Dance Forms Research Articles

The emergence of Nata Sankirtana: A Ritualistic Dance Performance

Abstract: Nata Sankirtana is a sacred Manipuri ritualistic dance performance, deeply intertwined with spirituality and traditional rituals. While it may initially appear as a musical dance form driven by the performer’s skills, it holds a profound philosophy, requiring a holistic meditation of the body, mind, and soul. This research paper focuses on the transformation of Nata Sankirtana from local rituals to stage performances, with a particular emphasis on its elegance, unique movements, mudras, and dance styles when viewed from the perspective of Bangladesh. This exploratory research employs qualitative data from secondary sources to provide insights into the various aspects of Nata Sankirtana, including ritual accessories, costumes, musical instruments, songs, functionaries, performance space, and structure. Nata Sankirtana’s ancient and ritualistic nature has significantly influenced Manipuri dance and choreography. It is a form of performing arts that serves as a gateway to spiritual enlightenment and a deeper connection with the divine, accessible only to sincere devotees who approach it with a genuine desire to explore its spiritual depths.

Development of Gaynek Ta Cabiga-O Dance: A Way to Strengthen the Panaglaga Culture

"Gaynek ta Cabiga-o" emerges as a creative dance form inspired by the traditional artistry of crafting winnowing baskets, known as "panaglaga ti bigao," deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of the Itneg tribe in Nagsincaoan, Cabugao, Ilocos Sur. This exploratory-sequential approach research blends qualitative insights from interviews and participatory observations with quantitative analysis through validated questionnaires from five participants. Guided by the Communities of Practice (CoP), the study's focal point is to enhance and preserve the Panaglaga Culture by delving into the intricate stages of crafting bigao. This endeavor culminates in the creation of a dance, intricately weaving together traditional movements, such as bamboo cutting (panagpukan) and weaving (panaglaga), into a cultural expression. Key materials integral to panaglaga ti bigao include bamboo, customized knives, lebleb, uway, labtang, kulokol, bamboo strips, and residue. The resulting dance undergoes expert evaluation, receiving a "Very Much Acceptable" rating for dance steps and music. In essence, "Gaynek ta Cabiga-o" not only breathes new life into cultural practices but also serves as a testament to the community's commitment to cultural preservation and creative innovation. Recommendations based on these findings pave the way for further cultural enrichment and community engagement.

Historical Development and Cross-Cultural Influence of Dance Creation: Evolution of Body Language

This paper delves into the historical evolution of dance creation and its cross-cultural influences, with a particular focus on the transformation of corporeal language. Commencing from the dance traditions of ancient cultures, the article retraces the dances of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, as well as the religious and courtly dances of the medieval and Renaissance periods. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the emergence of modern dance, encompassing the American modern dance movement and European expressionist dance, along with the evolution of dance techniques and forms. The article delves into the varied manifestations of dance, including pure dance, narrative dance, and experimental dance compositions. It also analyzes the impact of cross-cultural influences and globalization on dance, encompassing dance's role as a medium for cultural dissemination, as well as the internationalization of dance education. Finally, by examining the evolution of corporeal language, it underscores the connection between dance and emotional expression and social corporeal language, including trends in dance creation and interdisciplinary research in the digital age. This article encapsulates the metamorphosis of dance as a form of corporeal language, emphasizing its significance and forthcoming challenges.

