Dance Studies Research Articles

A Javanese Dance is A Representation of Rasa in Javanese Culture

This paper presents the concept of rasa in Javanese culture embodied in Javanese dance. The ethnographic approach in the Ethnochoreology discipline used as a step in data collection was in-depth interviews with actors (dancers, choreographers) in a society with a Javanese cultural scope. The observation step in the data collection effort was carried out using the involved observation model or participant observer, completed by data collection through literature and relevant documents. The theoretical perspective and concept used as the basis for thinking in discussing the case study of the Ela-ela dance in this paper is the concept of rasa, as put forward by Paul Stange. Namely, that rasa is a "tool" or "means" of perception, or a "function" of "whisper of heart or intuition", and rasa in Javanese dance as expressed by Katarina Indah Sulastuti, that rasa in Javanese dance is an element that is integrated with the senses in the body in a comprehensive manner which involves: the sensibility of heart vibrations, sharpness of intuition, imagination, bodily intelligence, and understanding of Javanese culture. Javanese dance, in the example of the case study, the Bedhaya Ela-ela dance is a representation of the rasa in Javanese culture, namely that the Bedhaya Ela-ela dance is a form of dance that substantially depicts the life of the Javanese people and the culture of rasa which involves issues of ethics, aesthetics, and religion in Javanese culture.

Effect of adapted dance program on gait in adults with cerebral palsy: a pilot study.

The gait function in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) deteriorates rapidly with age. Dance has been used as an effective intervention to improve balance, postural control, and gait. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and effects of an adapted dance program (ADP) on the gait in adults with CP. The ADP, which consists of floor and barre workouts, was designed to be adapted for individuals with CP. Ten female adults with spastic diplegic CP (mean age 52.3 ± 6.34, Gross Motor Function Classification System level II) participated in this study. Outcome measures, examined using 3D gait analysis, included spatiotemporal gait parameters and the Gait Deviation Index (GDI) based on nine kinematic variables in all planes of motion. To assess feasibility, we conducted post-questionnaires and a group interview. The ADP, each lasting 90 min, was held twice per week for 12 weeks. A statistically significant improvement was observed in GDI (Δ5.74 points, p = 0.014), with a large effect size (d = 0.76). Foot off (Δ-0.72%), first double support (Δ-0.2%), second double support (Δ1.5%), and single support (Δ0.64%) showed no significant differences. Step length (Δ1.48 cm), cadence (Δ3.95 steps/min), and walking speed (Δ6.41 cm/s) tended to increase, though the differences were not statistically significant. Participants expressed high levels of physical and emotional satisfaction, suggesting a need for early intervention. The ADP may improve gait patterns in adults with spastic diplegic CP. The feasibility results indicated that the ADP is suitable for adults with spastic diplegic CP. This study provides evidence for improvement in gait patterns through dance, which has not been reported in previous dance studies on individuals with CP, offering additional information on the benefits of dance.

A Studying the Music, Dance, and Performance Styles in Shi Jing-Feng

Background and Aim: Shi jing, the earliest collection of poetry in ancient China, collects 305 poems from the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Chun qiu Period(11th century B.C.E.-6th century B.C.E.), and is divided into three parts, namely, the Feng, the Ya, and the Song. This paper can actively explore the types of dances and performance forms unique to the Shi jing-Feng from the literature, expanding the ideas for the theoretical study of ancient music and dance, which is of great social significance and artistic value. Materials and Methods: This paper uses the documentary research method to discover textual records on the types of music dance and performance forms of the fifteen vassal states. A case study method is used to select representative chapters from the five types of music and dance for specific analyses. The main informants of this paper are divided into three groups: experts on the Shi jing, researchers from museums and cultural centers, and performers of ancient music and dance. The validity of the collected data was tested using mathematical statistics. Results: A study of the Shi jing - Feng concept, its composition and contents, and the characteristics of its language and methods of expression. From 160 poems, 17 poems with music and dance records are selected and analyzed in terms of the types of music and dance as well as the forms of performance. Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, the concept of "Shi jing-Feng", the three accounts of the process of its formation, and its specific characteristics are clarified. Five types of music and dance are derived from the text, namely, the witch dance, the ten thousand dance, the shooting and hunting dance, the collective song and dance, and the banquet and drinking music and dance, and it is summarized that the Chinese pre-Qin music and dance adopt the integrated performance form of poetry, music, and dance in a trinity.

