Dance Theory
An Introduction to the
Fundamentals
A Little To Think About Dance
 Dance,
or movement, is a natural
activity that becomes an artistic
expression when structured and
formed by the elements of dance
design using compositional forms.
Dance as a Form of
Communication

1. How
movement/
mime can be
used to portray
various
characters who
tell a story,
without
speaking.

2. Dance is a
language that you
must understand.
Once learned
students will be
able to speak a
“dance
sentence.”
The Elements of Dance
1. Space



A) Dance must move, the dancer
cannot stay in one spot (direction)
B) Big verses small, how the dancer
can contort the body to make lines
(shape)
C)Movement levels – low (on the
ground), medium (standing), high (up
on toes or jumping)
Space, Cont’d.
Direction – forward, backward,
sideways, up, down, diagonal, in a
circle
 Size – large and small movements
 Pathways – patterns we make as we
move through the air and on the floor.

Even More About Space
Level – the vertical distance from the
floor; low(on the ground), medium
(standing up), high (up on tiptoes or
jumping)
 Shape – the design of the body as it
exists in space

General VS. Kinesphere
Space – The space
shared by all; reaches beyond
personal space.
 Kinesphere – Personal space;
The space reached while
stationary.
 General
More About Kinesphere
 Personal
space is important when
dealing with WHAT type of
movements an individual can do
in their own personal space (your
movement reached while
stationary).
2. Time
 The
dancer cannot dance
everything at once, the movement
must be sequenced.
 Time is the relationship of one
movement or part of a movement
to another.
Time, Cont’d.
 Dancers
can move at different
speeds fast and slow (tempo)
 Dancers count to keep in time
with the music. It is important for
the dancer to stay with the pulse
of the music (beat).
More About Time - Terms
Pulse – The ongoing underlying beat.
 Speed – How fast or slow the
movement is.
 Duration – The length of time the
movement lasts; long, medium, or
short.

Even More About Time???
– Patterns made by
arranging long and short sounds
or strong and light sounds.
 Phrases – Longer sequences of
movement.
 Beat - Steady
 Rhythm
3. Force
 A.
Heavy or light
 B. Sharp or smooth
 *** Different moves require
different amounts of energy!!!
Force, Cont’d.


Tension/relaxation – Tension feels hard
and tight; relaxation feels soft, loose
and floppy.
Flow – bound or free; flow has to do
with the ongoing movement; when
energy is released freely, we describe
the movement as free flow; when the
energy is release in a controlled,
restrained manner, we describe the
movement as bound.
Even More About Force
– Strength(force) or
lightness.
 Weight
Locomotor VS. Non-locomotor
 Locomotor
movements
are
movements
that usually
travel through
space.
 Non-locomotor
movements
are
movements
that stay in one
place.
Locomotor Movements
Walk
 Run
 Hop
 Jump
 Leap
 Skip
 Gallop
 Slide

Non – Locomotor Movements
Bend
 Stretch
 Push/Pull
 Rise/Sink
 Shake
 Swing/Sway
 Twist/Turn

Dance Vocabulary
Dance Vocabulary

In order for one to make a good,
detailed analysis of a performance,
one must understand a dance
vocabulary – basic terminology that
describes the make up of dance and
performances. This is also known as
a movement vocabulary.
Dance Terminology
– Body placement or
posture; proper alignment lessons
body strain and promotes dance
skills.
 Actions – What the body is doing;
this includes locomotor and nonlocomotor skills.
 Alignment
Terminology, Cont’d.
Dance phrase – A logical sequence of
movements with an observable
beginning, middle, and end.
 Dynamics – The dance element
which relates to how a movement is
made.
 For example, time and space are two
elements related to a performance.

Even More Terminology
– Characteristics of a
movement.
 For example, are the movements
small or large? Are they bound or
free? Does the dancer perform at
low, medium, or high levels?
 Qualities
More Terminology???
 In
dealing with dance
performances, one must
understand the relationships of
dance – the body’s position
relative to something or
someone.
Form
 Form
is the structure of dance
compositions.
 For example, how is the dance
composed (locomotor vs. nonlocomotor movements? General
vs. Kinespheric space)?
Dance Composition
Principles of Composition
 Dance
consists of sequences with
a beginning, middle, and an end.
 Dance uses different movement
phrases (brief sequences of
related movements) to show
variations. The following will be
addressed:
Principles, Cont’d.
A – is a one part movement phrase in
a specific tempo.
 AB(Binary Form) – is a two-part
movement phrase with B having a
different tempo.
 ABA(Ternary Form) – is a 3 part
movement phrase with A being
repeated.

Principles, Cont’d.


Call & Response – A dance in which one
person or group moves first, then another
person or group moves in response to
what the first group has done.
When doing call and response, it is
important to pay attention to the leader.
Direction and Choreography
 Direction
is the
coaching/instructing from an
expert in the field. Most ballet
and other modern dance corps’
direction comes from
choreographers (veteran
dancers), as well as dancers.
Choreographer
A
choreographer is a
person who makes up
the moves, positions,
arrangements for a
dance performance.
Learning to Choreograph
 To
be a choreographer you need
to know the various dance steps,
why these were invented and
what effects they can achieve on
the stage.
Learning, Cont’d.
 Choreographers
must also
know how to use the stage
space and must understand
the basic principles of lighting
and design.
Even More Learning

Other important qualities are a good
understanding of music, and plenty of
imagination and original ideas.
Choreographers also need to be able
to work well with lots of different
people and to be patient. It may take
weeks to create a dance.
Origin of Choreography
 The
term comes from two Greek
words, “khoreia” meaning choral
dancing to music, and “graphia”
meaning writing.
 Choreography is one of the most
important aspects of dance.
How Choreography Developed
 Although
people have been
creating dances for thousands of
years, choreography was only
developed as a separate skill in
the early 1900s.
Development, Cont’d.
As modern dance developed,
traditions were overturned and the
process involved in creating a dance
was analyzed much more.
 People realized that choreography
required special skills and was
recognized as an art form.

