Acquiring Knowledge of the five elements of dance
What exactly is dance?
That is a really important question! This is a response that is succinct and to the point: Movement is the medium through which we express our thoughts, emotions, and experiences in the form of the art form known as dance.
The Constituent Parts of Dance
The following five components make up dance in its most fundamental form:
• Body\s• Action\s• Space\s• Time\s• Energy
Acquiring Knowledge of the five elements of dance
These five components are intricately linked to one another, and it can be challenging to distinguish one from the others at times. However, as we go through each one, we will add special terminology that is utilized when speaking about dancing, and we will investigate how each component may be modified to produce a variety of different results.
Who Gets Up and Dances? The Ballerina!
Imagine a body moving with rhythmic purpose and gestures, typically while performing to some sort of musical accompaniment. This is what dance is. It seems straightforward, doesn’t it? The finest way to explain it was by dance critic Walter Terry, who said, “No paintings nor brushes, marbles nor chisels, pianos or violins are needed to make this art, for we are the stuff that dance is made of.” [Citation needed] It is conceived in our bodies, lives its entire life in our bodies, and passes away in our bodies. Therefore, of all of the performing arts, dance is the most intimate because “it is born from the very breath of life.”
When people watch dance, the first thing they notice is the dancer’s body. At other moments, the body may be at rest, while at other times it may be moving. When moving, a dancer may highlight certain portions of their body or use the entire body at their disposal.
When you watch dancing, make an effort to pay attention to how the body is positioned. Is it symmetrical, meaning that the actions taken by the right and left sides are identical, or not? How would you describe the form the body is making? Are the contours jagged and angular, or do they have a smooth and rounded appearance? Is the body straight, twisted, or does it have a curvature to it?
You may observe that certain dancers have excellent body control, similar to how certain of the colors in a picture may be more bright than others. They have put forth a lot of effort to improve their balance, strength, and agility by working on their bodies, which may be seen of as their instrument of expression. When going through a dance phrase, or series of movements, pay special attention to how the dancers use their breath.
Dancers make use of their bodies to take ideas, feelings, and intentions that are happening on the inside and express them in an external form so that they can be shared with others. The interior world can be communicated through dance, or the dance might be more abstract and concentrate on shapes and patterns.
You can observe how the dancers in George Balanchine’s Apollo make use of various body parts to create a stunning impression in space by watching this snippet from the ballet. After linking their arms via the male dancer’s, the three ballerinas touch their toes to the hand that is being held by the man dancer.
What Is the Dancer Doing in the Action? Moves!
Any human movement that is performed during the act of dancing is referred to as action. What do dancers do? They move, which constitutes the activity that they carry out. The following are the two broad classifications that can be applied to movement:
• Non-locomotor or axial movement refers to any movement that takes place in a single location and includes bending, stretching, swinging, rising, falling, shaking, turning, rocking, tipping, suspending, and twisting.
• Locomotor movement refers to any movement that involves the body moving through space, such as running, jumping, walking, sliding, hopping, skipping, somersaulting, leaping, crawling, galloping, and rolling.
The term “action” refers to both minute movements such as facial expressions or gestures and bigger actions such as lifts, carries, or catches that are performed in tandem with another person or with a group. The term “action” can refer to both the movement that is carried out as well as the pauses or the stillness that occur between motions.
Choreographers and dancers collaborate in order to hone and perfect the movement of the dance. After the action has been “set,” which means it has been completed, the dancers are required to commit the sequences of their movements to memory in order to be able to execute them.
Watch a performance of L’Allegro, il Penseroso, and il Moderato by the Mark Morris Dance Company. The action of the dance consists of slapping and clapping one’s hands, falling to one’s knees, prances, jumping in place, and turning from side to side.
Where Exactly Does the Dancer Go in This Space? Through the Cosmic Void!
This is not a discussion about the last unexplored continent! We are discussing the different environments in which dancing can take place. There is no end to the multitude of ways that dance can flow across space.
In order to provide a clearer explanation, these are some of the ways a dancer or choreographer thinks about space:
• Level: Does the movement begin on the ground or do you have to reach up? How high, medium, or low is the level of performance?
• Direction: Does the movement proceed forward, backward, sideways, to the right, to the left, or in a diagonal direction?
• Place: Does the movement take place in a localized area (personal space) or does it travel throughout the space (general space, downstage, upstage)?
• Direction: the dancers appear to be facing in what direction?
• Pathway: When the dancers move through space, do they make a path that is zigzagged, curved, or straight? Or is there a pattern to it?
• Dimensions: Does the activity occupy a compact and constrained space, or a sizable and open one?
• Positioning: how are the dancers arranged in space in respect to one another, and what kind of relationships do they have? Where do they stand in relation to one another? Do they stand in front of one another, beside one another, behind one another, over one another, under one another, alone, or attached to one another?
The above list elucidates for us how to approach the problem of conceiving movement through space. Think about how many various ways you could do a straightforward action like as clapping your hands if you ran it through all of the numerous mental models described above. Keep in mind that space can refer to either the indoors or the outdoors, and certain dances are developed with particular settings in mind.
The movement that was performed by Paul Taylor. The Esplanade is a pretty straightforward activity that primarily consists of walking and running. Observe how the idea of space is investigated in a myriad of different ways by the dancers as they continuously change the direction they are facing and their orientation. The nature of their relationship to one another is likewise always evolving. They can also form two lines that cut across one another at other times. At other times, they move in perfect harmony with one another. Keep an eye out for curved as well as straight roads, and consider the myriad of different ways the choreographer was able to manage the component of space.