A Comparative Study of Aesthetic Differences between Guangxi Folk Dance and ASEAN Dance

Abstract Clarifying the aesthetic differences between Guangxi folk dance and ASEAN dance can promote the in-depth exchange of dance art and culture between the two. In this paper, the aesthetic characteristics of Guangxi folk dance and ASEAN dance are discussed, and the HRNet network is used as the basis, combined with the sequence multi-scale feature fusion and the PCA action gesture segmentation model for the action gesture estimation. The dataset was constructed according to different kinds of Guangxi folk dance and ASEAN dance, and the aesthetic differences between Guangxi folk dance and ASEAN dance in terms of intrinsic culture and extrinsic performance were analyzed using the dataset. The results show that on the inner culture, Guangxi folk dance is mainly based on traditional culture and folk customs. ASEAN dance is more influenced by religious culture, although it has differences, but the correlation coefficients of emotional expression and national custom are 0.963 and 0.954, respectively. On the outer manifestation, Guangxi folk dance has as many as 11 kinds of action dance forms, while ASEAN dance emphasizes more on The ASEAN dance emphasizes more on the “flat, taut, straight and standing” forms. The aesthetic differences between Guangxi folk dance and ASEAN dance can promote the exchange and integration of dance art and culture between the two and provide a good artistic foundation for the in-depth promotion of the Belt and Road.

Historical Evolution and Cultural Identity of National Dance: Taking Andai Dance as the Research Object

The Andai Dance is a traditional folk dance that spreads in the Horqin area of Inner Mongolia. It has strong local and national characteristics, and the dance style is passionate and generous, fully expressing the true feelings of the Mongolian people. It is a form of expression of national folk art integrated with singing and dancing performance and music singing. This paper profoundly explores and studies the inheritance and development of Mongolian Andai Dance in Horqin Grassland, including the form and characteristics of traditional Andai Dance. Understand the evolution of the movement and function of Andai Dance, let the new Andai Dance inherit the most vivid musical and dance elements of the traditional Andai Dance, protect and inherit the traditional culture, and explore the new development trend of Andai Dance in professional creation, performance, and mass popularization.

Qualitative Analysis of Modern Dancers’ Post-Injury Psychological Experiences

Athletic injuries often trigger psychological distress, including frustration, depression, and anger (e.g., Tracey, 2003). Like sport athletes, dancers face injury risks due to the physicality of dancing (e.g., Jacobs et al., 2017; Skvarla & Clement, 2019). There is limited research on psychological responses to dance-related injuries; particularly absent in the extant literature are the experiences of injured modern dancers (Thomas & Tarr, 2009). Studies are needed on this population, given differences in training, choreography, and culture in modern dance compared to other dance forms (Clabaugh & Morling, 2004). The purpose of the present study was to qualitatively explore post-injury psychological experiences of adult modern dancers. Participants included eight modern dancers (seven women, one man; Mage = 30.5 years; 75% White; M = 23.6 years of modern dance training) who suffered a recent serious injury (≥ 6 weeks recovery). Semi-structured, individual interviews were coded line-by-line using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Analysis resulted in six themes: Emotional Upheaval and Reactivity, Stress-Inducing External Factors, Challenges Presented by Physical Pain, Mental Disruptions and Eventual Cognitive Shifts, Coping through Redirection of Energy, and Buffering Effects of Positive Social Support. The dancers’ reported interpersonal trust/support, loss of independence, and growth were similar to previously studied sport athletes’ reports (e.g., Kampman et al., 2015). A novel theme in the current study was the influence of COVID-19 on reactions to injury. Overall, findings indicate that injuries are complex events that not only involve a mechanical disturbance to the physical body but also initiate profound psychological experiences.

“But first let’s have a dance”: Music in Aphra Behn’s Plays

ABSTRACT This quantitative analysis of Aphra Behn’s musical terms demonstrates that her comedies need to be understood in the context of seventeenth-century music. As a Restoration dramatist, Behn experienced the early phase of the Baroque. Despite the considerable presence of music in her works, scholarship on Behn and music has been neglected. Nodes of her preferred terms—dance, sing, song, and musick—are mapped and analyzed, focusing on four of the most musical plays: The Revenge (1680), The Roundheads (1682), The Luckey Chance (1687), and The Emperor of the Moon (1687). As a collaborator with professional musicians, dancing masters, and actors, Behn demonstrates facility with instrumentation and a range of musical affects, dance forms, and song types. Her comedies exemplify a theatrical phenomenon that had an intelligible, palpable, but ephemeral impact on characters and audience members alike. Her original comic musicals provide keys for understanding how music functioned in art and culture.

