Dance Language Research Articles

On the Shaping of Characters in Dance Drama

Dance performance is a kind of artistic dynamic image soaked with "emotion", and only by grasping the unity of inside and outside and the situation, can we completely shape the character image and achieve a certain artistic aesthetic effect. In dance creation, the creator is an inseparable and complete process of artistic creation, from deeply capturing the dance image, creating and organizing the dance language, arranging and designing the dance section, to finally reflecting the artistic conception on the stage by the actors through rehearsal. This paper takes the dance drama "Zhaojun Out" as an example to discuss how to shape the characters with dance, improve the dancers deep aesthetic thinking on the dance image, and shape the character characteristics of the main characters in the dance drama.

Colours of India: Uniting Endocrinologists in Fitness and Friendship

Abstract Colours of India is an annual cultural phenomenon that transcends the boundaries of professional conferences, uniting endocrinologists through the universal language of music and dance. Since its inception in 2016, this vibrant event has brought together teams from across India and other participating countries, showcasing diverse dance forms while fostering friendships, promoting wellness, and celebrating cultural diversity within the medical community.

A Prolegomenon to the Visual Language of Dance in Gandhāra

A Prolegomenon to the Visual Language of Dance in Gandhāra

“Research on Music Emotion Analysis and Dance Creation Based on Neural Network”

The one-of-a-kind avenues for self-expression that dancing provides as a form of physical art. Movements of the body, both internal and external, and other forms of expression make up the bulk of a dancer's lexicon. Through passive observation, the viewer is able to catch up on the dancer's intended meaning through their body language. It's the one-of-a-kind way that each dancer finds to convey feeling and story through their body. In this piece, we intelligently oversee dance training and take on challenging nonlinear control problems by combining AI technology and the BP neural networks (BPNN) approach.In this study, the training dance teachers receive in dance language, talking music for dancing, and stage art was evaluated using the BPNN technique and the PCA-BPNN strategy. Median accuracy for the BPNN research model is 85.35 percent as age 80 approaches, whereas for the PCA-BPNN research model it is just 65.64 percent. This demonstrates that the BPNN grading model provides more precise results than the PCA-BPNN model. Using BPNN algorithm-based dancing performed within the context of artificial intelligence technology is one way to attain two goals: the spread and pleasure of beauty, and the harmonious combination of athletics and the arts. These two aims are not mutually exclusive.

SCENOGRAPHIC IDEA AND CONCEPT IN CONTEMPORARY THEATER OF ANIMATION, FROM TRADITION TO ARTISTIC EXPERIMENT

In the era of accelerated digitization of all societal activities, artistic fields are also significantly affected by new technologies, which have a positive or negative influence on education as well. Visual arts have known surprising transformations and are increasingly faced with detachment and even delimitation from tradition. Puppetry, nowadays called theater of animation, has been favorable since ancient times to the constant mixtures specific to the language of visual arts, music and dance, since it relies on both tradition and modernity, on syncretism and functionality. The versatility of the language specific to the theater of animation largely appeals to the intellect of its audience, from the simple to the complex. The current superficiality of the artistic act is a consequence of the speed triggered by the alert rhythm of the search for new means of expression of the artist’s ideas and concepts, and also by people’s expectations. The transition from tradition to modernity can only be achieved through practice and experimentation. Unlike drama, the art of animation no longer preserves many constraints, this being a case-specific process. Various scenographers, puppeteers or companies, actors full of courage and vision such as Serghei Obrazțov, Yves Joly, Michael Meschke, Margareta Niculescu, Cristina and Cristian Pepino etc. made puppetry history for the new generations of artists passionate about puppetry. From scenographic idea to concept, the essential tool of the final perception’s shaping the message may be the actor’s stage improvisation, the scenographer’s spontaneous vision and the director’s openness to the present. The novelties brought about by numerous experiences contribute to the regeneration of the means, to the verticality of the evolution and the crystallization of the autonomy of the field.

