The Power of Dance and Its Social and Political Uses
Author(s): Anca Giurchescu
Source: Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 33 (2001), pp. 109-121 Published by: International Council for Traditional Music Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1519635 . Accessed: 11/03/2014 13:26 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . International Council for Traditional Music is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Yearbook for Traditional Music. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POWER OF DANCE AND ITS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL USES1 By Anca Giurchescu Introduction Elaborating upon the social aspects of dance (or dancing), makes reference to its most general and comprehensive features, because dance is in essence a particular form of social interaction. Even if dance can be artificially separated from its social context and considered solely in its physical features as an independent artistic means of expression,2 the social component is implicit to the dancing person as an individual and as a member of a socio-cultural community. From this perspective dance structure may be considered as a culturally determined "program" where social, historical and environmental factors interlock with the physical, psychological and mental features of the individual (Giurchescu 1984: 35). Considered as a psychosomatic entity, the dancer is the "soul and body" of dance. He or she is the dance. If we intend to go beyond a dance description and answer to the question WHAT is dance (not only how it is performed) dance should be studied in two ways: one is situated on a syntactic level and is made up of all social events existing in a given community, that is, dance is studied as a living phenomenon, here and now; the other is situated on a paradigmatic level and is comprised of the philosophical/ideological, socio-political, economic and cultural systems which function in a given community. In other words, to answer questions on the role and significance of dance, the study of dance must include both perspectives: dancing as an integral part of a network of social events, and dance as part of a system of knowledge and belief, social behaviour and aesthetic norms and values. That is, an anthropological perspective should be correlated with the more analytical choreological one; together they comprise the analysis of a dance system and the structural make up of a dance in its formal features.3 'This article is based on the keynote speech "The power of dance symbol and its socio- political use" which opened the section on "Dance and its socio-political asspects" at the 17th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Ethnochoreology, Nafplion, 1992 and published in the Proceedings (Loutzaki 1994: 15-23). As a former senior researcher at the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucharest (1953-1979) most of the comments and examples concerning both the social role of dance in rural and urban settings and the political-ideological use and abuse of dance, stem from empirical knowledge acquired under the Communist regime and since 1990 in post- Communist Romania. 2 The study of dance in its choreographic features has been a necessary theoretical and methodological approach, which helped to disclose rules of grammar, define concepts and provide tools for dance structure and form analysis. See Kaeppler 1972; Report of the IFMC Study Group for Folk Dance Terminology 1974; Dabrowska and Petermann 1983. 3 Is it only a one to one relationship between structure and significance, or can one and the same significance be carried by different dance types? This kind of inquiry in Romanian traditional culture shows that there are relations of interdetermination between the dance's pertinent traits and its significance/function. This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 110 / 2001 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC Sense, meaning and power of dance Being incorporated by the dancer as a kinaesthetic, affective and mental representation, dance is not the repository of meaning but produces meaning each time it is performed. For the semiotician A. J. Greimas any discussion about the sense and meaning of gestures (including dance) should be centred around the producer, the person who creates culture, who transforms, organises, and makes sense of the world (Greimas 1975:81). The fact that dancing is performed in a given context shows that this expressive modality makes sense for the performers and the audience as well. An important methodological requirement in the investigation of points of view of dancers and spectators about dance performances are dependent upon socio-cultural background, aesthetic norms and expectations.4 Dance is a powerful symbol. It does not only allude to the changing world, but becomes an instrument of change. According to Langer, the power of dance, considered in its artistic features, lies in the ecstatic function, which takes the dancer "out of himself', removes him from everyday life, and transports him into a virtual world of time and space (Langer 1979: 190, 196). The dancer becomes a very sensitive medium, able to express and transmit feelings, experiences and ideas which, at a deep level of significance, are not verbally translatable. A discussion about the power, meaning and practice of dance is encapsulated in Blacking's statement: The power of dance rests in acts of performance by dancers and spectators alike, in the process of making sense