TEPAK CIWARINGINAN PADA SENI PENCAK SILAT DI KOTA BANDUNG

Pencak silat is a martial art of Indonesia's cultural identity that 
 has been designated by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural 
 Heritage. Pencak silat in West Java is not only categorized as a 
 martial sport, but also as one of the arts. Pencak silat in the context 
 of performing arts is often called Kendang Penca (from the 
 perspective of musical aesthetics) and Ibing Penca (from the 
 perspective of dance aesthetics). The focus of this article is to 
 describe the variety of tepak ciwaringinan patterns in the pencak 
 silat family in Bandung. The consideration is that these songs and 
 tepak no longer appear in every kendang penca performance, it can 
 be said that their existence is starting to become extinct. In this 
 article, the author uses a qualitative approach from Jhon W. 
 Creswell by collecting data through observation, documentation, 
 and interviews. After the data is obtained, the author then analyzes 
 the data to test the truth of the data.
 This article discusses an overview of pencak silat as a performing 
 art, the musical accompaniment of pencak silat in Bandung, and a 
 description of the Ciwaringinan tepak pattern in pencak silat. The 
 article concludes that pencak silat is one of the most important 
 aspects of the performing arts in Indonesia, especially in West Java. 
 Aesthetically, pencak silat generally consists of the aesthetics of the 
 Pencak Silat dance form (ibing penca), music aesthetics 
 (karawitan), and traditional fashion aesthetics. In addition, the 
 findings in this study are that there are a variety of Ciwaringinan 
 tepak patterns that have not been recognized by the public.

What is the shape of institutions? Materializing the cycles of life in an East African age class society

AbstractGiving a precise definition of what an institution is raises epistemological dilemmas concerning its supposed universal applicability and the coexistence of different institutional regimes (e.g. state and customary). Scholars who have dabbled with this question often identify rules, behaviours, values, or social roles as the essence of institutions. In fact, these constitutive features do not necessarily occupy a leading position in all societies. In this article, I argue that, among East African pastoral populations such as the Samburu of northern Kenya, institutions of age class systems are the product of the changing identities of the person's maturation process. These institutionalized life cycles regulate the distribution of powers, rights, and duties within the community. Moreover, if institutions can be different ‘things’, similarly, the objects through which they materialize can vary profoundly from one social system to another. In the case of the Samburu, customary age institutions can be perceived, performed, and manipulated in the form of songs, dances, and ornaments that represent their tangible, aural, visible, and actionable substance. Just as age manifests itself through the body, institutions founded on age take shape through sonic and kinetic bodily expressions.

“Just attaching a face”: Engaging local refugee communities in preservice teacher education focused on students with immigrant/refugee backgrounds

AbstractThis arts‐practice research study explores what happens when preservice high school teachers (aka teacher‐learners) and local refugee communities engage in the co‐creation of art together via an arts‐and community‐based project. Grounded in social justice teacher education, the researchers conducted a 2‐week workshop in which participants included preservice high school teachers and local Yazidi community members who explored art in a museum together, spent time getting to know each other and their backgrounds, and re‐created some of their stories in the form of dance. Findings reveal a variety of ways in which the workshops helped teacher‐learners develop interculturality, increase understanding of migration, become more caring educators, and make personal connections that allowed them to disrupt stereotypes. In addition, the study includes the voices of Yazidi community members and what they want teachers to know about working with refugee children.