Рубежность и сущностные характеристики театрального танца в России конца XIX – начала ХХ века

Innovation and experiment as sources that expand and deepen the space of theatrical dance in Russia in the late 19th – early 20th centuries had a complex connection: from “traditional” and “local modern” to “systemic” and “natural”. Unlike Western European ballet theater, in Russia the aesthetic concepts of expressionism, constructivism and abstractionism were the first poetic experiments “with” choreography and “in” choreography, which received reinterpretation not only at the level of off-dance plans and free formative laws of movement, but also at the level of artistic coordinates of space and the semantics of academic ballet art. The paper aims to substantiate the position that after the era of romantic ballets by Marius Ivanovich Petipa (1818-1910), a milestone of the choreographic system begins in Russia, associated with the tasks of rethinking the language of theatrical dance, its architectonic structures (scenic and bodily), as well as the essential characteristics of the content and form of the ballet text. The study is novel in that it develops the following hypothesis: the architectonic space of the stage and architectonic bodily forms become figuratively and expressively evidence-based. The connection between the lexical potential and the creation of tectonic tasks in the system of academic movement is revealed, the verbal, temporal and visual continuum of space is correlated. As a result, the paper systematizes European and Asian theatrical traditions in the study of artistic and physiological processes of movement in order to determine the specifics of the architectonic bodily structures of the period under consideration.

Dynamic antennal positioning allows honeybee followers to decode the dance

The honeybee waggle dance has been widely studied as a communication system, yet we know little about how nestmates assimilate the information needed to navigate toward the signaled resource. They are required to detect the dancer's orientation relative to gravity and duration of the waggle phase and translate this into a flight vector with a direction relative to the sun1 and distance from the hive.2,3 Moreover, they appear capable of doing so from varied, dynamically changing positions around the dancer. Using high-speed, high-resolution video, we have uncovered a previously unremarked correlation between antennal position and the relative body axes of dancer and follower bees. Combined with new information about antennal inputs4,5 and spatial encoding in the insect central complex,6,7 we show how a neural circuit first proposed to underlie path integration could be adapted to decoding the dance and acquiring the signaled information as a flight vector that can be followed to the resource. This provides the first plausible account of how the bee brain could support the interpretation of its dance language.

Feeling safe together vs. longing for touch. Affective, multisensorial contact in inclusive intra-active virtual/physical dance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article explores how feelings of safety were experienced through inclusive virtual/physical dance in relation to experiences of touch during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. The following are the measures I took to achieve the aim of this study. First, I introduce the context through previous studies and an example from the ethnographic material I gained from the inclusive X-Dance festival organized in June 2021 in Finland. Second, I explore how inclusive virtual/physical dance might help us experience feelings of safety through multisensorial experiences of touch related to communality when responding to wellbeing challenges caused by isolation. Using Laura U. Mark's theory about haptic looking and Karen Barad's term intra-action, I discuss different possibilities to approach touch as a feeling sense, as affective multisensorial contact, and through relations between different materialities. Third, I contrast these ideas with sensations of longing for the physical touch that virtual/physical dancing evokes. These experiences of longing invite me to reflect on the ambivalence about feelings of safety related to intentions to restore experiences of touch and communality through digitality. I introduce two examples from my interviews with dancers during the pandemic to discuss these ambivalences. I reflect on these interviews through Magdalena Górska's theory about corpo-materiality and corpo-affectivity. I contribute to discussions on feelings of safety by showing that multi-sensorial experiences and anti-normative understandings of body and touch enabled by the non-verbal language of dance may help us to contribute toward more inclusiveness in society, allowing us to generate holistic experiences of safety, which is another critical aim for post-pandemic times.

¿Retorno al espectáculo? Anotaciones sobre el proceso de cambio en la “danza mexicana”: el caso de la Escuela Nacional de Danza, 1932-1947

Much of the historiography of dance in Mexico has pointed out that the dance production of the Escuela de Danza (ED), attached to the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), lost relevance in the face of the onslaught of new cultural projects privileged by the Mexican state since the late 1930s, all aimed at building "Mexican dance" in artistic terms. The aim of this article is to propose an initial approach to the dynamics of the scenic creation of the DE -the Escuela Nacional de Danza (END) since 1938- in terms of the dance of the spectacle. This perspective can open new questions to deepen the study of this institution and contribute to the analysis of the field of dance in Mexico. First, I offer some important notes on "Mexican dance" and the dance of the spectacle in Mexico. Next, I address the case of the ED, from its foundation in 1932 until 1947, the year in which the Academia de la Danza Mexicana (ADM) was created, replacing it as the leading institution in the creation of the national dance language. At this point, I point out elements that allow me to propose the process of returning to the logic of the spectacle, from the incorporation of its production into the tourism promotion plan of the government of Manuel Avila Camacho.