of dance rather than in the cultural products of those processes, and in linking dance experience to other sets of ideas and social experiences. (Blacking 1984: 20). The fact that dance is not reducible to any other form of human activity reveals its significance and justifies its existence. Therefore dance has always been an important symbolic instrument in ritual contexts, in art events, in social communication and political action. It follows then, that studies of dance should have a double orientation-towards the people and towards their practices. Dancing as a multi-dimensional cultural text. A holistic and integrative perspective on dance brings into discussion the concept of "cultural text", a concept that could integrate all the dimensions that define dance as a coherent and dynamic factor of culture, and bring together the anthropological and ethnochoreological perspectives on dance.5 According to the theory of cultural text, it is the socio-communicative relevance of a dance performance that endows this process with the quality of text (Schmidt 1973: 144). A dance-text is not only a choreographic structure, but a "frame-function" that relates a certain social interaction to a certain structure of dance elements, in 4 In 1976, in a village of southern Romania, people over forty considered the urban up-to- date dances performed by the youth as meaningless practices, as disorganised, wild jumping. Conversely, for the youngsters moder dancing made a lot of sense: it served both as symbol and instrument of social change from the rural culture, represented by local folk dances, to urban culture symbolised by a more international repertoire. 5 The concept of "cultural text" was introduced by I.M. Lotman in his studies on cultural semiotics (Winner 1976, Sukman 1978). This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POWER OF DANCE / 111 accordance with a given type of communication: folklore, ritual, art, educational, political, etc. (Constantinescu 1983). In the process of communication dance does not function in isolation but incorporates non-choreographic components such as pantomime, expressive or codified gestures, facial expressions, music, verbal utterances, texts/poetry, props, costumes, staging, proxemics, and social rules. These are hierarchically structured and interact, thereby producing meaningful dance processes within a framework of social contexts that are constantly changing.6 Consequently, dance movements are not always of primary importance and may, in certain contexts, function only to support and reinforce other expressive elements that are the principal carriers of meaning. For example, in the Romanian paparuda ritual for invoking rain, the rhythmical organised movements support the song text, costume, and ritual actions that all together carry its unique message. On the level of social interaction the performance of the chain dance hora by the Vlach7 minority at dance events organised in Denmark, provides an illustrative example. Dancing serves several purposes: strengthening ethnic identity, pre-marital interaction, social integration, re-enforcing traditional rules of behaviour, teaching children to dance, showing social and prestige status, and entertainment. In order to achieve these goals, the interest of all participants (dancers and onlookers) is focussed primarily on social interaction and much less on the dance process reduced to the basic patterns of movements. Only sporadically, small groups of dancers along the winding hora chain improvise with high intensity, demonstrating their dance ability for acquiring artistic recognition. Due to its multi-dimensional character, dance is used in certain circumstances to "package" political-ideological, educational, religious or economic messages. A multi-dimensional text does not occur in isolation from other similar or dissimilar texts enacted by a given social group and which are held to be mutually dependent and in active interrelationship within the framework of a broad socio- cultural context (for example, weddings, ancestor celebrations, family festivities, informal gatherings, sport activities, staged performances). There are many examples where dancing is used as a substitute for other types of activity or where dances (or dance elements) are constituent parts of symbols belonging to totally different realms of activity-such as politics, war, economics, tourism, education, religion, and medicine.9 6 Each of these constituents may, for theoretical and analytical purposes, be studied as autonomous means of expression. 7 A Romanian-speaking population of north-east Serbia, which settled in Denmark and southern Sweden in the mid-1960s. (Giurchescu 1989) 8 For example, during the Communist regime, a folklore ensemble has recreated on stage the ritual of swearing brotherhood (of the region Banat) to support and reinforce the political idea of brotherhood and harmony among the minority groups in Romania. 