ELEMENTS OF DANCE

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

THE LANGUAGE THAT DANCERS USE TO MOVE, THINK, AND RESPOND IS DANCE. DISCOVERING

SPECIFIC MOVEMENT LANGUAGES THAT ARE PART OF DANCE GENRES, FORMS, AND STYLES CAN BE A
TOOL TO EXPRESS ONE’S THOUGHTS AND IDEAS CLEARLY, CONCISELY, WITH FLUENCY. MOVEMENTS
AND STEPS COULD BE CONSIDERED THE WORDS, WHILE GRAMMAR COULD BE CONSIDERED AS THE
RHYTHM. A COMBINATION OF THESE ELEMENTS OF DANCE CAN CREATE A MOVEMENT SENTENCES. ALL
GENRES OF DANCE UTILIZE THE SAME ELEMENTS OF DANCE BUT FOR OTHER GENRES MIGHT PUT
EMPHASIS ON ONE OR MORE OF THE ELEMENTS.

LABAN MOVEMENT ANALYSIS (LMA)

A Hungarian movement theorist and educator, Rudolf Von Laban, devised an intricate analytical
method for describing the variety of movement possibilities for the human body. The principles
of this system offer a large vocabulary for describing where in space the body is moving and the
quality of the movements themselves.

BASIC ELEMENTS OF DANCE

are key components of dance that aide in the dissection, development, and execution of the
movement.

EXPLORING DANCE ELEMENTS

B. A. S. T. E.
Body What is being used for the movement?
Action What is the movement?
Space Where is the movement being done?
Time When is the movement being done?
Energy How is the movement being done?

BODY (WHAT)

The renowned dance critic Walter Terry wrote, "No paints nor brushes, marbles nor chisels,
pianos or violins are needed to make this art, for we are the stuff that dance is made of. It is
born in our body, exists in our body and dies in our body. Dance, then, is the most personal of
all the arts . . . it springs from the very breath of life." *

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 use their whole body all at once.

When we look at a dancer's whole body we might consider the overall shape design; is it
symmetrical? twisted? What part of the body initiates movement?
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Another way to describe the body in dance is to consider the body systems—muscles, bones,
organs, breath, balance, reflexes. We could describe how the skeletal system or breath is used,
for example.

The body is the conduit between the inner realm of Intentions, ideas, emotions and identity and
the outer realm of expression and communication. Whether watching dance or dancing
ourselves, we shift back and forth between the inner/outer sense of body.

ACTION (WHAT)

Action is any human movement included in the act of dancing— it can include dance steps, facial
movements, partner lifts, gestures, and even everyday movements such as walking. 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.

Dancers may use movements that have been choreographed or traditional dances taught by
others who know the dances. Depending on the dance style or the choreographer's decision,
dancers may also revise or embellish movement they have learned from others.

Movement can also be improvised, meaning that the dancers make it up "on the spot" as they
spontaneously dance. Movement that travels through space is broadly called locomotor
movement in contrast to axial movement, which occurs in one spot.

Understanding and discussing action does not require extensive dance terminology since
movement can be categorized and described according to its qualities. For example, while a
“sashay” in American Square Dance might be called a “chassé” in Ballet or an “undercurve” in
Modern Dance technique, we can also describe it as a “slide” since that essential characteristic is
present in all those steps.

SPACE (WHERE)

Dancers interact with space in myriad ways. They may stay in one place or they may travel from
one place to another. They may alter the direction, level, size, and pathways of their
movements.

The relationships of the dancers to each other may be based on geometric designs or rapidly
change as they move close together, then apart. Even when a dancer is dancing alone in a solo,
the dancer is dynamically involved in the space of the performing area so that space might
almost be considered a partner in the dance.

Dancers may focus their movement and attention outwardly to the space or inwardly, into
themselves. The line of travel may be quite direct towards one or more points in space or
indefinite and meandering.
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Dancers may also orient their movement towards objects or in relation to natural settings.
Sometimes dances are created for specific locations such as an elevator or on a raft in a lake for
site-based performances.

Spatial relationships between dancers or between dancers and objects are the basis for design
concepts such as beside, in front of, over, through, around, near or far.

TIME (WHEN)

The keyword for the element of time is When? 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 metered rhythm.

Spoken word and conversation also have rhythm and dynamics, but these timing patterns are
characteristically more inconsistent and unpredictable.

Rhythmic patterns may be metered or free rhythm. Much of western music uses repeating
patterns (2/4 or 3/4 for example), but concepts of time and meter are used very differently
throughout the world. Dance movements may also show different timing relationships such as
simultaneous or sequential timing, brief to long duration, fast to slow speed, or accents in
predictable or unpredictable intervals.
Picture

Time may also be organized in other ways including

 Clock time: The dance is based on units of seconds, minutes, and/or hours. For example,
a certain section of a dance may be assigned a time such as 30 seconds into which all
the choreographed movement must fit. A performance in a public setting may be set up
to repeat continuously between 12:00 Noon and 1:00 PM.
 Sensed time: Dancers pick up on each other's timing such as gradually increasing from a
walking tempo to a running tempo by cueing off each other rather than a music score.
Another example happens when dancers hold a group shape then spontaneously move
out of it based on the group's organic impulse.
 Event-sequence: An internal or external event signals a change such as repeating a
traveling phrase over and over until everyone arrives at a corner of the stage. You also
see this at sports events when a touchdown triggers a dance cheer.

ENERGY (HOW)

Energy is about how the movement happens. Choices about energy include variations in
movement flow and the use of force, tension, and weight. An arm gesture might be free flowing
or easily stopped, and it may be powerful or gentle, tight or loose, heavy or light. A dancer may
step into an arabesque position with a sharp, percussive attack or with light, flowing ease.
Energy may change in an instant, and several types of energy may be concurrently in play.
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Saying that a dance "has a lot of energy" is misleading. ALL dances use the element of energy,
though in some instances it may be slow, supple, indirect energy - not the punchy, high speed
energy of a fast tempo dance.

Energy choices may also reveal emotional states. For example, a powerful push might be
aggressive or playfully boisterous depending on the intent and situation.

Some types of energy can be easily expressed in words, others spring from the movement itself
and are difficult to label with language. Sometimes differences in the use of energy are easy to
perceive; other times these differences can be quite subtle and ambiguous. Perhaps more so
than the other elements, energy taps into the nonverbal yet deeply communicative realm of
dance.