DANCE AS MIRROR OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE: A PEEK INTO MANIPURI PERFORMANCE HISTORY

The paper attempts to highlight significant moments in the history of Manipuri dance and their implications on the dynamics of social and cultural developments of the time. The dancing body is now no longer a simple reproduction of historically created style of human movement that seem to continue forever as symbol of people’s tradition and culture. The dancer’s body is now read as sign, as discourse, as platform for human experience and the structure and formulations of movements in time in the body do inform particular thoughts, ideas, emotions and affects that were involved in the creation of a language of dance. By analyzing the kind of dance produced in creative people’s history, we shall be able to provide hints on the structure of power, knowledge and the world views of the society of the times. No doubt technology, utilization of resources, spiritual and religious influences and power exercise do impact on social and cultural change. But the kind of dance style also do inform on the very nature of the creative inputs of society that had been necessitated in the production of the dance. Reading dance can also be as pleasurable as reading literature.We shall study the pre – Haraoba, the Lai Haraoba dance and its transformation into the 18 th century classical dance of the Raas Leela during the conversion of the Manipuris into Hinduism. The introduction of colonial money economy and structural changes in the society and culture and its impact on dance shall be explored. Globalization and its impact on dance traditions shall also be indicated. As we go deeper into the semantic field in the structure and form of dance, operas and performance in different stages of history, we are able to discover the manifold transformation in the realm of peoples’ and rulers’ ideas on life, relationships and processes in response to the challenges of the time. The challenges no doubt come sometimes from outside of the realm in which the people thrive. Foreign conquests and introduction of new ways of life and action also impinges on the traditional equilibrium in society. There are times of turmoil and unease. Livelihood and art are in moments of crisis. But the response to the crises is unique, as the culture of the time indicates the resilience of that society in culture. Manipuri dance history relates this experience.

THE SPECIFICS OF THE ARTISTIC IMAGERY OF DANCING IN CHOREOGRAPHIC ART

The folk stage dance within the framework of choreographic education stands out as one of the most crucial and foundational components of training, alongside classical, duet, historical, everyday, and modern dance disciplines. Beyond being solely an academic subject, folk stage dance embodies a living tradition of stage interpretations of dances from diverse cultures. This facet of choreographic art encompasses a myriad of artistic and pedagogical techniques, manners, and dance styles. Consequently, the cultivation of folk stage dance emerges as one of the most intricate and multifaceted tasks confronting aspiring performers and choreographers. The enduring beauty and cultural significance of this discipline render folk stage dance a perennial focal point in the realm of choreographic education in Kazakhstan. In the contemporary landscape of domestic education, the imperative to enhance the organizational and pedagogical conditions for teaching folk stage dance introduces new challenges to the educational sector. Given the nature of choreographic activity, artistry, and creativity in dance, maintaining professional consistency becomes paramount. The qualitative selection of students becomes indispensable, fostering the cultivation of a genuine vocation for choreography. Essential characteristics such as artistic skill, professionalism, expressiveness, and acting prowess have consistently been demanded from ballet dancers, constituting prerequisites that must be fully nurtured within choreographic schools. In optimal organizational and pedagogical environments, these qualities should be thoroughly developed. The specificity of choreographic imagery lies in the utilization of a system of expressive means, uniquely refracted in the plastic language of dance at every stage of cultural and historical development. Plasticity serves as the primary means of expression when crafting a choreographic image

Teaching Hispanic Culture, Diversity, and Tolerance through Hispanic Dances and Music: Two Approaches for Flamenco & Caribbean Dances