9 At the election for the Roma party in 1991-when a famous accordion player was a candidate because he taught generations of young musicians-no political speeches were held. Instead, thousands of participants expressed their enthusiastic approval by playing music and dancing for hours on a stadium in Bucharest. GIURCHESCU This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 112 / 2001 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC The semiotic levels of dance Understanding a dance text means reading it in all the complexity of its intra- and inter-textual relationships. A dance text may reveal the following levels of meaning: * a deep transcultural level related to the psychosomatic perception and self explanation of a dance performance which can be metaphorically translated as feelings, moods, intentions; * a conceptual level, referring to acquired knowledge about dance; * a ritual (mythical) level, where the dance-text has symbolic, metaphorical significance; * a level of social interaction where dancing functions as a metonym for social status, gender, age, kinship, etc. (Hanna 1979: 100); * an artistic level where dancing has a spectacle character. All these levels co-exist and interact. Since different levels of culture change at different rates, the synchronic state of culture includes its diachrony (Winner 1976: 115) and offers the possibility for the comparison of several evolutionary stages within a dance tradition. An example is the healing ritual cdlug performed by a group of men at Pentecost. Although formally interdicted under the Communist regime, this ritual is still practised throughout the Danube Valley, showing various stages of transformation. In the area where the cdlug had a simple structure strictly related to its healing function, the loss of its ritual significance was followed by a progressive disintegration of the practice, because no other means of expression had the power to carry a new meaning. Conversely, in the area where variants of cdlu~ have a complex structure and expressive elements (dance, music, costume, theatrical actions) with artistic values, the participants may choose among a broad range of significance from ritual to entertainment. The capacity of cdluS for symbolic transformation lies in its polysemic character which ensures the cilu$ existence in a constantly changing society. A dance system changes because of changes in world view, need of expression, socio-political and environmental conditions. However, dance activities may in turn contribute to transforming people, their patterns of interaction, and the surrounding world. We should perhaps inquire into the future of folk dancing in traditional social contexts, considering the new circumstances when disco-dancing, for example, becomes the most important dance event for young people with other expectations. Research carried out in Transylvania in 1995 showed that the discotheque has now substituted for the "village dance" taking on premarital and entertainment functions and becoming, paradoxically, the place where teenagers practice local traditional dances to recorded music. The social function of dance Dancing is primarily a non-verbal medium of communication which establishes contact between humans, or between humans and the supernatural world. Considering the social level of interaction, movement patterns and style (way of performing), as well as the use of space and proxemics, function as symbols for social relationships between individuals, between individuals and groups, and between groups (ethnic, religious, social, etc.) with respect to gender, age, kinship, This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POWER OF DANCE / 113 marital status, profession, outsider or insider, and other criteria. Research on the system of premarital ceremonies in Romania, for example, demonstrates that the common dance event, the "village dance", functions as a "show-case" for both the prescribed patterns of interaction between young men and girls, and for the marital strategies carried out by families.10 With regard to gender roles, it should be stressed that the whole event develops under male domination, while the girls are in a submissive position to both the family and the young men. Moreover, due to its instrumental power, dance may be used for structuring, maintaining, or changing a social system in accordance with a given group's ideology and socio-political interests. For example, dancing at the event called hora is used by the Vlach population living in Denmark in two antithetical ways: firstly, to create a symbolic framework in which the unity of the group is reinforced and the symbolic bonds with their homeland traditions are strengthened; and secondly, to remodel the social group and prepare the youth for achieving a higher socio-economic status and integration into Danish society without loss of identity. Rules of behaviour, functioning in everyday life, are symbolised and reinforced in the framework of a dance event by the placement of the onlookers in space and of the dancers in the dance formation. For example, in northern Romania (Maramureq and Oas areas) men and women are segregated and children, grown- ups, and old people are placed around the dance space according to a prescribed hierarchy. Their proxemics allow very little personal space. People are tightly linked together, symbolising social closeness, which also characterises the family and neighbourhood everyday life. The use of space also functions as a metonym for social hierarchy. In the Romanian dance culture (and in many others) the space in front of the musicians is considered the space of honour which conveys prestige status and public recognition for the dancers and their actions. Moreover, the social structure of the village is symbolised by the arrangement of the participants in the dance space, the places being inherited from older members of the families (in Oas). The placement of the dancers in a chain dance formation is a metonym for social and artistic hierarchy. For example, in the Vlach chain dance hora the leading dancer is followed by his family or friends ranged