Dance Transmission Research Articles

Teaching and practising gestures: An investigation of the work of Accademia sull’Arte del Gesto

The article investigates the work of Accademia sull’Arte del Gesto, created in 2007 by Italian choreographer Virgilio Sieni, by examining the relationship within teaching and practising gestures with Delfina Stella, his artistic collaborator. Accademia sull’Arte del Gesto is a research project devoted to the study of the gestures, the meaning of body movement and the transmission of dance. This work on the art of the gesture aims to positively intervene on liveability and a possible sense of belonging, tending towards a renewal of the relationship between the body and the territory. The practice of gesture is transmitted both from the choreographer to the movers and vice versa. How are these practices of gestures open to a variety of people? To what extent is a somatic approach supportive in transmitting this practice? In what ways has Sieni, together with his collaborators, developed these pedagogies for gestures? The enquiry combines my own field research experience and narration around the creation , a project by Sieni.

‘Meta-Choreographies’ Between the Desktop and the Stage

How does one re-use pre-existing material in order to form an expanded choreographic practice of relating to audio-visual archive without being considered of stealing or lacking originality? Copying, re-using and appropriation, not innocent from copyright implications but often entrapped in the modernist myth of originality, are practices that have been enhanced by the growth of the digital archive available on the internet and the expansion of the online public space. In light of this surge that challenges the body-to-body dance transmission, this text analyzes copying, re-use and appropriation as forms of citation, both audio-visually and corporeally, through the work of the Italian choreographer, performer, educator and filmmaker Jacopo Jenna who connects fragments of preexisting works to create unexpected visual and corporeal associations that prompt us to re-think the dance canon. His work, based on a meta-choreographic and meta(dance)cinematic technique, moves between screen and stage, two-dimensional and three-dimensional space and brings into dialogue immaterial bodies and gestures stored in our collective memory with flesh bodies on stage. But, what issues and possibilities does this practice of disembodied transmission from screen-to-body entail?

КОММУНИКАТИВНЫЕ И МЕЖКУЛЬТУРНЫЕ АСПЕКТЫ ТАНЦА В ПРОСТРАНСТВЕ ИНФОРМАЦИОННОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ

The availability of nonverbal communication and perception of visual images and patterns of dance movements in the Internet space has led to active interaction between representatives of different cultures. The emergence of new digital dance practices confirms the need for new methods and approaches to the study of dance culture and its communication properties, including at the intercultural level. Modern technologies make it possible to transmit and record dance information at a new level. The Internet as a means of communication has significantly expanded the boundaries of dance interaction between representatives of different cultures, while "motion capture" technologies allow recording dance information with maximum accuracy, storing and processing patterns of different dance cultures. The article analyzes the features of the transmission and perception of information in the dance art. Within the linear and nonlinear communication models, dance can contain semantic, emotive, deictic, phatic, cognitive and other information. Viral dances, dance videos in Tik Tok, dance videos on video hosting sites represent a new level of intercultural interaction. The transmission of information through several sensory channels at once, as well as the universality of nonverbal information, ensures mutual understanding and helps to eliminate communication barriers. Thus, the application of the information approach to the consideration of dance in the space of modern culture allows to study the peculiarities of the perception and transmission of dance, including between representatives of different cultures interacting in the global information space.

TanzArchivLeipzig – Disappearing Content and Traces of Past Events

The TanzArchiv Leipzig (TAL) presents itself as a precarious archive of dance that blossomed in dubious political times. It was founded when East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country during 1949–1990, in which art and culture were valued as national currency ( Bourdieu 1986 ; Lohman 1994 ). Although the archive had lost its domicile as an Institution of the GDR (1989) as part of a larger Institution of the Academy of Arts (Akademie der Kunst), then it continued to act as a research centre in the Institute of the House of Literature (Haus des Buches), then renting its own premises as a foundation thereafter (ca. 1993–2010) and finally, is currently stored since 2011 as the TAL collection in the Special Collections department in the Albertina Library, at the University of Leipzig ( Reinsberg 2002 ; Ruiz [2002] ; 2018). The archival collection embraces a large collection of ‘traces’ of dance content such as manuscripts, dance scores, film, sound and image artefacts as well as objects, publications and a variety of ephemera. However, its fate as an archive of a country that no longer exists, and the question of the preservation and circulation of its content make it an ambiguous and challenging dance archive to examine in full. In this article I will focus on the description and structure of the archive, the dissemination strategies Documenta Choreologica1and Kurt Petermann's passion for dance transmission, through his letter correspondence within and without East European countries during the Cold War ( Boehme 1948 ; Dafova 1996 ; Guilbert 2007 ).

