Methods for the Comparative Study of the Dance

Abstract

HOW to study and permanently record the dance in non-European cultures presents problems that have been almost completely neglected by anthropology. Though descriptions of dances are to be found in the literature, they are, in the main, devoted to details of costume, place and meaning, and little space is given to analysis of movement. Field workers have been handicapped in their efforts by the lack of a clear, concise dance vocabulary, and perhaps by an inability to deal with theories of movement. We recognize that it is difficult to cope with the institutions of an alien culture, but that it is even more difficult to attempt to record the subtleties of alien motor behavior is not so generally understood. With but a few exceptions, most anthropologists have limited their studies of dance to verbal descriptions which range from inadequate to involved but comprehensive.2 The fact remains that it is impossible to get a good idea of the steps in a dance from description alone; only illustrative devices can guarantee accuracy. It is hoped that this explanation of the systems used by professional dancers may be of some value to those who contemplate field research where the recording of dances would be desirable. The difficulties facing anthropologists today are those which puzzled the students of the European dance many years ago. To keep alive the traditions, the repertoire, the ideas of movement of a particular school of the dance it was necessary to have some method of notation. It is quite true that each