Anthropology Of Dance Research Papers (original) (raw)

Euro-American performance arts are exceptional among the world’s cultures in that music and dance are separable and constitute independent disciplines. In the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, a distinct consciousness emerged that demonstrated an awareness of the varying and protean relationships that music and dance can share. While some artists were keen to develop their particular medium to its fullest potential, others were keen to group expressive mediums together into new wholes. These explorations were accompanied by a rapid but uneven expansion in audio, visual and audio-visual technology. As artistic practices evolved and technology developed, a range of possibilities were explored and the discipline of choreomusicology finally emerged. Choreomusicology is the study of the relationship between sound and movement within any performance genre. As a pedagogical tool, this article discusses key developments in the history of choreomusical theory and practice with a sympathetic selection of material using the words of artists and theoreticians. The evolving relationship between music and dance in any performance tradition is a socially situated process shaped by a range of historically constituted practices. The current discussion situates the artistic legacy inherited by contemporary Euro-American artists within a historical and cultural context.

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- Music, Performing Arts, Dance Studies, Creative processes in contemporary dance

Musical Culture and Art of the Arctic Peoples is collection of scientific papers by Yu. Sheikin, O. Dobzhanskaya, Z. Ivanova-Unarova, S. Ode, T. Ignatieva, V. Dyakonova, L. Kardashevskaya. It consists 21 articles which are devoted to describing of musical instruments, different genres of musical folklore, ritual musical traditions and different aspects of musical culture of Arctic peoples (Evenks, Nganasans, Sakha, Yukaghirs and other Siberian peoples).
Papers are in English, French, German.
This is textbook for students of Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts (Yakutsk).

- by Nehemia Polen
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- Jewish Studies, Feminist Theory, Dance Studies, Feminist Philosophy

China has a rich heritage of " folk sports " : traditional dance, processions and parades, games, martial arts, and acrobatics. Unfortunately, in the wake of social reforms designed to " modernize " the nation in the mid-20 th century and the growing popularity of international sports, opportunities to document many of the folk sports in context may have been lost. In certain cases, however, reconstruction of the traditional contexts of folk sports in ritual, festival, or similar cultural enactments is possible. In such cases, we can attempt to understand their original social functions to create cohesion, articulate social conflict, mark boundaries, etc. This article considers the case of the Dragon Dance as performed during Spring Festival at Tu Village in Southeastern China. We argue that beyond the ancestral function of this folk sport as festival symbol, the dance serves as a vehicle for articulating territorial disputes between neighboring villages, a variety of surrogate warfare. The following article applies folkloristics, economic, political and symbolic anthropology to interpret the historic functions of the Dragon Dance complex and to illuminate general theories about the interconnections among the performed world and the social world.

- by Thomas Green and +1
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- Anthropology Of Dance, China, Conflict Management, Festivals

Die traditionellen Frauentänze des Balkans und des Nahen Ostens werden auch heute noch zu Hochzeiten und Dorffesten getanzt, doch ihre Wurzeln gehen auf die uralte Kultur des Neolithikums zurück. Damals wie heute ist eine ihrer... more

- by Laura Shannon
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- Dance Studies, Dance/Movement Therapy, Anthropology Of Dance, Goddess Spirituality

Although recreational dancing is associated with increased physical and psychological
well-being, little is known about the harmful effects of excessive dancing. The aim of the
present study was to explore the psychopathological factors associated with dance addiction.
The sample comprised 447 salsa and ballroom dancers (68% female, mean age: 32.8
years) who danced recreationally at least once a week. The Exercise Addiction Inventory
(Terry, Szabo, & Griffiths, 2004) was adapted for dance (Dance Addiction Inventory, DAI).
Motivation, general mental health (BSI-GSI, and Mental Health Continuum), borderline personality
disorder, eating disorder symptoms, and dance motives were also assessed. Five
latent classes were explored based on addiction symptoms with 11% of participants belonging
to the most problematic class. DAI was positively associated with psychiatric distress,
borderline personality and eating disorder symptoms. Hierarchical linear regression model
indicated that Intensity (ß=0.22), borderline (ß=0.08), eating disorder (ß=0.11) symptoms,
as well as Escapism (ß=0.47) and Mood Enhancement (ß=0.15) (as motivational factors) together
explained 42% of DAI scores. Dance addiction as assessed with the Dance Addiction
Inventory is associated with indicators of mild psychopathology and therefore warrants
further research.