From Subculture to Mainstream: The Influence of Paris Is Burning on Voguings Evolution

Voguing, now widely accepted as a dance form, prompts contemplation on how it gradually gained mainstream exposure from its origins in the non-mainstream field. The documentary Paris Is Burning has played a specific role in introducing voguing to many people for the first time. Through an analysis of the films content, subsequent reviews, and social reactions after its release, the impact of this documentary on voguings status can be discerned. After thorough research and analysis, it becomes evident that the development of voguing is closely related to the narrative presented in this documentary. The visuals and characters depicted therein truly the voguing milieu, shedding light on the group of individuals behind voguing that merits attention. Paris Is Burning effectively promoted voguings integration into mainstream culture. Through this research, the connection between film and voguing becomes clear, enhancing a better understanding of voguing.

Impact of Dance and Movement on Stress and Mental Health

Today, dance and movement have also become fundamental elements of artistic performances - be it solo presentations, duet performances or even group performances; thus leading to the formation of different dance forms and styles with certain rules and regulations. Several research papers, over a span of many years, suggest that dance and movement have potential healing effects. Therapeutic movement has recently been known to manage stress, anxiety, symptoms of depression, and other mental health disorders. However, an interest in the systematic evaluation of the psychotherapeutic impact of dance and movement based modalities in different population settings in the context of psychotherapy is relatively recent. (C. Quiroga Murcia et al., 2010).Dancing and movement have become an integral part of our lives. For many, it is a medium to express their emotions; for some people, it is now a source of income and livelihood. Over time, dance and movement have evolved from tools and driving force that built societal relationships, to performance art-forms with choreographic roles on-stage and off-stage, to a formally recognised mode of therapy practice - known as Dance / Movement Therapy - an arts-based psychotherapeutic intervention that aims to facilitate the integration of the physical and psychological aspects of human beings.

Baris Sesandaran Dance as a Medium in Developing Character Education

Purpose: Sesandaran Baris Dance was created as a medium for developing character education.
 Research method: The creation method involves three stages, namely exploration, improvisation and forming which are still based on the basic elements of Balinese dance such as agem, tandang, tangkis, dan tangkep. The structure of the work consists of pepeson, pengawit, pengawak, pengecet, and pekaad. Furthermore, the study is descriptive qualitative in order to explain that the Baris Sesandaran dance is able to show as a medium for developing character education.
 Results and discussion: Baris Sesandaran Dance, a new creation inspired by the art of Barong Landung from Banjar Kaliungu Kelod Denpasar which has been stored for 17 years. This dance has a religious theme, puts more emphasis on the expression of will, performed by 8 male dancers carrying incense props, dancing while interspersed with singing songs together and shouting at each other as an identity in the Barong Landung art. This reciprocal song is called Sesandaran. Implications: The Baris Sesandaran dance is able to show as a vehicle for developing character education and as the development of the Barong Landung art in the form of a creational dance so that it can be passed on to the next generation.abstracts in English.

MAKNA SIMBOLIK TARI SESANDURAN DI KABUPATEN TUBAN

This research aims to reveal the symbolic meaning that exists in the Sanduran Dance. Sesanduran dance is a dance form inspired by Sandur art in Tuban Regency. Using vocal music and accompanied by roof gongs and drums. This study describes and analyzes about: (1) the form of Sesanduran Dance which includes: movement, dancers, costumes, expressions or feelings, place of performance, (2) describes the symbolic meaning of Sesanduran Dance from the view of inner and outer aspects.To answer the form of Sesanduran Dance using theory by Slamet Md. Describing the symbolic meaning of Sesanduran Dance using theory from Allegra Fuller Synder. This research is a descriptive qualitative research. Data collection through documentation of works, literature studies, interviews and observations of Sandur and Sandur Dance.The results of this study show that the form of dance cannot be separated from the dance former consisting of movement, dancers, costumes, expressions or feelings, the place of performance. The symbolic meaning of Sesanduran Dance is seen from the outside aspect looking at the expression side of society. The compiler of Sesanduran Dance was inspired by the bancik scene in Sandur art in Tuban Regency. This section gives the understanding that humans in their lives are full of journeys that must be passed according to the cycle of life. There are nine motion motives that undergo levels of stimulation, transformation, and unity. Seven sets of motion are the foothold of bancik scenes and two motion motifs are typical movements of Sandur art in Tuban Regency.Keywords: Sesanduran, Form, Meaning.