A Sociology Approach: Dance can be a useful tool for teaching students about culture and community. Through the language of Dance and Music (Caribbean Dance), context is given to social facts, which engages and informs students about such social issues as history, Colonialism, social class, gender, race/ethnicity, and social justice. The added bonus of using Dance as a lens is that it involves active, embodied learning (Dewey, English, Mead), making the material more memorable, meaningful, and relevant to the learner. A Communicative Approach (Task-based Learning Activity) \& Language for Specific Purposes: Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is a derivative of the Communicative Approach (CA) and Second language Acquisition (SLA) studies. Certain types of communicative learning activities can lead to acquisition of language (Abdel Kazeroni, Aquilino Sanchez, Margaret Robertson, Yiqng Lin). When teaching a Hispanic Dance Session using specific Spanish vocabulary of the dance to address certain dance movements (like Flamenco dance), we engage language learners in acquiring Spanish parts of language related to the flamenco dance. We also immerse learners in the culture of flamenco dance, and its rich cultural context, so they can learn about the social context, gender issues, the different meanings of the dance movements, the metaphors, and by extension they will learn about diversity, tolerance, inclusion, and respect for another culture through dance and music (Language for Specific Purposes: Angela N. Gardner, Howard Gardner, Victoria Escaip). A Sociology Approach: Dance can be a useful tool for teaching students about culture and community. Through the language of Dance and Music (Caribbean Dance), context is given to social facts, which engages and informs students about such social issues as history, Colonialism, social class, gender, race/ethnicity, and social justice. The added bonus of using Dance as a lens is that it involves active, embodied learning (Dewey, English, Mead), making the material more memorable, meaningful, and relevant to the learner. A Communicative Approach (Task-based Learning Activity) \& Language for Specific Purposes: Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is a derivative of the Communicative Approach (CA) and Second language Acquisition (SLA) studies. Certain types of communicative learning activities can lead to acquisition of language (Abdel Kazeroni, Aquilino Sanchez, Margaret Robertson, Yiqng Lin). When teaching a Hispanic Dance Session using specific Spanish vocabulary of the dance to address certain dance movements (like Flamenco dance), we engage language learners in acquiring Spanish parts of language related to the flamenco dance. We also immerse learners in the culture of flamenco dance, and its rich cultural context, so they can learn about the social context, gender issues, the different meanings of the dance movements, the metaphors, and by extension they will learn about diversity, tolerance, inclusion, and respect for another culture through dance and music (Language for Specific Purposes: Angela N. Gardner, Howard Gardner, Victoria Escaip).

Культурно-исторический подход к танцевальному творчеству дошкольников: проблемы и решения

<p>The problems of the theory of dance creativity of preschoolers are analyzed from the standpoint of a cultural and historical approach. As methodological support for the analysis, we used the views of L.S. Vygotsky and his followers on children's artistic creativity, on the nature of dance and dance expressiveness, on the peculiarities of music in dance. Based on this, we analyzed three theoretical approaches to the development of dance creativity of preschoolers, and described their differences and partial mutual influences. The system of provisions of cultural and historical psychology as a methodological basis indicates ways to solve the problems of the theory of dance creativity of preschoolers, which should be figurative and meaningful, thanks to the development of the expressive language of dance, reflecting the features of the musical image and real events, relationships, experiences through the embodiment of different characters.</p>

Seeking Critical Frameworks for Global Majority Theatre

Abstract: The essay advocates for expanding theater studies publications to more effectively engage with global majority epistemologies as core methodologies for analyzing theatrical phenomena. Academic theatre classes often incorporate performance studies paradigms, but most theater programs remain centered around practice-based exercises for acting, directing, designing, and producing Eurocentric theater. Global majority ways of telling stories are either not taught to students or are integrated into curricula in carefully measured doses as alternative approaches to art-making. This essay encourages twenty-first century scholars to more astutely respond to cultural productions based upon vernacular and indigenous ways of theatrical storytelling, arguing that a significant step would be to incorporate more indigenous languages, and perhaps have the journal publish in multiple languages (with translation) to expand the readership. However, even foregrounding text-based performance may be limiting. Many of the aesthetics that underly arts production in global majority cultures are constituted outside of text-based paradigms; they use symbol, myth, sound, gesture, dance language, and music as poetic containers for delivering their messages. They also build from local epistemologies connected to spirituality, religion, or alternative beliefs about the rationale and intention of performance. This essay calls for more time and space devoted to critical analysis of theatre created and performed outside of standard theatre venues, as well as a more nuanced discussion of complex ecosystems that support artistic innovation.

