A Def|n|t|on of terms

1 Dance Lducat|on ls a Lheory of educaLlon whlch heavlly lncorporaLes dance and oLher forms of
arLful movemenL lnLo Lhe currlculum uance educaLlon refers Lo educaLlon or Lralnlng LhaL leads Lo
LheaLrlcal danclng as opposed Lo dance ln educaLlon whlch ls llmlLed Lo dance ln elemenLary
secondary and posLsecondary schools where dance ls offered as a useful Lool for physlcal and
personal developmenL and as a way of developlng hlgher learnlng skllls uance educaLlon as
deflned ln Lhls enLry does noL lnclude popular soclal danclng such as ballroom eLhnlc or folk forms
unless Lhey lead Lo professlonal LheaLrlcal presenLaLlons lL musL be polnLed ouL however LhaL
popular dance forms conLlnue Lo aLLracL a large number of parLlclpanLs and Lo exerL a sLrong
aesLheLlc lnfluence on Lhe evolvlng professlonal dance fleld
2 ,odern Dance was born durlng Lhe early parL of Lhe LwenLleLh cenLury lL sLemmed from Lhe need
of dancers Lo veer away from Lhe rlgld sLrucLures or Lechnlques of dances durlng LhaL Llme
speclflcally balleL 1he dance may have paved Lhe way for Lhe quoLe uance ls Lhe expresslon of Lhe
soul 1hls ls because one of Lhe maln characLerlsLlcs of Lhls conLemporary dance ls free sLyle 1hls
means Lhe dancer doesnL follow any parLlcular or deflnlLe sLep8aLher he or she looks lnLo hls or
her hearL and lnLerpreLs Lhe muslc he or she hears accordlng Lo Lhe bulldup of emoLlons lnslde
Moreover lLs noL uncommon Lo see a dancer lnvenLlng hls or her own rouLlnes on Lhe spoL
Powever lf dance ls belng performed ln a group or for a parLlcular show lL may become necessary
LhaL sLeps have Lo be remembered neverLheless you would noLlce LhaL Lhe movemenLs are
deflnlLely much freer ln facL almosL all parLs of Lhe body are lnvolved Modern dance ls usually
focused on an aspecL close Lo Lhe dancers hearL 1hls allows for lL Lo be a Lruly personal passlonaLe
and breaLhLaklng experlence uance wlll conLlnue Lo change and evolve due Lo dancers conLlnually
Laklng lL Lo a whole new level
tm ls any regular recurrlng moLlon symmeLry lL may be generally deflned as a
movemenL marked by Lhe regulaLed successlon of sLrong and weak elemenLs or of opposlLe or
dlfferenL condlLlons ln Lhe performance arLs rhyLhm ls Lhe Llmlng of evenLs on a human scale of
muslcal sounds and sllences of Lhe sLeps of a dance or Lhe meLer of spoken language and poeLry
8hyLhm may also refer Lo vlsual presenLaLlon as Llmed movemenL Lhrough space 8hyLhm ls made
up of sounds and sllences 1hese sound and sllences are puL LogeLher Lo form a paLLerns of sounds
whlch are repeaLed Lo creaLe a rhyLhm A rhyLhm has a sLeady beaL buL lL may also have dlfferenL
klnds of beaLs Some beaLs may be sLronger longer shorLer or sofLer Lhan oLhers ln a slngle plece
of muslc a composer can use many dlfferenL rhyLhms

ass|f|cat|ons of ,odern Dance
Many Lypes of dances already fall lnLo Lhe modern dance caLegory
r|ca dance lL ls called as such because Lhe words of Lhe song are Lhe maln lnsplraLlon for Lhe dancers ln
creaLlng Lhelr movemenLs and expresslons opular lnsLrumenLal or sung muslc ofLen accompanles Lhe
dance performance 1he vernacular dance of Lhe Afrlcan Amerlcan ls belleved Lo have lnsplred [azz
neverLheless Lhe [azz ls acLually a comblnaLlon of varlous Lechnlquesfrom hlphop Lo balleL and even Lap
ontemporar modern ls more dlfflculL and Lhe dancer wlll need Lremendous sLrengLh ln her body and
parLlcularly ln her core muscles Lo susLaln all Lhe movemenLs whlch Lend Lo be slower Lhan [azz 1here are
a loL of slow conLracLlons and also many movemenLs wlLh swlnglng quallLy ln order Lo look good dolng
conLemporary dance you would do well by havlng a classlcal balleL background buL some dancers Lake Lo
Lhls wlLhouL any formal balleL Lralnlng lL also helps lf you are flexlble
A good Lralnlng ln modern dance wlll even help you Lo plck up hlp hop or LaLln sLyles of dance wlLh ease