Roof/Room Pieces: An Ethnography of Lockdown Lives, and Digital Perfor- mances of Rabindranritya

This essay is an exploration of precarity and sociality within performing arts in India. It analyses dances made digitally for audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-21) and engages with scholarly literature and movement system with reference to Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) and forms of dance identified as rabindranritya. Interpreted through interdisciplinary research methods of digital ethnography, questionnaires, content analysis and dance studies, the essay aims to understand why some of us continued to dance through the global pandemic. I focus on YouTube as a site of research as we realize that technology’s relationship with human and arts have now evolved and ‘liveness’ could be optional. I question various forms of precarity in arts industries through respondents’ answers and observe what notions of sociality are exchanged between the performer and their audience. I bring to light the mundane and vibrant of the quotidian lockdown lives of performers who remained cloistered at home, but with cameras on them, how they seized the pandemic precarity and continued dancing with a sense of immediacy and new kinds of intimacy, communicating their imaginations and emotions and bridging social- temporal-spatial distances.

Tale of a Choreographer, Her student, River and an endangered Heritage

Choreographing in Pakistan since the 50’s, the country’s senior most 90+ years young classical dance maestro Indu Mitha has made trailblazing contributions within the Kalakshtera Bharata Natyam using North Indian music, interesting and contemporary content, while also producing more tableau forms of dance.
 In one of her recent solo pieces in the later style, titled “Qaseeda-i-Ilm of Jamal” or “An Ode to Wisdom and Beauty” Indu engages with symbolisms of a Hindu goddess of knowledge and Aesthetics_Saraswati and pays tribute to a forgotten dried up river of the same name. Indu Mitha allows the author, for whom and on whose body the dance is made, to bring in the forgotten river in her engagement with people’s histories of the land of present-day Pakistan and eventually facilitates her accessing of and embodying a pluralistic space of inter faith harmony which was occluded.

Censorship and the Nationalization of Dance in India: An Overview from 1947 to the Present

In this essay, I present a broad overview of the intersections between dance and censorship in independent India. I try to explore the consequent exclusions within the mainstream dance discourse and practices as they were shaped by hegemonic forces of nationalism. I also look at how the changes in instruments and objectives of censorship reflect changing visions of nationalism. Thisessay broadly examines two major forms of censorship, both of which have been crucial in the appropriation and reconstruction of dance as an integral part of the nationalist cultural identity of India. First, there are the overt forms of censorship, which have been enforced by instruments of state power like legislation and statutory bodies. The post-independence government enacted the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act 1947 and Cinematograph Act 1952 ostensibly for socialreformandprotectionofpublicmorality,butineffectthey carried forward socio-political biases of Orientalism and colonialism into the postcolonial project of constructing the Indian imaginary. The process necessitated the elimination of hereditary artist communities and professional women performers (and many of their movement idioms) from mainstream practices of dance, even as their art was decontextualized and reconstructedtosuittheofficiallysanctifiedhighculture. This mode of erasure also influenced popular forms ofdance, especially those appearing in Indian cinema, by inscribing them with nationalist notions of womanhood, sexuality, and, more recently, religious majoritarianism. Second, I trace the covert operation of censorship, in which state institutions play a key role in the support and promotion of art. Through selective funding and promotion, conferring privileging labels like “classical,” and presiding over the formalization and classicization of dance, these institutions helped fit dance practices within the nationalist framework of a normative Indian cultural identity that is predominantly Hindu and rahminical. This process resulted in hierarchization, stigmatization, and even omission of certain dance practices, some of which I have highlighted in this essay. The sustained influence of direct and indirect modes of censorship created standardized codes of aesthetics and performance practices, contributing to a chilling effect and leading practitioners to censor themselves. Finally, I argue that the centrality of dance in the national cultural discourse enabled its use as propaganda to censor negative actions of or perceptions about the government. The phenomenon, which may be described as artwashing, has become increasingly prominent in the contemporary context of Hindu majoritarian nationalism seeking to launder itsexclusionary tendencies in the process of redefining Indian cultural identity on its terms. Thus, I argue that censorship in the domain of dance has played not just a repressive role but also a productive role by enabling discourses of nationalism. It has acted as a tool of governmentality, by which nationalist ideologies have been established and reinforced to public, such that they are no longer confined to the sphere of the state but have percolated down to the conduct of individuals.