Steps To Choreography
 Although
choreographers
have an individual way of
working, there is an exact
method to creating a
performance:
Steps to Choreographing a
Performance: Step 1
1. The choreographer decides on a
subject for a dance. This may be
inspired by anything, from a piece of
music to a painting or book, or even a
beautiful building.
 Cats was inspired by one of T.S.
Eliot’s poems.

Step 2
 2.
The choreographer then
chooses dancers to perform the
work by holding auditions.
Sometimes dance is specially
made for a particular dancer.
Step 3
3. The choreographer and dancers
explore the subject for the dance by
having discussions and sometimes
an improvisation session where they
try out ideas.
 Sometimes, they have to go through
training to portray a certain person or
animal.

Step 4
 4.
The choreographer rehearses
the dancers, all the time working
out how the dance should
develop and if it works as a whole
(with the whole dance company).
Step 4, Cont’d.
As each sequence in the dance is
decided, it is written down in dance
notation, or motif symbols, by a
professional notator, or choreologist.
 Understudies, or 2nd strings, are
decided in case someone cannot
perform or an emergency arises.

Even More on Step 4
The choreographer works with the
lighting, set and costume designers,
to produce the stage effects for the
dance.
 For example, the set of Cats was
designed to resemble a junkyard,
where cars and other items are
enlarged to make the dancers (or
cats) appear small and lifelike.

Finally…The Performance
 Eventually
all the different
elements are put together on
stage, and last-minute changes
are made (dress rehearsals).
 The dance is now ready to be
performed to an audience.
Performance, Cont’d.
 This
is the big moment: if
anything goes wrong in the
dance, the choreographer will
probably get the blame!!!!
Other Dance Company Jobs
Artistic Director
 Lighting Tech
 Musician
 Wardrobe Manager & Assistant
 Dancer
 Stage Manager

MORE ABOUT DANCE
Purposes For Dance
 Recreational/Social
 Ceremonial/Ritual
 Artistic
Performance
 Dance Therapy
Historical and Cultural Awareness


There are similarities and differences in
elements and principles of composition
among forms of dance such as folk,
square and line dancing.
Dances of various cultures and
historical periods differ in steps and
movement styles, as well as costumes.
Different Types of Dance
Alvin Ailey

African American Choreographer
whose work is noted for its intense
emotional power. Uses big gestures
like wide-open arm movements.
Founded American Dance Theater.
Dances: female solo called “Cry” and
“Revelations” danced to black
spiritual songs.
Some Different Dance Styles







Jazz
Tap
Ballet
Contemporary
Rock ‘n Roll
Ballroom
Salsa
Contemporary Dance
Contemporary dance began at the
start of this century when Isadora
Duncan broke away from ballet and
invented a very individual style of
dancing.
 She developed a very free dance
style, making sweeping movements
with her body.

Contemporary and Loie Fuller
Loie Fuller used dramatic lighting and
costumes to create fantasy effects.
 A number of people felt that classical
ballet put too many restrictions on
how the body could move and limited
the way dancers could express their
feelings.

More About Contemporary Dance
 Another
American dancer, Martha
Graham, developed a
contemporary dance technique
which is now taught in many
classes.
Differences Between Ballet and
Contemporary Dance
Ballet:
 1.
The shapes and patterns the
dancers make nearly always look
graceful and beautiful.
 2. The body must be a particular
size and shape, and is trained
from a young age to achieve this.
Ballet, Cont’d.
3. Dancers look light and leap
through the air as if they are defying
gravity.
 4. The basic steps are strictly
defined. Every dancer learns these
movements.

Ballet, Cont’d.
5. Dances usually follow a story line
and include different characters.
 6. Dancers wear special clothes,
such as tutus, which show their
movements clearly. Women wear
special shoes for dancing on pointes
(tiptoe).

Contemporary
 1.Dance
can show the ugly as
well as the beautiful things that
exist in life.
 2. The body can be any weight
and height provided it is strong
and supple.
Contemporary, Cont’d.
 3.
Many movements are based
on the floor. Dancers use the pull
of gravity to tilt and fall.
 4. There are many different
styles of dancing which require
various sorts of training.
Contemporary, Cont’d.
5. Dances are often about ideas or
moods, instead of telling a definite
story.
 6. Dancers wear all sorts of different
clothes. They may wear very casual
or very elaborate costumes. They
often dance barefoot, or with a
specialized sandal.

Jazz Dance
 Jazz
dance first developed
with jazz music in the 1920s.
In the 1950s, as popular music
changed, so did jazz dance.
More About Jazz Dance
 Today,
there are many different
styles of jazz, danced to various
kinds of music.
 They all feature energetic and
rhythmical movement. To do jazz
you need to be fit and supple.
Tap Dancing
 The
movements of tap are
concentrated in your feet.
 Wearing shoes with metal
toecaps, you tap out the rhythm
of the music you are dancing to.
Tap Dancing, Cont’d.
To tap dance, you do not have to be
as fit as you do for some other kinds
of dance, but you need to move in a
flowing, graceful way.
 You also need to have a good sense
of rhythm, since you will be dancing &
tapping the beats of the music.

Recorded VS. Live Performance



1. Do not get caught up in the emotion
and moment of the performance.
2. You get a more total (overall) view of
the performance rather than closecaptioned shots.
3. More special effects can be utilized
with live performance.