- by Anikó Maráz
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- Dance Studies, Anthropology Of Dance, Dance, Escapism
- by Andrée Grau
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- Anthropology, Dance Studies, Performance Studies, Dance Anthropology

Антропология движения и танца возникла как особая дисциплина в 1970-е годы в работах Джоан Кеалиинохомоку, Дрид Уильямс и их единомышленников. Она сочетает в себе контекстуалистский, или «эмический» (emic), подход к человеческому движению c подходом универсалистским, «этическим» (etic). В отличие от прежней этнографии, она не является западноцентристской, исследуя «высокие» формы танца – такие, как балет – наряду с «танцевальным фольклором». Вместо умозрительных рассуждений о «функциях» танца в обществе или «причинах», по которым люди танцуют, современная антропология движения и танца задается вопросом «что люди делают, когда танцуют?», трактуя человеческое движение как целенаправленное и осознанное действие. Пользуясь такими категориями, как «танцевальное» (экспрессивное) тело, эта дисциплина смыкается с театральной антропологией

- by Irina Sirotkina
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- Dance Studies, Anthropology of the Body, Anthropology Of Dance
- by Alexander D King
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- Cultural Heritage, Anthropology Of Dance, Authenticity
- by Ariel Osterweis
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- Performing Arts, Dance Studies, Performance Studies, Anthropology Of Dance

While for a long time, dance anthropology has been committed to highlighting the way in which dances and cultures shape each other (Kaeppler 2000; Grau 2006), in the present, it is clear that they also carry on each other (Neveu et Skinner 2012). The "time-space compression" (Harvey 1989) resulting from globalization has led to several transformations in local fields of dance: international migration helped to spread so called "traditional" dance repertoires in new spaces where they have become a means of identity reconfigurations; several dances, such as salsa, kathakali, tango or lindy-hop, have been removed from their original territory, to be commercialized and distributed in global industries; international festivals and new tourism locations have arisen, leading to new forms of mobility as well as to the spectacularization of some dance practices that were previously rooted in religious or familial celebrations. As a consequence, dance experience often intersects with different scales (domestic, urban, national, local, regional, global) between which individuals, dance movements, ideologies or images navigate. The globalization of dance fields has resulted in a reconfiguration of dance ethnography and in new methodological reflexions on the examination of dance. Thereby, some researchers highlight how the global perspective on "traditions" and identities that are shaped by dance increases the importance of long-term fieldwork immersion and participation in practices observed (Dankworth et David 2014). Others, such as Jonathan Skinner, use the notion of translocation to point out that the idea of clear divisions between scales of practices and experiences, between local spaces and translocal networks, is refuted by the observation of practices, which are embedded in a continuum and a flow that anthropologists should follow (Neveu Kringelbach and Skinner 2012). Echoing these examples, our panel proposes to shed light on the methodological tools and approaches that appear in the anthropology of dance in response to the "global turn". Our purpose is to reveal the contributions of dance ethnography to the broader anthropological discipline. Presently, multi-sited ethnography (Marcus 1995) is being reformed by various critics (Hage 2005; Falzon 2009), the couple local/global has revealed its shortcomings, and the deconstruction of the methodological nationalism led by theorists of transnationalism hasn't yet resulted in the emergence of new theories which would allow us to think the metamorphoses of national, ethnic and transnational belongings in the complex scales of globalization. In this context, we assume that the specificities of the subject dance lead anthropologists to develop original tools, in order to understand the tension between the local involvement of the dancing body and the translocal or transnational networks in which it circulates (Wulff 2003, 2005). We believe that these original studies contribute to debates in the anthropology of globalisation and notably discussions regarding ethnographic and multi-scalar approaches. How do anthropologists combine the unavoidable anchorage and sensitive involvement in local situations of practices with the understanding of translocal scales in which actors and practices circulate? Which specific methodological challenges stem from these circulations, and how do researchers respond to it? How does the rise of new digital technologies transform the regimes of circulation and experience between different scales, and how is it possible for anthropologists to address it? In this panel, we propose to gather dance and globalization anthropologists in order to discuss the scales of observation and investigation explored in the study of the dancing body. Based on case studies about dance in migration, transnational tourism of dance, international dance festivals, artistic tours or dance creations in circulation, the contributions will focus on the ethnographic methods mobilized to think the complex and

- by Ana Laura Rodríguez Quiñones and +1
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- Globalization, Ethnography, Anthropology Of Dance
- by Joaquin Palencia
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- Ethnic Studies, Art Theory, Anthropology Of Dance, History of Sculpture

Scholars from fourteen countries presented their work at the sixth symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Music and Dance in Southeastern Europe that took place in the town of Sinj in Croatia in April 2018. This publication presents a full record of that Study Group’s biennial symposium. Twelve presenters did not submit their articles; their participation in the event is recognised by the inclusion of their original abstracts. Two panels are documented by three articles and one abstract, while the remaining abstracts are grouped at the end of this volume. Editors are Liz Mellish, Nick Green and Tvrtko Zebec.