according to prestige status and age, the chain being closed by a relative of the leader. Compact groups of best friends cannot be split by an "outsider". Youngsters are massed at the end of the chain, while small children are carried in the dance with great pride by their parents. It is a common practice that a very skilled dancer becomes the leader of his age group in all kinds of events and social activities during a whole year. In many dance cultures movement patterns are definitely ascribed to men or women. The attributes connoted by these movements may translate into superiority/inferiority, dominant/subordinate, aggressive/subdued or public/private types of relationships.11 10 Research has been carried out over a longer span of time in Maramures, northern Romania (Giurchescu, 1986). More recently, similar research has been done among the Vlach minority living in Denmark (see note 8). I Transformation of social status is expressed and enforced by the way people dance and behave at a dance event. In order to show emancipation, for example, women may adopt men's vocabulary of movements, they may lead the chain, they even may participate in rituals prescribed for men, and refuse to obey the "old fashioned" rules of etiquette. See also GIURCHESCU This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 114 / 2001 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC Dancing has a unifying power. It has the power to integrate individuals or groups of different social, political and ethnic affiliations. The unifying power lies in the shared dance language. Recent field research carried out by a team of Hungarian and Romanian scholars in villages with mixed populations in Transylvania (Romania), demonstrates that dancing is an important means of expression shared by both nationalities in the framework of a common dance event (a wedding, for example). Dance and dance style as identity symbols Being both human and socio-culturally determined, dance may function as identity symbol. Due to a range of pertinent traits dance marks both the relations of an individual or group with an identifier (original group of people or set of ideas and norms), and differentiates the individual or group from all others, revealing its uniqueness. The concept of identity is polysemic. One of the meanings is personal identity as opposed to group identity (myself and the others). Because the personality of an individual can be paradoxical (sometimes under socio-political pressure), contradictions may appear in relationships between thinking, verbalising and acting. For example, at a hora dance event in Denmark (1989), a Vlach argued that he was Serbian. A few minutes later, watching a group of Serbians dancing, his comment was: "Look at them, they cannot dance the way we do!" The relationship between personal (psychological) identity and social control can also be expressed or mediated by dance. With reference to Romanian dance tradition, it may be translated as: individualisation versus socialisation, informal versus formal, innovation versus tradition, variability versus fixation. The dancer's need to express his or her own artistic personality comes into conflict with the necessity to integrate into the social group, to interact with other performers, and to reproduce the traditionally set dance patterns. This contradiction causes an inner tension which generates a certain energy expressed through creativity. In contrast to traditional folk dancing, characterised by variation and individualisation, staged performances are based on homogeneity and synchronism, on self control, and on the integration of the individual into the group. Compared with vernacular dancing these guided performances have great impact on a local audience which appreciates them as "true artistic achievements". Aware of this fact, the Communist management used the forceful aesthetic impact of folk dance performances for encoding messages congruent with their ideology and actual policy. Group identity is the way an individual identifies with others, according to a set of common traits, interests and experiences. Frederik Barth in Ethnic Groups and Boundaries (1969) argues that the concept of identity is actualised in two ways: * through internal cohesion, where social interaction is based on common cultural competence (as for example, an implicit knowledge of the dance idiom, of the rules of behaviour, of the meaning of symbols); the studies dedicated to those categories of dances which have a gender and age group affirming function, such as Hip Hop (Torp 1986). This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POWER OF DANCE / 115 * through boundaries raised between groups in which interaction with "others" is limited, due to the lack of shared knowledge and common experience. As long as a group manifests its cohesion by segregating the "in-group" from the "out-group", and succeeds in remaining different, it is able to maintain its identity.12 There are two modalities for group identification: a subjective one, which refers to ideology (the conscience of a common origin), and an objective one, which includes material markers: language, way of dressing, religion, beliefs, food, dancing, music making, etc. (Royce 1982: 20-21). From this perspective the role of tradition and traditional symbols is very important. Tradition gives stability, the awareness of belonging to a certain group and to a certain place. For example, urbanised peasants return periodically to their villages, just as the Vlach living in Denmark do because they