Keeping It Loose: Promoting Physical Literacy in Schoolyards Through Landscape Design and Movement Provocations

In this essay, Lisa Sandlos and Rennie Tang investigate the potential for movement to play a more significant role in schoolyard design processes to enhance the physical literacy of middle school youth. This research responds to a need for prioritizing physical literacy for historically marginalized youth whose movement needs are often different from what is currently provided by athletics- focused school programming. The study draws on urban design theory, an ecological approach to psychology, movement/ dance studies research theory, and creativity studies to explore landscape design strategies that have the potential to cultivate a more robust culture of physical literacy in schoolyards.

Can the Structuralist Subject Dance? Trisha Brown, Gilles Deleuze, and the Performative Structure-Object

This article argues that a series of dances made by choreographer and dancer Trisha Brown between 1971 and 1975 using accumulation can be understood as performative structure-objects. This is a form of art that paved the way for two current tendencies in art and dance: the generalization of dance into art and the development of the role of the dancer as artist. The concept of the performative structure-object unfolds in the article through a close analysis of Brown’s dances in dialogue with the concept of structure found in Gilles Deleuze’s essay “How Do We Recognize Structuralism?” (1967). His article emphasizes a concept of structure understood as both subject and object, as well as a site of practice. While research has been undertaken in dance studies on Brown and the importance of structures in her work, this article expands this research by reconstructing a philosophical concept of structure in her work that has not yet been explored.

Moving Towards a Medicine of Dance: A Scoping Review of Characteristics of Dance Interventions Targeting Older Adults and a Theoretical Framework.

Dance combines cultural and aesthetic elements with behaviors important for brain health, including physical activity, social engagement, and cognitive challenge. Therefore, dance could positively impact public health given the rapidly aging population, increasing incidence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and lack of uptake of exercise in many older adults. Despite a high volume of literature, existing literature does not support evidence-based guidelines for dance to support healthy aging. To conduct a scoping review of the dance intervention literature in older adults and provide information to facilitate a more consistent approach among scientists in designing dance interventions for older adults that stimulate physical and neurocognitive health adaptations. Study characteristics (sample size, population, study design, outcomes, intervention details) were ascertained from 112 separate studies of dance reported in 127 papers that reported outcomes important for brain health (cardiorespiratory fitness, balance and mobility, cognition, mood, and quality of life). High heterogeneity across studies was evident. Class frequency ranged from < 1 to 5 classes per week, class length from 30-120 minutes, and intervention duration from 2 weeks to 18 months. Studies often did not randomize participants, had small (< 30) sample sizes, and used varied comparator conditions. Over 50 tests of cognition, 40 dance forms, and 30 tests of mobility were identified. Based on these results, important future directions are establishing common data elements, developing intervention mapping and mechanistic modeling, and testing dosing parameters to strengthen and focus trial design of future studies and generate evidence-based guidelines for dance.

교방문화의 형성과 문화적 의미

In Korea’s traditional culture, art culture related to Gyobang remains rich and diverse and has been handed down. Jeongjae (呈才), a comprehensive art that combines music and dance, was performed by Gisaengs belonging to Jangakwon or Gyobang, and many traditional songs, including Gagokchang (Sijo) in classical 典 poetry 歌, were also performed mainly by Gisaeng’s singing (歌唱). We have the results of the creation of female Gisaengs and musicians, who were in charge of art from the Gyobang of the Goryeo Dynasty to the modern Kwonbeon. In this way, it is ‘Gyobang culture’ that preserves its value and historicity by accumulating such knowledge and information through Gyobang. Until now, the sijo and lyrics in the Gyobang space have been approached by dividing them into Korean literature, dance and Jeongjae (呈才) into dance studies, vulgar music into music studies, and other folklore. Therefore, a more comprehensive and three-dimensional approach to Gyobang culture is now needed. In this respect, it is necessary to avoid the simple interpretation of the past and think about the Gyobang culture from a more three-dimensional and comprehensive aspect. The strong vitality and continuity of Gyobang culture is difficult to explain simply by the succession discourse of the conscious and intentional cultural delivery system. The possibility that certain cultural elements are inherent in it cannot be excluded. The reason Gyobang culture can maintain its name for a long time is that it has its own unique discriminatory specificity. Gyobang culture has the basis and convergence aspects of realization and modernity of aesthetic consciousness, self-realization and modernity through artistic achievement, discovery of original stories. In addition, cultures tend to be enjoyed differently depending on the subject in charge of culture. The core cultural codes of the time were hidden in Gyobang culture, and by flexibly reading the trends of the times, they transformed, imitated, changed, and developed within them. This provides a clue to further materialize the diversity of Gyobang culture. Gyobang culture must now be reborn as familiar content that the times can sympathize with and communicate with.

