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Jacob Madsen
Ed Austin
Dance 261
14 December 2015
The Never Ending Journey of Dance
Dance is a never ending journey. It is made up of ones own life experiences, influential
teachers, and personal goals. Each individual has a different purpose for dance, but these
purposes can be grouped into too main categories: fine art and folk art although the purpose is
often times a blend of both. Chrystelle Trump Bond, in An Aesthetic Framework for Dance,
gives a definition of fine art and folk art: Dance is a fine art when the primary function of dance
is for theatrical entertainment and/or benefit of an audience. Dance is a folk art when the primary
function of dance is for self-entertainment and/or benefit of the performer (Bond, 86). Dance is
a celebratory art form with numerous diverse genres that is performed by an individual or group,
at varied levels of training, which uses a connection of the human mind, body and spirit with
rhythmic accompaniment to express a specific emotion, story, or idea through a universal
language to connect with its audience. Fueled by the instinctual desire and necessity to move, I
hope to bring education in and appreciation for dance to the world as I continue on in my dance
career.
Dance is a celebration of what it means to be alive. It is a celebration of the most
important gift we receive from our Heavenly Father: our bodies. The human body functions in
such a way that can only be described as a complete miracle, and dance is about celebrating and
showing gratitude for that miracle. Martha Graham uses the analogy of the dance of life in her

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essay I am a Dancer and states that the instrument through which the dance speaks is also the
instrument through which life is lived-the human body. . . .The body is a sacred garment. Its
your first and your last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it
should be treated with honor, and with joy, and with fear as well. But always, though, with
blessing (Graham). Dance, I believe, should focus on the celebration of this wonderful gift and
what it can do. Humans are fascinated by things that seem larger than life. Dancers strive to
create and display this feeling of being larger than life. It is only through hard work and
dedication to the craft that this is achieved.
The feeling of being larger than life can be achieved in many ways, and can come across
in almost every single genre of dance. Each genre has its own value and importance and although
no genre of dance can be completely on one extreme of the spectrum between folk art and fine
art, some genres are, by nature, closer to one than the other. This can depend upon many things,
but the primary factor is based upon the intent of the performer. Within each genre, there can be
so much variety of style. Every individual has their own unique style that is precious and should
not be taken for granted. It tells a story about what the body has gone through, emotionally,
physically, etc. In her essay, Martha Graham said that Movement never lies. It is a barometer
telling the state of the souls weather to all who can read it. . . .Every dance is a kind of fever
chart, a graph of the heart. . . .Movement never lies (Graham). The movement that an individual
executes dictates to the audience the stories of the body. It displays the hard work and dedication
that was put in, it outwardly describes the inner emotion of the dancer. An individuals style is
indicative of their bodys experiences. Dancers use the miracle of their body to soldier on
through this journey of life and grow through encountering different people, music, steps, and
ideas along the way. In life, everything a person says, everything a person does, and everyone a

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person meets is part of Gods plan and one must decide if they are going to allow those pieces of
the plan to affect them or not. Dancers have this very same choice. Dancers can choose to allow
teachers to shape and mold them into the dancers that they know they can become, or to bury
their talents in the ground in fear of losing them (Matthew 25:25). Something can be learned
from every individual along lifes journey, whether that pertains to dance specifically, or to
becoming a better human being. Everyone has something to offer; if we only take the time and
find it.
Every human beings has something to offer, just as every human being has the innate
desire to express their inner emotions through movement. Dance is a form of movement
expression that is for all levels of ability and dedication. It is not just about the most perfectly
trained ballerina who had wealthy parents that put her into the best dance schools and academies
in the country. Dance is about the middle school boys that have no idea how to interact with
girls; who are suddenly at a school dance and are encouraged to get to know the others in
attendance. Dance is about the friends who decide to make a music video of their summer trip to
Europe. Dance is about the child, who, when learning how to move its body, finds the joy in the
rhythm of the music it hears. Dance is about the elderly couple who still have so much love for
each other and display that love on the dance floor, even though they cannot quite move like they
used to. It is about the communities that are united by dancing together and being able to put
aside differences, if only for a brief moment. Dance is about anyone and everyone.
Because dance is for anyone and everyone, it must have a few key components to classify
it as dance. The most important of those key components, after having the necessity of a capable
body, is rhythm. Most forms of dance require some type of rhythmic accompaniment, whether
that be music, chanting, or a form of percussive footwork. Having percussive footwork as my

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home territory within dance, I have an incredible appreciation for musicians, and the importance
of having a rhythmic structure for dances. Rhythmic structure provides a stable foundation that
dancers can rely on and build upon while performing. Rhythm has been an essential part of
dance as long as it has existed. Isolated tribes in remote locations develop their own forms of
rhythm, typically by using drums and chanting, and exists in all mainstream music and dance
trends that have followed.
Dance, even something as simple as dance trends, tells a story about the dancer. Some
dance trends are pantomimic and tell a story, even if its a simple story such as shopping at the
grocery store. Dance as a form of story-telling has always been a part of dance. The Eskimos
enjoy story telling dances that while away the long winter nights. The small informal gatherings
of people inside their tiny houses give the dancer little room for locomotor movement. The solo
dancer. . .uses gestures and body movement primarily; although he may take an occasional step
or lunge from side to side, it is the dancers swaying body and gesticulating hands and head that
relate the story (Hayes, 45). The Eskimos have found entertainment in the story telling dances
of their culture and even though it may be incredibly cold and crowded, the people understand
what is being expressed and find joy within the movement.
Dance gives the dancer the ability to communicate and make connections without having
to say a single word. It is a universal language understood by all who perceive it. Dance study is
about learning the artistic language of the body, being able to master that language, and using
that language to reveal, as Martha Graham said, the inner landscape, which is the soul of man
(Graham). Dance has, at the center of it, the purpose of expressing the inner emotions in a way
that words cannot.

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This purpose, to express emotions in a way that words cannot, is the entire reason I found
dance and why I continue. Although I do know that dance is entirely capable of being a fine art
that benefits the audience, it will always have an aspect of folk art. Dance is a continual journey,
and just like in life, we are all always becoming. We must be always becoming and growing; it is
the entire reason why we are alive and it brings excitement and purpose to our lives. Each time I
choreograph, perform, or teach which is my personal favorite I am learning and growing.
Dance has a profound power to change the world, even if only one person at a time. I have
continually been that one person, as dance changes me every day and allows me to grow as a
human being. I agree with Martha Grahams statement when she said I hope that every dance I
do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human being can be. . . .It is what Ive
always wanted to do to show the laughing, the fun, the appetite, all of it through dance
(Graham).

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Works Cited
Bond, Chrystelle Trum. An Aesthetic Framework for Dance. Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation & Dance. Shape America, March 1987. Web. 6 November 2015.
Graham, Martha. I am a Dancer. This I believe. Web. 2 December 2015.
Hayes, Elizabeth. The Evolution of Visual, Literary, and Performing Arts: From Tribal Cultures
through the Middle Ages. Provo: BYU Academic Publishing, 2009. Print.
Matthew. Holy Bible: King James Version. Print.