need the contact with their homeland. The same need for roots justifies the organisation of traditional dance events in urban settings. A Vlach told me: "We bring with us to Denmark the moroi (spirit of the dead) and the hora (dance event), but all weddings, baptisms and burials are done at home, in the village".13 Traditional symbols may also function to differentiate groups. From this perspective of national and international festivals, which at an ideological level aim to unify people, are in fact used to strengthen local and regional identity via the originality and authenticity of their performances that are symbols for differentiation. Dance as national symbol Many case studies dedicated to the socio-political aspects of dance, have analysed the way dance is used as a symbol for the nation-state, as opposed to ethnic or regional communities. The ethnic group and the nation have common traits, but should not be confused with each other. Max Weber gave the following definition of the nation: "...a community of sentiment which would adequately manifest itself in a state of its own; hence a nation is a community which normally tends to produce a state of its own" (Weber 1977: 21). It has been argued that folklore is an ideological concept that was created simultaneously with the rise of national consciousness. To folklore was given the role of demonstrating in front of the whole world that a nation constitutes an entity with a characteristic language, a 12 Dancing is an important marker of Vlach ambivalent identity: on the one hand, by performing their chain dance hora, the Vlach create boundaries which both unify the group and separate it from outsiders. On the other hand, by inviting orchestras from Beograd and performing staged suites with dances from all the former Yugoslav republics, the Vlach try to hide their ethnic identity and appear as Yugoslavs or Serbs. However, during the bloody ethnic and religious battles in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, when the Vlach wanted to assert their ethnic identity and limit non-Vlach participation in dance events, they hired only musicians from their homeland to play only Vlach dance melodies. 13 Research carried out in the early 1970s in the outskirts of Bucharest revealed the existence of several dancing spaces where people from different social layers, but coming from the same province (such as Oltenia, Transylvania, Moldova, Banat), gathered to dance together. The repertoire was comprised of a few regional dances reduced to standardised patterns, thus enabling everybody to participate. GIURCHESCU This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 116 / 2001 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC common historical past, a common world view and way of living (Mesnil 1997: 26). Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, in Central and South-Eastern Europe, folklore (as a product of the Volksgeist) was used in politics to symbolise the nation-state and to strengthen national awareness: "Rural expressive culture has become emblematic of national identity and folklore performances have played a large role in presenting and articulating this association" (Dubinskas 1984).14 In contemporary Romania, traditional symbols are manipulated to bring the past into the present, thereby supporting the concept of permanence, and to illustrate the principle of "unity in diversity" with reference to a unitary national culture as expressed through the diversity of its regional forms. What is deliberately forgotten in the reconstruction of the historical past are the frequent cohabitation with migratory populations and the great capacity of oral tradition for integration and adaptation of foreign elements. Manipulation of symbols It should be stressed that it is not the insiders of a given culture, but rather the outsiders, who define and use concepts such as folklore, tradition, authentic, representative and national. Defining folklore is in essence a question of selection made by a decision-making group in accordance with the ideology and political interests of that group. It designates aspects of culture which may suit the group's aims and principles. Thus, we should inquire: * Which socio-political group defines and selects the authentic and representative products of folklore? * For what purpose? * Which are the criteria of selection? * And which are the characteristic traits employed to construct the ideal symbol? In the last phase of the Communist regime in Romania, characterised by increased nationalism, the state-supported symbols functioned to bridge past and present, to reinforce the concept of permanence, to symbolise the unitary character of the nation, and to demonstrate its artistic qualities. A network of institutions and a system of competitions named "Cantarea Romaniei" (Song to Romania) was given the task to select, construct and disseminate these symbols-symbols that were meant to build an idyllic image that would hide a reality full of deep contradictions (Giurchescu 1987: 169-70). Through these standardised and pompous symbols created by folklore manipulation, the Party sought legitimisation. However, people 14 In the mid-nineteenth century, Romanian revolutionary intellectuals of Transylvania designated cdluferul, (healing and fertility ritual involving dancing), which they considered to be genetically rooted in the antique Roman culture, as a symbol of Romanian Latin origin and of their long continuity. Since 1850, stylised dance forms originating from the ritual caluv, were