@e Lements of Dance
uance has lLs own conLenL vocabulary skllls and Lechnlques whlch musL be undersLood and applled Lo be
proflclenL ln Lhe arL 1he elemenLs of dance are Lhe foundaLlonal concepLs and vocabulary for developlng
movemenL skllls as well as undersLandlng dance as an arL form All Lhese elemenLs are slmulLaneously
presenL ln a dance or even ln a shorL movemenL phrase
od @e art of dance takes pace |n and troug te uman bod 1he renowned dance crlLlc WalLer
1erry commenLed No polots oot btosbes motbles oot cblsels plooos ot vlollos ote oeeJeJ to moke tbls ott fot
we ote tbe stoff tbot Jooce ls moJe of lt ls boto lo oot boJy exlsts lo oot boJy ooJ Jles lo oot boJy uooce
tbeo ls tbe most petsoool of oll tbe otts lt sptloqs ftom tbe vety bteotb of llfe * ln dance Lhe body ls Lhe
moblle flgure or shape felL by Lhe dancer seen by oLhers 1he body ls someLlmes relaLlvely sLlll and
someLlmes changlng as Lhe dancer moves ln place or Lravels Lhrough Lhe dance area uancers may emphaslze
speclflc parLs of Lhelr body ln a dance phrase or Lhelr whole body When we look aL a dancers whole body we
mlghL conslder Lhe overall shape deslgn ls lL symmeLrlcal? LwlsLed? AnoLher way Lo descrlbe Lhe body ln
dance ls Lo conslder Lhe body sysLemsmuscles bones organs breaLh balance reflexes We could descrlbe
how Lhe skeleLal sysLem or breaLh ls used for example 1he body ls Lhe condulL beLween Lhe lnner realm of
lnLenLlons ldeas emoLlons and ldenLlLy and Lhe ouLer realm of expresslon and communlcaLlon WheLher
waLchlng dance or danclng ourselves we shlfL back and forLh beLween Lhe lnnerouLer sense of body
1bese ote jost some of tbe woys to Jesctlbe boJy
9arts of te od Pead eyes face shoulders rlngers Lorso legs feeL eLc
Woe od
bod sape symmeLrlcal/asymmeLrlcal rounded LwlsLed angular arabesque
bod sstems muscles bones organs breaLh balance reflexes
|nner senses percepLlons emoLlons LhoughLs lnLenLlon lmaglnaLlon ldenLlLy
Space@ere are countess var|at|ons and comb|nat|ons of was tat movement can occur |n
spaceuancers lnLeracL wlLh space ln myrlad ways 1hey may sLay ln one place and move parLs of Lhelr body or
Lhelr whole body or Lhey may Lravel from one place Lo anoLher 1hey may alLer Lhe dlrecLlon level slze and
paLhways of Lhelr movemenLs uancers may focus Lhelr movemenL and aLLenLlon ouLwardly Lo Lhe space or
lnwardly lnLo Lhemselves 1he llne of Lravel may be qulLe dlrecL Lowards one or more polnLs ln space or
lndeflnlLe and meanderlng 1he dance may Lake place ln one corner of a sLage or ln a blg open clrcle ouLdoors
wlLh Lhe enLlre communlLy surroundlng Lhe dancers uancers may also orlenL Lhelr movemenL Lowards ob[ecLs
or ln relaLlon Lo naLural seLLlngs SomeLlmes dances are creaLed for speclflc locaLlons such as an elevaLor or on
a barge for slLebased performances SpaLlal relaLlonshlps beLween dancers or beLween dancers and ob[ecLs
are Lhe basls for deslgn concepLs such as beslJe lo ftoot of ovet tbtooqb otoooJ oeot ot fot
1bese ote jost some of tbe woys to Jesctlbe spoce
S|ze large small narrow wlde
eve hlgh medlum low
9ace on Lhe spoL (personal space)
Lhrough Lhe space (general space)
upsLage/downsLage
D|rect|on forward/backward sldeways dlagonal rlghL/lefL
Cr|entat|on faclng
9atwa curved/sLralghL zlgzag random
eat|ons|ps ln fronL behlnd over under alone/connecLed near/far lndlvldual group proxlmlLy Lo ob[ecL
@|me@e keword for te eement of t|me |s Puman movemenL ls naLurally rhyLhmlc ln Lhe