- by Liz Mellish and +1
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- Music, Anthropology Of Dance, Sustainable Development, Migration

A partir da conciliação de duas perspectivas antropológicas de análise dos objetos materiais-o sistema classificatório de bens e as abordagens da materialidade-propõe-se um caminho alternativo para o estudo da moda. O enquadre oferecido escapa aos tradicionais esquemas distintivos, desloca a análise da moda de um sistema de gosto mundial e afasta o seu estudo de uma apreciação do belo, seja esta guiada por modos ditos corretos de se autoapresentar ou por uma noção de belo universal. Por fim, mostra-se como o estudo da moda de vestuário coloca sempre em questão o corpo e a relação que a indumentária estabelece com o mesmo.
Palavras-chave: gosto, materialidade, agência, funk carioca

- by Mylene Mizrahi
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- Fashion Theory, Material Culture Studies, Anthropology Of Dance

This chapter explores the question of what is considered as an (ideal) international folk dance festival by drawing from longitudinal ethnography among festival organisers in Romania, participants in international folk dance in festivals... more

- by Liz Mellish
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- Anthropology Of Dance

The article examines the nature of dance choreographies. Extracting from a self-reflexive performance piece entitled Finding the Mindanao Body, it explores reflections about the narratives of the indigenous and Muslim communities in Mindanao, Philippines, and their intangible cultural heritage. The reflections highlight the folk dance artist’s embodiment of learning conflicts between that of the ‘tradition bearers’ of the communities and that of professional dance teachers of the modern stage. It also dives into the process of traditional dance transmission and re-creation in an expanding field of theatrical applications. Such applications contrasted in each new context that the artist found herself in, differing in perspectives, tools, props, performance space, and audience. Confronting conventional understandings of the performance of ritual dances and their narratives outside their original context, it articulates many folk dance artists’ struggles and fears about the overlapping complexities of performing arts, choreographic practices, and cultural identity.

Welche Beziehung besteht zwischen unserem Körper und dem Raum, der ihn umgibt? Reagiert unser Körper auf die verschiedenen architektonischen Formen, mit denen wir in Kontakt kommen? Falls ja, wie? Wie reagiert unser Körper auf Signale der... more

- by Roberta Rio
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- Anthropology, Dance Studies, Anthropology Of Dance, Anthropology of space

A number of dance movies have been produced over the years which have drawn a variety of scholarly positions. This short paper attempts to do the same on the movie ABCD (2013). The dance film attracts several topics on criticism and comparative studies, however this paper, in order to avoid making unconscious overlaps and general or abstract opinions, will be concentrated on the analysis of the realistic and cultural appropriation of this movie to the everyday life of the Indian people, especially with reference to the performances of DDR (Dhongri Dance Revolution) in the SemiFinals and Final competition of the Dance Dil Se Competition of the aforementioned movie.

- by Adebayo Moyosore ADENIYI
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- Dance Studies, Anthropology Of Dance
- by Vivien Bondea
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- Anthropology Of Dance, Ethnochoreology, Functionalism, Dance
- by Ximena Cordova
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- Indigenous Studies, Anthropology Of Dance, Bolivia

Der Beitrag gibt einen historischen Überblick über die unterschiedlichen Möglichkeiten, die Flüchtigkeit von Tanzbewegung mit der Transitorik von Blumen zu verschränken. So wird im Bühnentanz das Auf- und Verblühen von Blumen verkörpert, etwa im Romantischen Ballett (»Théa, ou La Fée aux Fleurs«, 1847) oder in diversen Blumenchoreographien des Ausdruckstanzes. Umgekehrt erfahren Blumen trotz ihrer Sessilität eine kulturelle Zuschreibung von Tanzbewegungen, etwa bei William Wordsworth (»I wandered lonely as a cloud«, 1807) oder Hans Christian Andersen (»Die Blumen der kleinen Ida«, 1835), und fast immer wird auch hier die besondere Vergänglichkeit von Blumen mithilfe der Metapher des flüchtigen Tanzes reflektiert.