Punking: How appropriation revitalised it and the role institutions play in the protection and longevity of this elusive art

Abstract From the streets of Los Angeles in the early 1970s, a dance style named Punking emerged. This occurred at the height of the civil rights movement in the underground LGBTQ+ clubs of LA by a group of BIPOC queer men. A blend of sharp, exaggerated poses and movements borrowed from Hollywood films and pop culture became an art form that reflected their identity and encapsulated the escapism and liberation of a group of young queer people growing up in an environment where being queer was illegal and dangerous. By the late 1980s and 1990s, the dance faded, but it still influenced dance styles such as jazz, house, and even vogue. In the early 2000s, interest in the dance was reignited. However, its name and origins remained elusive, prompting an investigation into its history, shifting narratives and exclusion from dance history. In this article, I will explore how a dance form becomes lost in translation and how this dance can be preserved and introduced into institutionalised spaces to offer resources and legal protection for an art form on the verge of erasure from history.

Relations of dance culture and social structure in a Moldavian rural community

The social structure of the Moldavian Csángó settlements and the social systems that form in the dance scenes significantly determine the possibility of participation in dance occasions and the formal and stylistic performance of dances. The gender, age, and marital status of community members, as well as the specific position of dancers and the relationship between them, are revealed in dance forms and practices of space use on the dance floor, individual dance construction, and dancers’ behaviour. Through the study of local dance cultures, a social structure is observable that is held together by gendered and generationally defined norms, rules, and obligations. This makes dancing a socially defined collective activity in rural communities in Moldavia, Romania. The aim of this study is to interpret the representational practices of age and social status in dance culture, which are constantly changing, through the example of dance events, especially weddings, in a single Moldavian Csángó village.

Kreativitas Eka Rosy dalam Penciptaan Karya Tari Jejak

The Jejak dance work is a new choreography that has a background from the spirit of the Jathil Ponorogo dance. The value contained in the Jejak dance work is the value of the spirit of never giving up. The Jejak dance work is presented in the form of a group dance danced by six female dancers. This dance work isdivided into four parts, namely the intro, the first scene shows anxiety about goals and what you want to achieve, the second scene is conflict within the personal sphere, the third scene is self-confidence, which shows an atmosphere of enthusiasm or fighting spirit values. This study used a qualitative research method with a choreographic approach, to dissect the form of the choreography of the Jejak danceusing Y. Sumandiyo Hadi's theory. Meanwhile, to describe the creative process of creating Jejak dance works, it uses the theory of Rhodes, 4P (person, press, process, product). The stages in the process of creating a Jejak dance work go through several stages, namely the stage of determining ideas which are refined through several phases including the phase of selecting themes, maturation ofconcepts, observation, then the process of exploration, improvisation, and composition.This is very fundamental to creating a work that can be accounted for scientificallyacademically. The results of this research show: Eka Rosy's creativity in creating Jejak dance works is influenced by several factors (internal and external), Eka Rosy's creativity is reflected in Eka Rosy's ability to actualize ideas that are compiled through a process of exploration, improvisation, and composition then implemented in the form of works Jejak dance.Keywords: Jejak, dance work, creation process, choreography.