Dance Terminology Flashcards
(16 cards)
The move from the representational to the symbolic; the process of removing movement from a particular or representative context and (by manipulating it with elements of space, time and force) creating a new sequence or dance that retains the essence of the original.
Abstraction
this is a word introduced by the American choreographer Trisha Brown in the 1970s. It was used by her to name a piece and it described a graduated and repetitive way in which the gestures of the choreography were built-up. As Trisha Brown’s works are so widely known, this word has spread among the dance community and it is used nowadays to talk about her way of creating choreography as a compositional method. A choreographic device or structure where new movements are added to existing movements in a successive manner, for example, A, AB, ABC, ABCD.
Accumulation
When the space itself becomes alive, when it has meaning, or takes on symbolic suggestions of its own. (Symbolic and dynamic space are apart of active space). Alignment - the relationship of the skeleton to the line of gravity and the base of support
Active Space
Placement of bones in such a way that increases physiological effectiveness and health. Depending on the dance genre, the alignment can vary according to its specific aesthetic goals. Read the definitions for ‘Correct alignment’, ‘Body placement’ or ‘Stance’ below to expand.
Alignment
The knowledge of dance as an art form derived from the procedures of research, analysis, interpretation, writing, criticism and evaluation
Appreciation
A shape made by a dancer or dancers that has no line of reflection (mirror line).
Asymmetry
Any movement that is anchored to one spot by a body part using only the available space in any direction without losing the initial body contact. Movement is
organised around the axis of the body rather than designed for travel from one location to another; also known as non-locomotor movement.
Axial Movement
Basic unity used to measure time in both the choreographic and musical language. It is the pulse that occurs repeatedly with a certain frequency. When dancing, beats are what we count… like five, six, seven, eight! (bet you know this…). Five, six, seven, eight are the last four beats of a choreographic phrase of eight beats.
Beat
The ability of the dancer to isolate and combine individual body parts to communicate a desired intent
Body Articulation
A dance element that comprises focus on body shapes, body base, body part, locomotor and non-locomotor movements.
Body Awareness
This is an expression that we use in dance to talk about the way in which we carry our body (our selves), including the positioning and alignment of big bones (like the pelvis or spine), limbs and head as well as the micro organisations of muscles that are responsible for their positioning. Usually, every dance genre or style has its own body placement, which facilitates its technical execution and makes up the particular style.
Body Placement
A structural device most often associated with African dance and musical forms; one soloist or group performs, and the second soloist or group performs in response to the first.
Call and Response
Dancers use this word with the same meaning as musicians. It defines a compositional structure in which one same choreographic fragment is executed by several dancers who space it out in time (usually with regular intervals).
Canon
An artist who creates with the movement of humans as material.
Choreographer
The art and craft of planning and arranging dance movements into a meaningful whole
Choreography
A specific way of manipulating movement to develop dance choreography (for example, repetition, inversion, accumulation).
Choreographic Device