Beginnings and endings—dance phrase edges in an interactive dance study

AbstractThis article describes a study exploring the expressive and creative potential of dance phrase onsets and endings in interactive dance, using an artistic research approach. After describing the context and background of interactive dance and relevant perceptual issues, the technical setup is presented, both in terms of the performance area, sensors and other hardware, and software. The main part of the article is concerned with the specific movement-sound mappings and their relation to the dancer’s movement choices in four different sections in the performance that the project resulted in, entitled Beginnings and Endings - Study I. Subsequently, the process and performance are evaluated, specifically focusing on the performer’s perspective. The most interesting points from the evaluation are then discussed with reference to the presented mappings, related movement choices, and relevant research literature. Findings include that the dancer experienced an increased awareness of beginnings and endings in different sections of the performance, that the affordances of different mappings were explored in different ways and to different degrees, and that some of this could be ascribed to a dynamic between liberation and restriction.

Tradition and Modernization of Thai Music and Dance Art

Thailand, as one of the important representatives of Southeast Asian culture, has a long history of music and dance art. It integrates various cultural elements such as Thai, Chinese, and Indian, forming a unique and diverse artistic style. With the development of society and the exchange of culture, Thai music and dance constantly evolve between tradition and modernity, showing rich artistic charm. This paper aims to explore the significance of Thai music and dance in cultural inheritance, artistic innovation, and international exchange through the study of Thai music and dance.

Exposing Uganda’s Cultural Mosaic: An examination of the Endingidi’s origins, educational and aesthetic dimensions

The field of music analysis has experienced significant growth, encompassing diverse aspects such as corporal movements in instrumental performance, dance studies, and cognition-centric methodologies. This paper provides a historical overview of the endingidi, a traditional tube-fiddle, within a broader context. It examines the materials used in constructing the endingidi as well as the challenges encountered in this process. Additionally, the paper explores the performative expressive elements of the endingidi, including accompanying gestures. Despite the enduring presence of the endingidi as a timeless traditional instrument, there remains a notable gap in comprehensive studies that unravel its intricate cultural significance, an oversight this investigation conscientiously seeks to address. The study identifies challenges in material sourcing for the endingidi due to scarcity and environmental degradation. Proposed interventions include afforestation, alternative materials, government support, and community engagement. Emphasizing sustainable practices and responsible harvesting, it urges government leadership, documentation of techniques, and community support for artisans. Linking to broader music education challenges, it advocates for government resource allocation. Providing a nuanced understanding of the endingidi, it underscores multidimensional approaches to safeguarding it as part of Ugandan cultural heritage, highlighting the importance of sustainability, research, government, and community involvement in preservation efforts.

Dancing Bodies in Zadie Smith's Swing Time

Abstract: This essay reads Zadie Smith's Swing Time (2016) as generating innovative and insightful conversations between literary criticism and dance studies. Smith's novel explores the onstage and offstage performative experiences and challenges of hybridized bodies and hyphenated identities in a transcontinental context. The novel sets up an interactive dancefloor for its leading characters—the unnamed female narrator and her childhood friend Tracey—both of whom are biracial and live in the working-class neighborhoods of Northwest London. Drawing from cultural studies and dance theories, this essay considers the narrator's and Tracey's practices and experiences of dance to discuss the swinging connections and disconnections between selves, bodies, and cultures carried through the protagonists' challenged expressions of agency and mobility in glocal and transnational contexts.