broad sense LhaL we alLernaLe acLlvlLy and resL 8reaLh and waves are examples of rhyLhms ln naLure LhaL
repeaL buL noL as conslsLenLly as ln a meLer Spoken word and conversaLlon have rhyLhm and dynamlcs buL
Lhe paLLerns are characLerlsLlcally more lnconslsLenL and unpredlcLable 8hyLhmlc paLLerns may be meLered or
free rhyLhm Much of wesLern muslc uses repeaLlng paLLerns (2/4 or 3/4 for example) buL Lhe concepLs of
Llme and meLer are used very dlfferenLly LhroughouL Lhe world uance movemenLs may also show dlfferenL
Llmlng relaLlonshlps such as slmulLaneous or sequenLlal Llmlng or brlef Lo long duraLlon fasL Lo slow speed or
accenLs ln predlcLable or unpredlcLable lnLervals 1lme may also be organlzed ln oLher ways lncludlng clock
Llme sensed Llme and evenLsequence uancers may Lake slghL cues from each oLher Lo sLarL Lhe nexL phrase
or use a shared sense of sensed Llme Lo end a dance 1hey may even Lake cues from an evenL such as a Lraln
whlsLle durlng an ouLdoor dance performance 1he lnherenL rhyLhms ln our movemenL and our aural
landscape are a rlch source of varlaLlon ln dance
1bese ote jost some of tbe woys to Jesctlbe tlme
,etered pulse Lempo accenL rhyLhmlc paLLern
Iree tm breaLh open score sensed Llme lmprovlsaLlon
ock @|me seconds mlnuLes hours
@|m|ng reat|ons|ps before afLer unlson sooner Lhan fasLer Lhan
LnergLnerg |s about owlL refers Lo Lhe force of an acLlon and can mean boLh Lhe physlcal and
psychlc energy LhaL drlves and characLerlzes movemenL
Cholces abouL energy lnclude varlaLlons ln movemenL flow and use of force Lenslon and welghL A run mlghL
be free flowlng or easlly sLopped and lL may be powerful or genLle LlghL or loose heavy or llghL A dancer may
sLep lnLo an arabesque poslLlon wlLh a sharp percusslve aLLack or wlLh llghL flowlng ease Lnergy may change
ln an lnsLanL and several Lypes of energy may be concurrenLly ln play Lnergy cholces may also reveal
emoLlonal sLaLes lor example a powerful push mlghL be aggresslve or playfully bolsLerous dependlng on Lhe
lnLenL and slLuaLlon A dellcaLe Louch mlghL appear affecLlonaLe or uncerLaln or perhaps suggesL concern
Some Lypes of energy can be expressed ln words oLhers sprlng from Lhe movemenL lLself and are dlfflculL Lo
label wlLh language SomeLlmes dlfferences ln Lhe use of energy are easy Lo percelve oLher Llmes Lhese
dlfferences can be qulLe subLle and amblguous erhaps more so Lhan Lhe oLher elemenLs energy Laps lnLo
Lhe nonverbal yeL deeply communlcaLlve realm of dance
1bese ote jost some of tbe woys to Jesctlbe eoetqy
Attack sharp/smooLh sudden/susLalned
We|gt SLrengLh push horlzonLal lmpacLed
|gtness reslsL Lhe down lnlLlaLe up
es||enc rebound even up and down
Iow free bound balanced neuLral
ua|t flowlng LlghL loose sharp swlnglng swaylng suspended collapsed smooLh
Dnam|cs ls Lhe Lhlrd elemenL of dance lL has Lwo maln componenLs release of energy and welghL or
forceuynamlcs ls Lhe lnLerrelaLlonshlp of force Lhe release of energy and Llme Pow Lhese facLors are uLlllsed
produces a movemenL quallLy
MovemenL quallLy ls Lhe look or oestbetlc of a work lL ls how you would descrlbe Lhe feelloq of Lhe work
MovemenL quallLy ls descrlpLlve Lxamples of words LhaL would be used Lo descrlbe quallLy are nervous
Lense smooLh floaLlng sad sLlcky prlckly heavy grlevlng 1here are many more 1o achleve movemenL
quallLy Lhe choreographer employs dynamlcs uynamlcs ls explalned by dlscusslng Lhe Lwo followlng concepLs
ln comblnaLlon