performed at festive occasions throughout Transylvania. (Giurchescu 1992). During the "revolutionary" period of the Communist regime in Romania, cdlu~erul dance was banished, being considered the bearer of overly strong nationalistic connotation. It has been revived and has become almost a compulsory part of official staged performances since the mid-1960s when the Communist regime turned highly nationalistic. This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POWER OF DANCE / 117 who could not be controlled and directed made their own choices, such as local patriotism, prestige status, aesthetic satisfaction, or entertainment.'5 Manipulation of concepts It may be argued, from a theoretical point of view, that vernacular folklore and stage-adjusted folklore exist in indivisible and unbroken continuity. However, considering the practice of symbolic transformation and manipulation, it is necessary to formally separate the here and now processes of folklore from selected products (dance, music, costumes) that are performed within the framework of a spectacle, and which are generally called "folklorism". The passage from folklore to folklorism in South-Eastern European countries is in essence a symbolic transformation from social to artistic significance, and from variation to fixed forms. Folklore and folklorism can exist as two simultaneous systems of communication, mutually influencing each other.16 The major difference between folklore and folklorism lies in the fact that folklore is a non- controllable process, while folklorism results from strictly guided selection and transformation of folklore. Therefore folklorism was, and still is, used in cultural politics as an important instrument for education and social change. In order to legitimate folklorism, the Communist cultural management equated folklorism with folklore by covering up their basic difference and presenting all forms of folklorism as "present day folklore" and "folklore of the socialist epoch". Conversely, the uncontrollable, living tradition was marginalised, being considered subject to pollution and disintegration. According to this theory, real and authentic folklore should exist only in the artistic and crystallised forms as presented by professional and amateur ensembles.'7 Because it bears such connotations as originality, purity, and genuineness, the concept of authenticity was, and still is, invoked to support this theoretical confusion. However, authenticity is a romantic construction. If authenticity has the connotation of "truth", then every performance which makes sense for the people is implicitly authentic. Conversely, in the context of a stage performance even the closest reproduction of a folklore model still remains an imitation. 15 In Hungary, for young people who opposed the rigidity of the Communist regime as expressed in stereotyped symbols, improvisation became the most important trait of folk creation. The wide-spread tdnchds movement (free performance of traditional dance and music) was governed by the principle of improvisation. 16 In the context of festivals, performances on stage may exist side by side with free dancing off stage, thereby providing the opportunity for people to experience and compare these two contrastive situations. An obvious border between them is shown by the fact that in principle, everybody may participate in the free dancing, but only selected/trained dancers perform on stage. For the Vlach of former Yugoslavia, for example, the term folklore designates only stage folk dances, those which are taught by an instructor, while the local, traditional dances, those defined by specialists as true folk dances, are not given a particular term. They are only common horas. GIURCHESCU This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 118 / 2001 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC Current trends in Romanian traditional dance To conclude, I present some results of my research concerning the impact of forty- five years of cultural policy in Socialist Romania on people and their traditional culture, both at a conceptual level and at the level of socio-cultural practice.18 The pressure of state cultural management for substituting living folklore with new symbols was primarily a question of changing people's mentality and ideological horizon. According to local objective and subjective circumstances, people could choose to answer either on the informal level, continuing to preserve the folklore communication that could not (and cannot) be controlled, or to enter the official arena by adopting the manipulated new means of expression.19 1. With regard to traditional dancing it may be stated that the thread of tradition, though fragile, is not broken and dancing and music-making are still functional.20 According to the opinions of peasants, village dancing as opposed to modem dancing and dancing on stage is considered a meaningful but ordinary activity, which has no particular value beside its social one. Traditional dancing has been restricted in many places to important calendrical celebrations, to weddings, and to family gatherings. 