poem, then select
music that fits; how could you respond as choreographer to this combination? How does
the art/ poetry make you feel or think? Could you tell a story or create a mood by dance?
4. Feelings, Ideas: Dance is expression of a state of mind or feeling; this is very common
in modern dance. Jazz often expresses a state of mind that involves a high energy level.
How to express love, joy, awe, or anguish- painful depression, or triumph?
5. Kinesthetic: Movement itself can be inspiring. The joy of moving or a particular kind
of movement can be the starting point for original creative movement.
6. Humor: Comedy- laughter- is the best medicine- and a legitimate focus for dance.
7. Character Motivation: Is the character (dancer) flirting, mischievious, etc?
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Here are guidelines from teachers of choreography (Blom & Chaplin; Humpfrey):
2. Old Favorites &Top Ten. Using well known pieces of music, whether classical,
Broadway musical hits, or recent movie theme songs may be difficult just because they are
so familiar. People may already have formed their own notions, images, and expectations
of what the music is about and so cannot watch your dance composition with a fresh eye,
ready to see what you want to communicate."
Level:
Low: earthiness; lying, crawling, crouching, sitting, kneeling;
Middle: moving, going, demi plie, relave, traveling, standing off point;
High: on pointe arms up, jumps, leaps, partnering-lifts, group-lifts;
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Blom, Lynn Anne & Chaplin, T.Tarin;(1982); The Intimate Act of Choreography.
University of Pittsburgh Press, ISBN 0-8229-5342-0 paperback;
Minton, Sandra Cerny; (1986); Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation.
Human Kinestics, ISBN 0-88011-529-7, $19.95 paperback.
Two other books are worth reading for teachers. Hawkins utilizes recent research
into creativity; she was founding chair of UCLA dance program; sand also has many
helpful exercises and improvisations. Humphrey was a major figure in modern dance; her
sections on group dynamics and the history and philosophy of dance, both classical and
modern, are excellent. Almost all the dance directors I interviewed recommended this
book, however, assignments are few and too complex for teens.
Hawkins, Alma M; (1991); Moving From Within: A New Method of Dance Making.
Chicago: a cappella Books; ISBN 1-55652-139-1, $12.95.
Humphrey, Doris; (1987); The Art of Making Dance. Pennington, NJ: Princeton Books.
Dance improvisation is the topic of a second book by Blom & Chaplin; it makes a
very in-depth look at improv technique, full of specifics on how to teach.
Blom, Lynn Anne & Chaplin, T.Tarin; (1988); The Moment of Movement.
University of Pittsburgh Press, ISBN0-8229-5405-2 paperback.
Authors note: These handouts may be reproduced for classroom use. They may not be
sold. Nor may they appear in print unless properly acknowledged and referenced.