Presentation by Noel Davis
Dance is a way of knowing and
communicating. It’s universal--all
societies use dance to communicate on
both personal and cultural levels.
Dance, as with all the arts, has its
own language. We need to learn this
language in order to fully
understand and appreciate the
world of dance.
The Language
of Dance
•Remember the acronym:
B . A . S . T. E .
B: The art of dance takes place in and through the
human body.
A: Action is any human movement included in the act
of dancing.
S: There are countless variations and combinations of
ways that movement can occur in space.
T: The keyword for the element of time is “when”.
E: Energy is about “how”—it refers to the force of an
action and it means a physical energy that drives and
characterizes movement.
 In
dance, the body is the mobile figure or
shape, felt by the dancer, seen by others.
 The body is sometimes still and sometimes
changing as the dancer moves in place or
travels through the dance area.
 Dancers may emphasize specific parts of
their body in a dance phrase or their whole
body.
An action can include dance steps, facial
movements, lifts, carries, and catches, and even
everyday movements such as walking.
 Dancers may choose movement that has been done
before.
 Dancers may also revise or embellish movement
they have learned from others.
 Dance is made up of streams of movement and
pauses, so action refers not only to steps and
sequences, but also to pauses and moments of
stillness.

 Dancers
interact with space in many ways.
 They
may stay in one place and move parts
of their body or their whole body, or they
may travel from one place to another.
 They
may alter the direction, level, size, and
pathways of their movements.
 Dancers
may focus their movement and
attention outwardly to the space or inwardly,
into themselves.

Human movement is naturally rhythmic in the broad
sense that we alternate activity and rest.

Breath and waves are examples of rhythms in nature
that repeat, but not as consistently as in a meter.

Spoken word and conversation have rhythm and
dynamics, but the patterns are characteristically
more inconsistent and unpredictable.
Choices about energy include variations in
movement flow and use of force, tension, and
weight.
 A run might be free flowing or easily stopped, and
it may be powerful or gentle, tight or loose, heavy
or light.
 Energy choices may also reveal emotional states.
For example, a powerful push might be
aggressive or playfully boisterous depending on
the intent and situation.


A delicate touch might appear affectionate or
uncertain, or perhaps suggest concern.
http://www.youtube.com/user/WynnFricke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvDGcoycp
o
Video
Jitterbug
 The jitterbug originated in the 1930s but
its popularity continued into the 1940s.
Considered a modern dance of the day.
The jitterbug moves are still being
performed today.
Type of Swing dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jezdtD1CXc&feature=related
 Type of swing dance
American social dance
Evolved in Harlem, NYC
Based on the swing rhythms
of jazz music.
•Many
dances of the fifties had songs with
the same name.
•Once
you heard the song you knew exactly
want dance moves to use.
•Dance
moves were also combined to create
new combinations of dance styles. For
example, the “Jitterbug Stroll”.
 Originated from Cuban.
Enrique Jorrin, Cuban composer & violinist.
Rhythm of the guiro & shuffling of dancers’ feet.
Hips are moved while torso remains still.
Many levels of the Cha-Cha-Cha.

Slow Rock-N-Roll dance

In the dance, two lines of dancers face each other.

One person from each line partner and dance
together until they reach the end of the line again.

Basic dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGLNtZ0rEg
There is a bit of insanity in dancing that
does everybody a great deal of
good. ~Edwin Denby
Dancing is like dreaming with your
feet! ~Constanze