Cultural Communication and Cultural Transmission

Culture is produced, shaped and transmitted through intergroup relations provoked by communication. In this paper it is examined the cultural communication alternations in a popular culture. More particularly, taking the case of dance practice in Corsica, it is described the actual dance situation. The purpose of this paper is to propose communication modules to avoid a possible cultural loss. This qualitative study is based on field research, in-depth interviews and observation. The lead researcher had the opportunity to observe the dance condition in Corsica, during the five (5) years that she lived on this island (2003 – 2007), exchanging and communicating with dance associations and other cultural organisations. Dance activity in Corsica today is considered a limited practice, as dance associations are the only places where it is experienced. This study identified an intergroup relation difficulty among the different dance associations. Some of the actions proposed in this study in order to improve communication and consequently improve the actual situation of insufficient dance transmission and practice is to follow common rules, propose a specific agenda with dance events, invite younger people to dance, achieve members’ identification by creating intercultural groups, mixing the teams with regard to nationality and promote cultural education and research.

Cultural Endangerment and Education: Educational Analysis of Changes in Cultural Transmission of the Dongba Dance Tradition of the Naxi People in Lijiang, Yunnan, China.

Many traditional ethnic cultural items are being endangered in China. Using the Dongba dance culture of the Naxi people as a case study, this paper seeks to analyze and interpret the endangerment of culture from an educational perspective, based on an analysis of the interaction between the cultural transmission mechanism of Dongba dance and the formal schooling of the Naxi people in Lijiang, China. By describing and comparing the traditional and current forms of Dongba dance transmission, the paper shows how the institution of formal education competes with older modes of cultural transmission, resulting in the endangerment of Dongba dance as a living cultural relic. So, in order to truly realize and improve the function of education in transmitting cultural heritage and to guarantee educational equity, we should prioritize sophisticated ethnic minority cultural items in the assessment and selection phases of education, grant them institutional cultural capital, and put greater effort into developing an appropriate school-based curriculum so that ethnic minority culture may be transmitted and inherited via formal schooling.

Repeating Rosas danst Rosas

This article explores how connecting choreographic ideas with dancers’ articulations of embodied experience may help us better understand practices of dance transmission. Using the multimodal publication A Choreographer's Score (2012) as an analytical framework, the article combines the inside knowledge of choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker with a series of in-depth interviews that were conducted with different generations of Rosas dancers on their experience with the performance and transmission of the choreography Rosas danst Rosas. The goal of this text is to propose an expansion of the notational endeavor of A Choreographer's Score by adding testimonies of the dancers’ corporeal ‘enunciation’. As such, this article is a further investigation of ‘performance-style’, which performance scholar and musicologist Bojana Cvejić distinguishes as one of the main thematic parameters that runs through the four scores of Rosas’ ‘Early Works’. It connects the repetitions within De Keersmaeker's work with the question of how these practices themselves can be repeated by dancers in their long-term engagement with the company's repertory. By showing how they breathe life into the complex choreographic architecture of the choreography, dancers provide a deeper understanding of the information that is made available in A Choreographer's Score. These considerations also tie into the present debate in dance studies on how ‘dance knowledge’ could be shared beyond the boundaries of its own discipline.

The resilience of traditional dance as a repository of cultural heritage: The case of Ingoma of Malawi

This paper explores how Ingoma, a dance of the Ngoni of Malawi can be described as an identity marker and a cultural text of the Ngoni. The Ngoni constitute one of the nine major ethnic groups of Malawi. Unlike the other eight ethnic groups, however, the Ngonido do not have a language with which they are identified and use for everyday communication. This is largely due to socio-cultural and political influences that they experienced in the areas they settled. Notwithstanding this aspect of their identity, their dance Ingoma has stood the test of time and continues to be transmitted from one generation to another. Since language is key to the transmission of dance, the paper also examines the implications of transmitting dance in other people’s language. The paper focuses on three main groups of the Ngoni, namely, the M’mbelwaJere found in the north, the MpezeniJere found in the west and the GomaniMaseko in the centre. The Ingoma performances by groups from each of these areas were investigated.

‘I learned to be free’: Empowering the self through dance in 2012 Egypt

Abstract In 2012, amid a critical and transitional socio-political situation in Egypt, Bibliotheca Alexandrina started an initiative aiming at developing contemporary dance. The project included the organization of dance workshops for amateurs in various cities of Egypt. Led by eleven local dancers, these workshops consisted of trainings aimed at forming trainers. The methodologies used appeared to have strengthened the awareness of the close relationship between body and mind, revealing new perceptions of the body’s potential and awakening a strong feeling of empowerment. By bringing these dynamics to light and examining their implications on the individuals involved in the workshops, the following article aims to open further discussion on how transcultural use of somatic practices can actively participate in enhancing the autonomy of the emergent Egyptian contemporary dance field. It revisits the outcomes of this pioneering project of dance transmission and examines its impact on both dancers and participants.