선상기 최순이의 진주검무 계승과 국가무형유산 지정

The purpose of this study is to examine the background and changes in the designation of the national intangible heritage of the sword dance passed down through Choi Soon-i in the selecting period. The sword dance is the oldest traditional dance in Korea, and the only sword dance designated as a national intangible heritage is ‘Jinju sword dance’. Choi Soon-yi’s existence in the study of the Jinju sword dance is hardly highlighted. Although the sword dance was handed down in the Jinju area, Choi Soon-yi played a decisive role in the designation of the national intangible heritage of ‘Jinju sword dance’.&#x0D; Choi Soon-yi was selected as a shipbuilder for the royal retreat in the early 1900s, danced, and returned to Jinju to teach sword dance until 1969.&#x0D; According to the Intangible Cultural Property Investigation Report, the sword dance demonstrated by Choi Soon-yi retained the original form of the court sword dance. Through Choi Soon-yi, the sword dance of the court and the sword dance of the Jinju Gyobang were influenced by each other.&#x0D; Starting with Choi Soon-yi, the sword dance of the late Joseon Dynasty and the sword dance designated as an intangible heritage differ in form and content. The sword dance, which was performed by four people until the late Joseon Dynasty and the 1930s, was also fixed with the number of eight in the process of designating intangible cultural properties. The shape of the Jinju sword dance knife was a form in which the neck and blade were rotated without being fixed when it was designated as an intangible cultural property. Around 1901, it was improved to a form in which the sword was turned nationwide. In other words, all the swords of sword dance used by Choi Soon-yi in the Jinju Gyobang and court were straight blades, and a temporarily improved knife was used for Japanese colonial era.&#x0D; In the late Joseon Dynasty, Jinju’s sword dance did not wear Hansam. However, after 1930, Hansamsawi was added and designated as an intangible cultural property. At that time, the popular event among Kwon Bun’s dances was Geommu. Choi Soon-yi combined and developed the elements of court dance and the part passed down from Gyobang to form a perfect dance.

A Study of Dance Teaching from a Psychosomatic Perspective

A Study of Dance Teaching from a Psychosomatic Perspective

Texts, Bodies, Images, Movement

Abstract The international symposium Imprints of Ancient Greek and Roman Dance: Texts, Bodies, Images, Movement took place in Madrid in September 2022. As the final component of a research project funded by the Spanish Society of Classical Studies and the BBVA Foundation, this event aimed to scrutinize a series of concepts that have proven significant to the transhistorical and transcultural study of dance. The eight scholars tasked with examining these concepts presented interesting case studies of ancient Greek and Roman dancing between the Archaic period and late Antiquity, drawing upon a variety of media and sources.

Cultural Dances as Performative Arts: A Study of the Cultural Dances Associated with the Newar Community

This paper attempts to analyze the cultural dances associated with the Newar community of Baglung Municipality as performative art from the perspective of Performance Studies theory. An effort is made to clarify the historical context of the dances and their present conditions with the problems and possibilities. Our discussion aims to bring to light the glorious history of the cultural dances and the great possibility to develop the cultural identity of the Newar community of Baglung. Similarly, these dances can be discussed and exposed in the world of academia as performative arts. This study reveals that these dances are facing so many problems at present. They are being victims of the western influence in our culture. These problems can be solved only with the united effort of the local government and the local people. If managed properly, they can function as means of promoting tourism in Baglung. This research work uses mixed method and the critical ideas of Performance Study theorists like Richard Schechner for analyzing the dances as performative arts.

Exploration on the Curriculum Construction of Dance Studies in the Digital Era

With the advent of the digital era, various means such as virtual reality, online remote teaching, and online learning platforms have enriched the content and methods of dance education and teaching classrooms. This is conducive to the cultivation of high-quality dance talents in the new era and brings new opportunities for dance education and teaching in vocational high schools in China. However, at the same time, the arrival of digitization has also brought challenges to the development of dance courses. Based on this, this paper explores the problems in the construction of dance courses in vocational high schools in China in the digital era, and seeks innovative applications of digital technology in the construction of dance teaching courses. It aims to enhance the learning experience of dance majors in vocational high schools in China and improve the effectiveness of dance classroom teaching.

