LIFE IS A STAGE.

DANCE AS IF NOBODY IS WATCHING YOU.

JUST ENJOY!
Dance
• Dance is the art form in which human movement becomes
the medium for sensing, understanding, and communicating
ideas, feelings, and experiences.
Dance
• Dance provides a way of learning—one that develops
communication abilities, problem solving techniques, and
creative and critical thinking skills along with kinesthetic
abilities.
Dance
• Dance is a performance art form consisting of purposefully
selected sequences of human movement. This movement
has aesthetic and symbolic value, and is acknowledged as
dance by performers and observers within a
particular culture.
Dance
• Dance can be categorized and described by its
choreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by
its historical period or place of origin.
Dance
• Dance can be categorized and described by its
choreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by
its historical period or place of origin.
Dance CATEGORY OF

• Theatrical dance, also called

performance or concert dance, is
intended primarily as a spectacle,
usually a performance upon a stage by
virtuoso dancers. It often tells a story,
perhaps using mime, costume and
scenery, or else it may simply
interpret the musical accompaniment,
which is often specially composed.
Dance CATEGORY OF

• Participatory dance, on the

other hand, whether it is a
folk dance, a social dance, a
group dance is undertaken
primarily for a common
purpose, such as social
interaction or exercise, of
participants rather than
onlookers.
Dance
ELEMENTS OF
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• Dance has its own content, vocabulary, skills, and

techniques, which must be understood and applied to be
proficient in the art. The elements of dance are the
foundational concepts and vocabulary for developing
movement skills as well as understanding dance as an art
form. All these elements are simultaneously present in a
dance or even in a short movement phrase.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• BODY
• The art of dance takes place in and through the human body.
• In dance, the body is the mobile figure or shape, felt by the dancer, seen
by others. The body is sometimes relatively 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.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• BODY
• How were the dancers’ bodies used in this dance?
• What different body parts did they use?
• Did they seem to move skillfully?
• Can you explain the roles that the skills of body alignment and dance technique
play in a dance performance?
• Do you know when these skills are important and when they might not be?
• How can you use what you learned from the dance you have seen to understand
these concepts more fully?
• What is it about the dancers’ training that allows them to use their bodies
expressively?
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• 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. Dancers may choose movement that has been
done before, or they may add their own original movements to the existing
dance movement vocabulary.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• ACTION
• 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
relative stillness. Movement that travels through space is broadly called
locomotor movement in contrast to axial movement, which occurs in one
spot.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• ACTION
• Using the elements of dance, can you describe some of the movements in
the dance, especially the ones that made a big impression on you?
• What did the dancers’ movements remind you of?
• How did the dancers combine locomotor and non-locomotor movements?
• What do you remember the most about the movements of the dancers?
• Did the movement seem to “go with” the music?
• How are the movements that are part of the dance similar to or different
from everyday movements and sports movements?
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• SPACE
• There are countless variations and combinations of ways that movement can
occur in space. Dancers interact with space in myriad 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.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• SPACE
• What shapes did the bodies of the dancers make?
• What floor patterns in space did the dancers make as they traveled through
space?
• Did the dancers change levels at any time during the dance?
• Were there many “lifts”?
• In what sections of the dance was space emphasized the most?
• Were the shapes they made symmetrical or asymmetrical?
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• TIME
• The keyword for the element of time is when. Human movement is
naturally rhythmic in the broad sense that we alternate activity and rest.
• Dance movements may also show different timing relationships such as
simultaneous or sequential timing; or brief to long duration; fast to slow
speed; or accents in predictable or unpredictable intervals.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• TIME
• What aspects of the element of time were used?
• Was the dancing fast or slow? Were there changes in the tempo?
• What did you notice about the dancers’ rhythms?
• Were any of the movements accented?
• Was the tempo of the movement always the same as the tempo of the
music?
• How did the choreographer use aspects of time to communicate his or
her ideas or to make the dance more interesting?
Dance
• ENERGY
ELEMENTS OF

• Energy is about how—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, and weight.
• Energy choices may also reveal emotional states.
Dance ELEMENTS OF

• ENERGY
• How would you describe the energy of the dancers and the dance?
• Can you name all the different movement qualities (the way force and
energy were used) you saw in the dance?
• Did the dance have a mood?
• How did the energy in the movement affect the mood of the dance?
• How was the energy of the movement similar to or different from the
dynamics of the music?
• How did the dance make you feel?