Considerations of dance transmission processes: adapting Bharata Natyam in a Singapore primary school

This qualitative case study has, for its purpose, an examination of the pedagogies and practices of a master Bharata Natyam dance instructor working within a Singapore primary school context. It explores the instructor’s adaptation within an after-school weekly activity of the South Indian traditional classical dance form. Considerations of dance pedagogy through the lens of multiculturalism serve as a springboard for discussion on the findings of the study. The inculcation of values development through the guru–shishya relationship, the adaptation of the dance transmission processes from a religious to a secular space, and the negotiation of the dance form towards relevant contemporary contexts for students within a multicultural context were key points of contemplation towards implications for dance education.

Motivational Underpinnings of Estonian Folk Dance Practices among the Estonian Diaspora over Time

This article is a part of a wider research on Estonian folk dance, aim- ing to map the emergence of folk dance groups and to study the practices and role of folk dance among the Estonian diaspora. The article sets out to explore incentives contributing to intergenerational transmission of Estonian folk dance tradition. 54 interviews (21 men and 33 women aged 38 to 87) were carried out with Estonians living in Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the United States. The analysis of the interviews is based on two research questions: 1) What incentives have guided Estonians' folk dance activity in histori- cal perspective from World War II until today? 2) What qualities originating in Estonian folk dance have motivated people to carry on Estonian folk dance prac- tices? The principles of grounded theory were used in the analysis of interviews. The article discusses the results of two sets of analyses. Motivational changes in folk dance as a leisure pursuit have brought into focus three historical periods of folk dance transmission. Incentives originating from dance and dancing (self- expression, self-determination, cooperation, emotion, physical training) and the external qualities accompanying dance and dancing (socialising, 'Estonianness', tradition) are discussed in the context of continuity of Estonian folk dance tradi- tion among the Estonian diaspora.

Cultural Endangerment and Education: Educational Analysis of Changes in Cultural Transmission of the Dongba Dance Tradition of the Naxi People in Lijiang, Yunnan, China

Many traditional ethnic cultural items are being endangered in China. Using the Dongba dance culture of the Naxi people as a case study, this paper seeks to analyze and interpret the endangerment of culture from an educational perspective, based on an analysis of the interaction between the cultural transmission mechanism of Dongba dance and the formal schooling of the Naxi people in Lijiang, China. By describing and comparing the traditional and current forms of Dongba dance transmission, the paper shows how the institution of formal education competes with older modes of cultural transmission, resulting in the endangerment of Dongba dance as a living cultural relic. So, in order to truly realize and improve the function of education in transmitting cultural heritage and to guarantee educational equity, we should prioritize sophisticated ethnic minority cultural items in the assessment and selection phases of education, grant them institutional cultural capital, and put greater effort into developing an appropriate school-based curriculum so that ethnic minority culture may be transmitted and inherited via formal schooling.

Seeing and Experiencing Chouinard

This article employs Julia Kristeva’s concept of the chora as a means to describe and analyze the dancing body and the body of the spectator. In Revolution in Poetic Language, Kristeva posits the chora as analogous to vocal and kinetic rhythms of the body. As an audience member who also trained as a dancer, I find my body responds instantaneously and rhythmically to dance performances, thereby connecting to the chora. Subsequently, the act of writing becomes a physical manifestation of the theatrical experience. My research questions include: what role does the body play in the transmission of dance to language? How is the essence of the chora transferred from dancer to spectator in the experience of watching a performance? The writings of Julia Kristeva, Roland Barthes and John Martin provide important theories of the body that aid in answering these research questions. With an awareness of the chora in each subject, I examine the transfer of the chora from the dancer to the spectator in the work of Montréal choreographer Marie Chouinard, specifically the male solo Des feux dans la nuit. Marie Chouinard stands out as one of Canada’s most successful and internationally recognized contemporary choreographers. This article considers the impact of Chouinard’s dancing body on the spectator.

Beyond the Silver Screen

This article first highlights the relative paucity of literature on South Asian dance and provides a brief overview of existing material. It then examines particularly the influence of filmi or Bollywood dance on South Asian dance practices in the UK. It locates film dance within the Bollywood genre, noting its recent acceptance as a new form of popular culture and its attractions for the younger generation of British Asians. The place of dance in Hindi films is analysed and discussed briefly to con-textualise the relationship between such film dances and South Asian dance practices in Britain. Using evidence from fieldwork gathered in Leicester and London amongst dance teachers and students of South Asian dance, the article questions notions of identity, authenticity, tradition and the changing nature of dance transmission as Bollywood forms grow in popularity.