When it comes to time, how does the human body move in comparison to it?
Timing is a factor that must be considered and decided upon by choreographers. How fast or slow would you describe their movements? During the course of the work, do particular processes get repeated at varying speeds? If that’s the case, why? The following are some ways in which we can think about time:
• Clock Time: When thinking about the length of a dance or elements of a dance that are measured in seconds, minutes, or hours, we utilize clock time as a conceptual framework.
• Timing relationships refer to the way in which dancers move in respect to one another (before, after, together, sooner than, faster than).
• Metered Time refers to a pattern of repeated rhythm that is frequently utilized in music (such as 2/4 time or 4/4 time). Movement during dances that are performed to music can either respond to the beat of the music or move in the opposite direction of the beat. The term “tempo” refers to the rate at which the rhythmic pattern repeats.
• Free Rhythm: Compared to metered time, a rhythmic pattern is less likely to be anticipated. It’s possible for dancers to perform movement without the accompaniment of music, instead taking signals from one another.
The presence of time may be readily observed in Step Afrika’s body of work. The audience is able to identify the intricate rhythm that is produced by the slapping of hands and the stamping of feet.
How do we get energy? The dancer is full of vitality as they move through space and time!
Therefore, we have bodies travelling through space and time at this point. Isn’t that sufficient already? Not exactly. We are in need of the fifth and last component of dance, which is energy.
Energy enables us to determine the manner in which the dancers move. To what extent are they making an effort? It’s possible that their movements are quick and powerful, but it’s also possible that they are light and free. Additionally, energy is a symbol of the quality of the movement, specifically its strength and its richness. There are a lot of different options available to dancers and choreographers.
Depending on the amount of energy that is put into the dance, the effort that the dancers put out might transmit significance. A touch between two dancers can be soft and light, perhaps suggesting worry or affection; it can also be sudden and strong, sometimes indicating anger or playfulness; or it might be light and gentle, perhaps showing care or affection. When it comes to bringing the internal expression of emotion out in a theatrical performance, energy is absolutely necessary.
The following are some ways to think about energy:
• Attack: Is the movement choppy and jerky, or is it consistent and long-lasting?
• Weight — Does the movement appear to be heavy, as if yielding to the pull of gravity, or is it light with an inclination to move upward?
• Flow: Does the movement appear to be constrained and confined, with a lot of muscle tension, or does it feel relaxed, free, and easy?
• Quality: Does the movement appear to be stiff, fluid, loose, sharp, suspended, collapsed, or smooth?
This performance by the dance group Kaba Modern places a significant emphasis on the quality of energy. The dancers’ attack is quick and percussive, and there are pauses in between each movement that disrupt the flow of the performance. A sense of weight is present in Kaba Modern, much like in other Hip Hop acts. They lower themselves to the ground often, bending their knees as they do so.
The 5 Most Important Elements of Dance
What exactly is dance?
That is a really important question! This is a response that is succinct and to the point: Movement is the medium through which we express our thoughts, emotions, and experiences in the form of the art form known as dance.
The term “elements of dance” refers to the various components that make up a dance, including the dancer, his movements, and the context in which the dancer performs. In spite of the fact that there are a range of points of view that might list a variety of components of the dance, the specialists are in agreement that the dance is made up of five fundamental components: the body, action, time, energy, and space.
In addition to music, dance is one of the forms of artistic expression that is both the most widely disseminated and the most frequently practiced all over the world.
For the purpose of expressing emotions and feelings through methods of non-verbal communication, it is predicated on the harmonious movement of the human body (often synced with music). It is being utilized in a variety of settings, including the religious realm and the entertainment industry.
Elements that make up dance and dance
Music is a recurrent accompaniment of dance, although the latter can be performed in silence, it is believed that the combination of visual and sound elements forms a harmony able to achieve a much deeper impact on the viewer.
The components of the dance are very dependent on each other, since each one depends to a great extent on the others so that the final execution of a dance piece is perfect.
1- Body
The center of any dance is the dancer, who is in charge of executing the movements with the rhythm and tenacity necessary to convey a feeling to those who witness the dance.
Each part of the body is important in the dance; the trunk, the extremities, the easy expressions and the postures must be complemented correctly to obtain a natural and pleasant movement in sight.
2- Action
The dance itself consists in the realization of movements. The action refers to these movements, which can be as subtle as turning the neck or a hand, or as elaborate as jumping, tumbling and even running around the stage.
There must be a balance between action and pause; Many times the pause is necessary to create a sufficiently noticeable contrast with the movement, and in this way highlight this even more.
3- Time
The rhythm and repetition patterns of a dance are called time. It is this element that dictates not only the duration of a dance, but the speed in the execution of its steps.
The rhythm of a dance can be previously choreographed or be free, giving the dancer freedom to move at will.
4- Energy
In combination with time and action, the energy corresponds to the degree of tension or fluidity with which the steps are executed. Energy is considered as the most complex of the elements of dance, it can take years to develop.
Even if a dance is performed with an appropriate rhythm and movements according to it, the energy can convert the dance from rigid to fluid and with naturalness. The talent of the dancer has a great influence on this aspect.
NDDC 2022/2023 FOREIGN POST GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
5- Space
The scenario or context where the dance takes place will affect the viewer’s vision. The space may vary in color, composition and size.
The decorative elements or allusive to the dance reverberate in the necessary harmony between dance, dancer and stage.