Interpretation of Spanish Dance in Antonio Gades’s Stage Choreography

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the interpretation of Spanish dance in the choreographic productions by A. Gades. The research methodology. A set of methods typical for art analysis is applied. To study the peculiarities of the interpretation of Spanish dance in the choreographic productions by A. Gades, the problem-logical and general scientific method of modeling is applied, as well as the iconological method, that enabled a formal analysis and determination of symbolic meanings by revealing the national and cultural roots of the dance. Scientific novelty. The production activity of the leading Spanish choreographer Antonio Gades is studied; the peculiarities of the interpretation of Spanish dance in the process of working on stage productions are considered. For the first time in domestic art history, the choreographic performances by A. Hades «Blood Wedding, or Bodas de Sangre» («Blood Wedding, or Bodas de Sangre», 1974), «Flamenco Suite» («Flamenco Suite», 1989), «Fuenteovejuna» («Fuenteovejuna», 1994) are analysed. Conclusions. The study of the productions by A. Hades revealed a peculiar choreographic handwriting, the originality of the choreographer's decision and the individuality of plastic interpretations of Spanish dances. In the process of creating choreographic productions full of conceptual unity and depth, the master positions Spanish dance as a universal style with huge expressive possibilities, which allows him to non-verbally represent classic works of European literature in different parts of the world, in particular «Bloody Wedding» by F. García Lorca, «Fuenteovejuna» by Lope de Vega, «Carmen» and others. According to A. Hades, any work of art can be understood only in the unity of its content, means of artistic expression and cultural reminiscences (memory, echo, echo, which lead to comparison with something), which provide a kind of "connection of times" in the mind the viewer. The choreographer demonstrates this approach in the process of translating famous Spanish literary and dramatic works into the language of dance, turning to national dances, in particular the Pasodoble ballroom dance, Spanish folk dances Bolero, Cachucha, Muneira, Segidilla, Sarabanda, Sardana, Fandango, as well as dances in the southern Spanish Flamenco style.
 Key words: Spanish dance, dance interpretation, flamenco, Antonio Gades, stage choreography, choreographic productions.

Танец и личность

The article is devoted to the problem of personal involvement in dance activity. The author applies an interdisciplinary research methodology: on the one hand, a semiotic analysis of the dance language is carried out and the features of the dance sign are considered, on the other hand, a psychological description of the dancer’s personality is given, a psychological portrait is created. According to the methodology of the cultural-historical approach, the sign is taken in its instrumental function and orientation. The author puts forward a hypothesis about the dual orientation of the dance movement as an expressive language: orientation on the viewer as a visual component of the sign and on the dancer himself through the kinesthetic component. The material of dance as a type of artistic activity is the body of the dancer, which undergoes reinterpretation and symbolization. Not only the body, but also the whole personality can become the material of dance, it can be included and transformed in the course of the dance activity. The bi-directionality of the dance sign can lead to a discrepancy, a rupture of the function of the dance movement, which is expressed in an object relation to one’s own body, in strict control of movements and the non-involvement of the emotional and sensual sphere of the individual in the dance activity. Stage forms of dance contribute more to this discrepancy, developing mainly motor technique in isolation from the semantic side of movement and focusing on the visual expressiveness of dance. On the other hand, ceremonial, sacred, ritual dances, many forms of modern free dance contribute to the integral inclusion of a person in the dance and are aimed at transforming the personality in plastic action. On the basis of biographical material, the destinies of outstanding dancers and dance teachers are analyzed. It is shown how an object attitude to one’s own body and one’s own personality can lead to an internal split and loss of subjectivity. A contradiction may arise between a person’s experience in dance and her/his behavior in real life. It is removed under the condition that a person carries out a transformative activity – work on himself/herself.

