The Elements of Movement
• B- Body A- Action S- Space T- Time E- Energy
• BODYIn 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.When we look at a
dancer's whole body we might consider the overall shape design; is
it symmetrical? twisted? 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.
• ACTIONAction 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.
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.
• SPACE
• There are countless variations and combinations of ways that movement
can occur in space. Dancers interact with space in many 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. 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. The dance may take place in
one corner of a stage or in a big open circle outdoors with the entire
community surrounding the dancers.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 barge
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
• 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
meter. Spoken word and conversation have rhythm and dynamics, but the 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 the 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; or brief to long duration;
fast to slow speed; or accents in predictable or unpredictable intervals.Time may
also be organized in other ways including clock time, sensed time, and event-
sequence. Dancers may take sight cues from each other to start the next phrase or
use a shared sense of sensed time to end a dance. They may even take cues from
an event such as a train whistle during an outdoor dance performance. The
inherent rhythms in our movement and our aural landscape are a rich source of
variation in dance.
• ENERGY
• 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.
A run 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.Energy choices
may also reveal emotional states. For example, a powerful push might be
aggressive or playfully boisterous depending on the intent and situation. A delicate
touch might appear affectionate or uncertain, or perhaps suggest concern.Some
types of energy can be 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.
