Elements of Dance

The elements of dance are the foundational concepts and vocabulary that help students develop
movement skills and understand dance as an artistic practice. (Aldis, 2018). These elements are
beneficial to anyone interested in recognizing, analyzing, or creating movement.

1. BODY
In dance, the body is the mobile figure or shape, felt by the dancer, seen by others. Dancers use
their bodies to take internal ideas, emotions, and intentions and express them in an outward
manner, sharing them with others. 
They can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

✔ SYMMETRICAL
A balanced shape.
Movements are practically identical or similar on both
sides.
✔ ASYMMETRICAL
Unbalanced shape.
Movements of two sides of the body do not match or
completely different from each other.

2. ACTION
Action is any human movement included in the act of dancing—it can include dance steps, facial
movements, lifts, carries, and catches, and even everyday movements such as walking.
Movement can be divided into two general categories:
Non-locomotor movement: Any movement that occurs in one spot including a bend, stretch, swing,
rise, fall, shake, turn, rock, tip, suspend, and twist.
Locomotor movement: Any movement that travels through space including a run, jump, walk, slide,
hop, skip, somersault, leap, crawl, gallop, and roll.

3. SPACE
 This refers to the space through which the dancer's body moves
 This is the area the performers occupy and where they move.
Into four different aspects, also known as “SPATIAL ELEMENTS”.
 ● DIRECTION – dance movements can travel in any direction. The performers can go
forward, backward, diagonal, circular and so on. They may also face any direction while
executing a single movement.
● SIZE – movements can be varied by doing larger or smaller actions.
● LEVEL – movements can be done in a high, medium or low level.
● FOCUS – performers may change their focus by looking in different directions.

4. TIME
The relationship of one movement to another. The movements in timing may be executed in varying
tempo (speed). Performers move with the tempo of an underlying sound, known as beat or pulse. The
timing can be varied by moving faster or slower than the normal beat. When a sequence of a
movement or group of phrases is done in varying tempos, they generate rhythmic patterns.

5. ENERGY
Energy is about how the movement happens. it refers to the force of an action and can mean both
the physical and psychic energy that drives and characterizes movement. Choices about energy
include variations in movement flow and use of force, tension, a weight.