Cultural Communication through Gambuh Dance : A Historical Performing Art from Bali

One of the most important factors driving artists to engage in the performing arts is the environment: artistic traditions within the family and the local community. In connection to the environment, there are three reasons why artists get involved in the arts: being appointed or requested, sometimes even 'forced' by the community, encouragement or a family calling, and personal willingness. Regarding the life and development of Gambuh and its instruments, it significantly influences other gamelan devices in terms of instrument usage, beat arrangement, song structure, motifs, and the names of some songs for various gamelan devices and specific types of compositions such as Semar Pegulingan, Pelegongan, Bebarongan, Joged Pingitan, Gong Gede, and Kebyar. In this study, a semiotic approach is used to analyze the elements of Gambuh Bali dance and reveal the messages contained within. First and foremost, in the semiotic study of Gambuh Bali, body movements become the primary focus. These movements can be seen as visual signs that carry implied meanings. Through the analysis of movements, messages related to character, emotions, and narratives in the dance can be uncovered. In the semiotic study of Gambuh Bali dance, the singing or chanting performed by the dancers can also be an object of analysis. Chants in Gambuh Bali dance play a crucial role in conveying cultural messages and expressing emotional nuances in the dance. By employing a semiotic approach, theoretical studies of Gambuh Bali dance can provide richer insights into the symbolism, cultural meanings, and messages embedded in this dance.

This Ass is Magic: The Black Feminist Power of Twerking

Using discourse analysis and autoethnographic research, I center twerking as a Black dance and a Black feminist practice. My research challenges omissions in communication studies, which has tended to overlook embodied practices as paths to liberation and contributes to scholarship in dance studies that amplifies the significance of Black women and ratchet feminism. Inquiries propelling this research are: (1) what does it mean for Black women to express physical joy through twerking?; (2) how do women resist politics of respectability and embody worthiness through twerking? By analyzing both the affordances of twerking and the ways the dancing has been dismissed, I reveal interlocking systems of white supremacist and patriarchal exclusions that attempt to destroy Black women’s pleasure and power.

Dancing with pain: agency through pain worlds

ABSTRACT This article examines a series of qualitative interviews with seven dance artists in the UK who make dance works with and about their own chronic pain. It integrates research from dance studies (on dance and agency) and health-based chronic pain research (on agency with pain) to focus on individual, interpersonal, and environmental dimensions of agency with chronic pain. The research addresses therefore how the dance artists have individually acted as agents by making change in their own self-identities and working lives. Further, it highlights the importance of peers and audiences alongside the environments of performance which enable agency for the artists. Finally, the article proposes that agency is created in performance through the ‘pain worlds’ shared by the dance artists, that give felt and sensorial pathways to understanding aspects of living with pain.

Педагогічні можливості мистецтва хореографії у творчому розвитку підлітків

The article deals with pedagogical methods that ensure the creative development of adolescent students through the art of choreography. The importance of the art of dance in working with a children's choreographic group is determined. The article notes that the modern world is characterised by a focus on digitalisation and automation, but art classes allow you to experience personal emotions, which is important for modern students to feel and understand the beauty of the work done and transform its energy into creative achievements. The main problem of our research is to study the methodological and theoretical system of prominent Ukrainian choreographic teachers and the use of effective methods in the creative activity of future choreographic art specialists. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the pedagogical possibilities of choreographic art in the creative development of adolescent students in the study of classical, folk and contemporary dance. The determining condition for success in creativity is systematic, hard work that requires mobilisation of spiritual forces and maximum concentration. The harmonious combination of dance and pantomime, music and poetry, plasticity of movements and drama of a literary work into a single whole is an important factor for the aesthetic education of the individual, his or her creative development and value attitude to reality. The authors note that in recent years, the relevant disciplines have been increasingly introduced into educational institutions, performing a number of functions, namely: educational, cognitive, creative dialogue and co-creation, which significantly affects adolescents, increases their self-esteem, and promotes the need for self-development. It has been established that the art of dance is an integral part of the culture of the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian choreographic art has its own powerful, original voice in the world of culture and art. The pedagogical innovations of our choreographers are widely known outside Ukraine, and they are known and respected in the world. The article highlights the pedagogical methods successfully used by contemporary teachers Radu Poklitaru, Larysa Tsvetkova and others in their work. These include methods of individual approach to each student, improvisation and experimentation, use of multimedia technologies, trainings, business games, situational tasks, master classes, problem-based learning, and creative forms of work (combinations, sketches). The experience of well-known teachers has shown that the art of choreography opens up a wide scope for the development of the creative potential of the individual, allows to introduce creative elements into dance education and upbringing along with performance practice.