Singing a Dance: Navigating the Musical Soundscape in "Nihon Buyo"

continues to be based on a master-disciple (one-on-one) system. During lessons students follow the teacher's every movement through visual, kinesthetic, tactile, oral/aural means of transmission.2 Though research on the oral transmission of music has been strong through the history of ethnomusicology, few in-depth investigations of how students learn to and navigate within the musical soundscape exist. This paper focuses on one mode of teaching: oral transmission. I supply case studies from my fieldwork in Tokyo at the central Tachibana school where headmasters (iemoto, Tachibana Yoshie and (soke original or previous headmaster) Tachibana Hiroyo teach.3 I have studied nihon buyo since the age of four. Throughout this article I include my personal experiences observing and taking lessons in an attempt to provide readers with a glimpse of the intimate, physical nature of the transmission process. The Japanese performing arts remain fully integrated in their artistic disciplines-a combined expressivity of music, literary narrative, visual arts (costume, props, scenery), and movement. Sonic and visual artistry must be completely coordinated for the expressive richness of the narrative to come alive. How do dancers learn to move with, or inside, a musical structure? In many cases dancers become part of the musical landscape, by producing elements of the soundworld in which they (claps, stamps, or vocal parts, for example). Through an examination of the oral transmission of dance, this article unravels the process of how dancers learn to comprehend their path through the complexity of nihon buyo musical sounds. I offer musical transcriptions and case studies of lessons as examples of specific teaching techniques used to teach music and dance. Oral instructions during nihon buyo lessons impart a wide range of directions to a student, both general and specific: fundamental movements, choreography, narrative story line, emotional content, and music. Comprehending the dance, from basic movements and choreography to musical and emotional considerations, is a complex coordination. I found that teachers' articulations in lessons form a metalanguage, a unique instructional language reflecting a varied and deeply complex matrix of information. This dance speak is comprised of a fragmented, yet completely fluid combination of the musical vocal line, instrumental vocables, emotive exclamations, and instructive speech. A closer inspection of the oral transmission process reveals that the metalanguage created during

Dance Transmission, a Question of Learning or Teaching?

I have been dealing with dance for solne years. Most of the time I worked as a folk dance instructor, for sotne years I have been a research assistant in ethnology and sometimes I worked as an artist. During the years many trues have risen and fallen, and new questions have appeared. I put forward solne of them here, and even if they night seem irrelevant, they still tulnble around in lny head. . . (For e2cample the exact relationship between music and dance, local variants versus personal ones. ) In this paper I will discuss some thoughts concerning teGlching or leGlrntng and dCance or d!Gmcing and what is really transmitted when you teach or learn to dance? To teach, in this paper is the point of view of the teacher, the one who can dance. He/she has a group that follows his/her instructions. It means that he/she gives away something in Swedish 'lara ut', 'teach out'. LeGlrning is the point of view of the 'object'. He/she has to learn, to take in in Swedish 'lara in', 'learn in'. The point is that you can learn without a teacher, but you can't teach without a learner. To transmit means something like to pass on to hand on, or to send froln one person to the other. Tradition means nearly the same it is something handed down from the past and there is a common way to e2cplain it. In Swedish we can use the synonym transfer or convey (over-fora) for both transmit and tradition. The only 'problem' is how distant the 'past' is was it just a minute ago or is it a generation ago . . . ? Without going too deep into the concept of tradition. I think that transtnission is necessary in tradition, but rnaybe not vice versa. It is probably not new that dance is a word can have at least the following meanings (see e2c Ronstrom): Dances or dance, e2c valtz, the choreographic pattern (dansen)

Singing in Dance Diffusion and Transmission

Dance is a phenomenon which utilizes different kind of communicational media, such as movement, sound and visuality. Each expressive medium creates a text whithin the dance event: hence dance can be defined as a multitextual phenomenon. Various kinds of symbolicexpressive systems contribute to the creation of the comples dance structure: the musical system, the visual system, the gestural system and the verbal-textual one. The investigation of the relationships linking the various kinds of texts (co-text)2 which build up a dance is the research perspective of the present article. The present contribution will investigate the role played by singing in the process of dance transmission and diffusion. Transmission and diffusion do not belong to the same conceptual categories. The concept of transmission implies acting subjects (the one who transmits and the one who receives) and an object or a message to be transmitted throught a medium or channel. Cultural transmission is therefore a phenomenon which affects the whole construction of a cultural system and, in order to study it, it is necessary to take into account a11 its components, resorting to topics which are specific to communication, sociology, semiotics or cultural anthropology in a broad sense. Making a necessary at least two fields of investigation should be defined whithin the comples structure of society, i.e.: oral-tradition society -the so-called modern societies. Therefore there is a corpus of knowledge constituting the primary acculturation tratum of each individual as well as the guarantee for his/her identification with the group. The transmission of codified gestural and communicational-motoric structures belongs to this learning stage: the social need for