The Potential of Movement Analysis as a Research Tool: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Scholarly studies explore dance from many points of view. They may focus on the historical development of a dance form, examine the context in which a particular dance event occurs, explore the background of those who dance and how this relates to social structure, or explore the movement process itself—the dancing. While all approaches to the study of dance provide potentially meaningful data and insights relating to the role of dance in its socio-cultural context, the heart of dance is the movement. Dance research that ignores the dancing (except for very broad descriptive statements) ignores a major component that has potential for revealing a great deal about those who create and use dance.American researchers who have explored the movement process have, on the whole, worked independently (of each other or of other research projects), without working toward developing a widely understood methodology for examining dance movement and exploring its potential uses in other dance research. While such studies contribute to the knowledge of specific dances or dance forms, they overlook the need for common tools necessary for cross-cultural and comparative studies. To allow for the most meaningful research to be carried out, a discipline must develop tools and methodologies that have a certain consensus of validity and broad applicability. Only through use of such research procedures will it be possible to interrelate apparently diverse studies and evolve broad concepts relating to dance as human activity.