Representing National Culture on the Dance Stage: A Chapter from the History of Hungarian Ballet between the Two World Wars

In the case of a mixture of dance languages, especially in dance productions that are the result of a conscious creative process, the interpretation of the symbolic content and message of the dance language elements becomes important. It is in this context that the dance art endeavours of the 19th and 20th centuries in Hungary can be examined, which aimed at staging folk dance culture on the one hand, and at developing a modern language of dance art by using folk dance culture as a source of inspiration on the other. The underlying motivations behind these dance art endeavours could be different, as they could be born in the spirit of modernism or traditionalism, or they could be the manifestation of political-social artistic aspirations, or the two different motivations could overlap. Taking these aspects into account, my study seeks to answer the question of why and how the need for a stage work to function as a national representation of Hungarianness emerged in the history of Hungarian ballet.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ СМЫСЛООБРАЗОВАНИЯ В РУССКОМ НАРОДНОМ ТАНЦЕ

The article analyzes the semantic nature of dance. The purpose of this study is to identify the symbolic and semantic nature of the Russian folk dance and to trace the process of the formation of the dance language by analyzing its main compositional forms and movements. The most frequently occurring and manifesting phenomena — animate and inanimate nature, activities and events in the life of the people — were symbolized in the dance. The author relies on the works of such scientists as Yu. M. Lotman, E. Ya. Basin and others. Lotman's structuralsemiotic concept of cultural being allows to consider the Russian folk dance as an artistic text. As a result of the study the interrelation of the dance constituent elements as a sign system was revealed, and the need to preserve the dance semantic load was substantiated in order to keep the traditions of the Russian folk dance. The text of a choreographic work is defined as containing a certain meaning and conveying the traditions of the Russian people, their character, temperament, worldview, lifestyle and social system. The meanings of the Russian folk dance are expressed in dance images, compositional forms and movements, which form a special type of artistic language — the language of dance.

Можно ли станцевать журналистику? Из истории британского балета XIX века

In 1898 the ballet titled The Press was staged at the Empire Theatre in London. Choreographer and producer Katti Lanner, composer Leopold Wenzel and costume designer C. Wilhelm made a nontrivial attempt to transfer the sphere of journalism into the space of dance. Austrian dancer, pedagogue and choreographer Katti Lanner went down in the history of ballet theatre not only as the first woman who made a career as a choreographer but as the inventor of a new genre — the ‘entertaining revue’. The choreographer’s productions were often based on modern plots. Besides the ballet The Press, Lanner’s artistic output included such ballets as The Sports of England, The Paris Exhibition and others. The music director of the Empire Theatre, Italian composer Leopold Wenzel was Lanner’s collaborator in a number of her productions. Wenzel was the composer of art songs, orchestral works, operas and music for ballet. Scenographer C. Wilhelm, who supplements this triumvirate, was one of the most successful and prolific theatre designers of that time. At the same time, most information about the creators and the production of the ballet The Press is almost absent in academic scholarly literature. This article examines the features of scenography and music of the ballet, its place and role in the history of the ballet theatre of Great Britain in the 19th century. The attempt is made to reconstruct some of the elements of the ballet. Of no small importance is the inverse response – critical materials of the main “protagonists” of the ballet on the pages of British newspapers from 1898 from archival sources, as well as rare pictures. The question of whether or not it is possible to recount about journalism in the language of dance is one of the most crucial questions raised in the article.

Восток — Запад. Взаимодействие разнонаправленных художественных систем в бурятском балетном театре

The article is devoted to the interaction between different art systems in modern choreographic art. This allows the academic troupe to reveal their artistic potential in the context of current trends in ballet aesthetics. The article also deals with the problem of mastering a new dance language, using the techniques of contemporary dance and, in particular, dance improvisation in the course of interaction between the national theatre and foreign choreographers. In Buryat theatre such experiments are associated with the names of Peter Quanz and Tamas Geza Moritz. The result of their work with the Buryat troupe was the ballet performances, In tandem, Souvenir du Bach, Dzambuling and Equivalence to the pointe. Choreographers tried to combine the bodies of dancers with academic skills with the basics of modern choreography, to immerse them in the unknown, and to create an opportunity for the actors themselves to see other ways of dance. At the same time, the choreographers P. Quanz and T. G. Moritz, that we invited to work in Buryatia, took into account the national culture and traditions of Buryat people, dealing with a choreographic environment which was unfamiliar to them. It was not a mechanical transfer of all their skills to the dancers, but a research adaptation of modern dance language to a culture that used another one. That’s why their work is so significant.