eat|ons|p refers Lo Lhe relaLlonshlp Lhe dancers' body parLs have Lo
everyLhlng else
(spaLlal relaLlonshlps Llme relaLlonshlps relaLlonshlp Lo muslc and Lo each oLher)

D Lements of space

D|rect|on refers Lo Lhe poslLlon and movemenL of Lhe body or body parLs ln relaLlon Lo Lhe space audlence
and oLher performers ulrecLlons lnclude forwards backwards rlghL lefL down up dlagonal sldeways
SLudenLs wlll have Lhelr dancers face a glven dlrecLlon Lo reflecL Lhelr lnLenL eg
a poslLlon whlch faces a corner may lndlcaLe fear or hldlng and faclng on a parLlcular dlagonal lndlcaLes a
focus for Lhe nexL movemenL

eve refers Lo movemenL up and down Lhe verLlcal axls
1he body can be moved Lhrough and on Lhree baslc levels 1hese are loosely deflned as low medlum and hlgh
1he low level conslsLs of nonlocomoLor and locomoLor movemenL on along and/or close Lo Lhe floor
MovemenLs on Lhe low level would lnclude crawllng rolllng slLLlng kneellng lylng low level shapes and
orlglnal locomoLor movemenL LhaL Lravels along Lhe floor 1he low level may be used Lo represenL fear
nervousness or hldlng lL could be used as an orlglnal way of locomoLlon along Lhe floor or Lo conLrasL Lhe
movemenL already ln Lhe phrase 1here are many lnLerpreLaLlons 1he medlum level conslsLs of non
locomoLor and locomoLor movemenL where Lhere ls conLacL wlLh Lhe floor by elLher Lhe feeL or hands buL noL
boLh LocomoLor movemenLs lnclude runnlng Lurnlng galloplng slldlng nonlocomoLor movemenL and
shapes are llmlLless 1he medlum level ls generally Lhe mosL used ln dance SLudenLs wlll comblne level wlLh
shape dlrecLlon and paLhway (and all Lhe oLhers) Lo achleve lnLenL ln Lhe movemenL 1he hlgh level occurs
where Lhe body shape ls verLlcally long or where Lhe body leaves Lhe floor 1hese movemenLs lnclude verLlcal
balances on rlse [umps and leaps 1he hlgh level may relnforce Lhe ldea of sLrengLh or power lL may also
conLrasL wlLh Lhe low level Lo achleve Lhe lnLenL

ange

Ioor pattern ls Lhe paLhway LhaL Lhe dancer Lakes when movlng Lhrough space lL ls also an lndlcaLor of where
Lhe dancer has been
1he floor paLLern can be any comblnaLlon of sLralghL ln all dlrecLlons clrcular wavy zlg zag or splral 1he floor
paLLern ln a composlLlon wlll ofLen be llnked Lo Lhe lnLenL of Lhe dance or 'work and wlll also reflecL Lhe
sLrong and weak areas of Lhe sLage

L as|c ,ovement
ocomotor ,ovements are Lhe baslc movemenLs LhaL creaLe Lhe ablllLy Lo move ln more complex
ways Learnlng Lhese skllls ls very lmporLanL ln Lhe developmenL for furLher success ln physlcal acLlvlLles
LocomoLor movemenLs are Lhe foundaLlons of human movemenL
Walklng runnlng hopplng sklpplng[umplng galloplng leaplng and slldlng are Lhe elghL locomoLor
movemenLs
LocomoLor movemenL ls a movemenL LhaL Lravels from place Lo place usually ldenLlfled by welghL
Lransference on Lhe feeL
8aslc locomoLor sLeps are Lhe walk run leap hop and [ump and Lhe lrregular rhyLhmlc comblnaLlons of Lhe
sklp gllde and gallop
Nonocomotor movements conslsL of malnly uslng Lhe upper body Lo move leeL sLay flrmly on Lhe ground
and you are noL uslng any of Lhe foundaLlons of human movemenL
Swlnglng LwlsLlng Lurnlng sLreLchlng swaylng and bendlng are Lhe slx nonlocomoLor movemenLs

Any movemenL LhaL occurs ln one locaLlon ln space uslng Lhe avallable space ln any dlrecLlon or movemenL
organlsed around Lhe axls of Lhe body raLher Lhan deslgned for Lravel from one locaLlon Lo anoLher
8endlng LwlsLlng sLreLchlng and swlnglng are examples of axlal movemenL

I ,ovement ua|t|es

@|me qua|t|es A concepL whlch organlzes movemenL lL encompasses Lempo rhyLhm and duraLlon

Iorce qua|t|es

Space qua|t|es 1he unllmlLed area whlch exLends ln all dlrecLlons and wlLhln whlch all Lhlngs exlsL lL
lnvolves use of level paLhway shape poslLlve and negaLlve space general and personal space slze focus and
dlrecLlon