2. In spite of a seeming de-centralisation since 1990, people still conceptualise folklore as a stock of artistic products, which have a real value only if they are displayed on stage. Therefore, stage performances in the context of local, national and international art-competitions and festivals are the most common and prestigious modes of folk dance existence. For dancers with long practice on stage, the representation of learned dance patterns becomes a new reality, which they transfer to traditional contexts as well. 3. Organised dance transmission is restricted to performing groups. The taught repertoire is generally confined to selected dances that are shaped for stage performance. Thus, youngsters are not taught to dance or to enjoy dancing, only to perform a given dance form, while others of the community progressively become consumers of spectacles and other cultural commodities. The majority of adults still have a latent dance competence, while many youngsters have lost ties to traditional dancing because the traditional ways of transmission are gradually disappearing. 4. With reference to the present situation (1999), it is striking how often people complain: "We have no more artistic ensembles, we have no more culture". Being considered exclusively an artistic activity, the stage performance has the power to endow the dancer with the quality of artist 18 This information, which represents the insiders' point of view, may provide an empirical background for further generalisation. 19 In fact, in both rural and urban settings not only one but several modes of choreographic expression are shared by people in a variable balance: local-traditional, modern- international, theatrical performances of folklore and art or cultivated dance performances. 20 In the village Certeze (district Oas Northern Romania) dancing in a pavilion called ciupercd (mushroom) still exists as a ritualised social interaction with premarital functions. The topography of the village and its kinship structure is symbolically represented via the inherited spot where the young man dances. The dancing space is the realm of men: no young woman is allowed to enter without being invited. For overcoming inferiority and subordination, girls use spells and witchcraft in order to be invited to dance and get married. This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POWER OF DANCE / 119 giving him or her pride and social prestige. Hence, he or she expects to be rewarded for performance (payment, awards, travel abroad). If expectations are not fulfilled, an ensemble may disintegrate and the disappointed artists will only seldom reintegrate themselves into the common traditional dance event-the village dance. 5. The competitive character of festivals, however, reinforces awareness of the artistic value of their local tradition. The search for originality results in the revival of obsolete dances, some of which may be re-actualised in traditional social contexts. Considering the dance reality within the present socio-political context, the researcher faces its multi-dimensional existence in both traditional and new settings. The people, in turn, experience dance not only in one, but in several social contexts, from ritual to stage performance (such as the ritual cdlus). The multi- functionality of the dance is explained by its polysemic character and by the paradoxical complexity of the human personality that is able to combine tradition with modernity into a "magical" thinking with a pragmatic world-view, and still truly believe that dance conveys supernatural power. Facing this complex reality, the researcher has the dilemma of choosing between a reflexive attitude and involvement. Should he/she remain an objective analyst, aiming to understand and explain the existing reality, or should he/she try to influence cultural life patterns, interests, expectations and system of values? The false dichotomy opposing academic research and practice may be surpassed if the researchers realise that their very presence in a community gives raise to a network of interaction where insiders and outsiders influence each other.21 Responsibility and involvement should characterise our actions, thoughts and statements; working with dance means working with people and the results of our inquiry concern them. Traditional folklore is rapidly changing and the process cannot be arrested. Therefore, research and documentation of the existing cultural reality is of primary importance. At the same time, sustained activity for re-contextualisation of dancing and music-making, as well as practical help for discovering new ways for raising folklore from a local to a global level, should become important subjects for the new generation of researchers in dance ethnology. REFERENCES CITED Barth, Frederik 1969 Ethnic groups and boundaries. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. Blacking, John 1984 Dance as cultural system and human capability: An anthropological perspective. In Dance a multicultural perspective. Report of the third study of dance conference, ed. J. Adshead, 4-21. Guilford: University of Surrey. 21 Field research carried out in Romania by the ICTM Sub-Study Group on Field Research Methods and Documentation (1993 and 1995) exerted a strong impact on the active partners of the research process and on the community as a whole. GIURCHESCU This content downloaded from 158.223.161.230 on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:23 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 120 / 2001 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC Constantinescu, Niculae 1983 Conceptul de text folcloric (The concept of folklore text). In Revista de etnografie Si folclor 28(1): 38-45. Bucuresti: Academia RSR. Dabrowska, G. and K. Petermann, eds 1983 Studien zur Struktur- und Formanalyse des Volkstanzes (Studies on the folk dance structure and form analysis). 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