- by Alexander H Schwan
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- Cultural Studies, Performing Arts, Theatre Studies, Dance Studies

The article is devoted to the documentation of music-related phenomena of the Togrun Bi (Crane dance of Kalmyks). The traditional music of Kalmyks is deeply rooted in the culture of Oirad. The new geographical and ethnic environment changed and transformed it. The most obvious shift took place in the dances and musical instruments (their organology, performing style, and tunes). At the same time, on this outskirt of the Mongolian world, some unique forms and genres have been preserved. The sources of the present research are field materials collected by author in late 1990 th in Kalmykia: non-fiarytale prose, two-string dombra tunes with singing, onomatopoeia, and round dances. The participants of Сrane praising ritual were women and children. Similar components are revealed in the ritual Togrugan biilulkhm (Force Crane to dance) and Ova täkh (a sacrifice to a host-spirit of the place). In personal stories and memoires, the mythologic idea of the curse cast by cranes made a connecti...

- by Ghilyana Dordzhieva
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- Ethnomusicology, Anthropology Of Dance, Kalmyk, Ritual Songs
- by Alexander H Schwan
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- Cultural Studies, Art History, Performing Arts, Theatre Studies

¿Qué relación hay entre los códigos gestuales y sonoros de la danza y los relatos verbales que refieren a los tiempos de la creación? Una vez más esta pregunta constituye el eje de nuestras indagaciones sobre ritualidad y “mitología implícita” en la cultura rarámuri (tarahumara). La peculiaridad del complejo yúmari-sacrificio-ofrenda es brindar una síntesis poderosa de aquellas nociones cosmológicas que conciernen a las relaciones de los seres humanos con el mundo celeste. Al refrendar su reciprocidad con la divinidad creadora por medio del “lenguaje vital de los comienzos” centrado en el código de la alimentación y en la metáfora del camino, los rarámuri conjuran la muerte del Sol, haciendo posible la regeneración de la vida cósmica. De ahí que se autoconsideren las columnas del cielo.

- by Carlo Bonfiglioli
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- Anthropology Of Dance, Tarahumara, Raramuri, TARAHUMARA COSMOLOGY
- by Inka Juslin
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- Philosophy, Ethnography, Anthropology Of Dance

Resumo: Essa pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma casa de show noturna em Porto Alegre/RS. O objetivo foi analisar a dimensão identitária de gênero, articulada com as performances dos/as artistas drags que se apresentam nesse espaço. Inspirados nos recursos etnográficos, utilizamos a observação participante como caminho metodológico e o caderno de campo como principal instrumento. Partimos do referencial teórico dos Estudos de Gênero e utilizamos conceitos de Victor Turner e Pierre Bourdieu. Os resultados demonstraram que os modos de ser/estar drag visibilizam uma perfomance estética relacionada aos estilos de vida minoritários, reivindicando reconhecimento social para signos que redefinem os limites simbólicos de pertencimento de gênero, por meio da produção de um habitus drag e de um projeto de vida, relacionados às estratégias de sobrevivência em uma sociedade com normas compulsórias de gênero. E, também, que a emergência do Reality Show RuPaul Drag Race proporcionou, por um lado, uma maior aceitação das Drag Queens por um público que antes não as aceitava, mas, por outro, mudanças de posicionamento político com relação aos usos dessa estética, evidenciadas pela permanência dos preconceitos com os Travestis. Palavras-chave: Drag queen. Gênero. Performance. "TO STAY IN DRAG IS A MANIFEST": DRAG QUEEN PERFORMANCE AND GENDER AS AN IDENTITORY POSITION Abstract: This research was developed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. The objective was to analyze the gender identity dimension, articulated with the performances of the drag artists who perform in a nightclub. Inspired by ethnographic resources, we used participant observation as the methodological path and field notebook as the main instrument. We started from the theoretical framework of Gender Studies and used concepts from Victor Turner and Pierre Bourdieu. The results demonstrated that the ways staying in drag make visible an aesthetic performance related to minority lifestyles, demanding social recognition for signs that redefine the symbolic limits of gender belonging through the production of a habitus drag and of a project of life related to survival strategies in a society with compulsory gender norms. And also, that the emergence of the RuPaul Drag Race Reality Show has led, on the one hand, to greater acceptance of the Drag Queens by an audience that previously did not accept them, but, on the other hand, changes in political stance regarding the uses of this aesthetic evidenced by the persistence of prejudices with the Transvestites. Considerações iniciais "Comecei a me montar em uma festa de amigos onde todos foram vestidos de mulher. Um amigo falou que eu tinha "levado jeito" e fui convidada para fazer um aniversário depois da festa; e depois outro aniversário; e depois um show em um bar; e quando vi minha Drag estava lá, tomando forma. Foi assim que ela nasceu, sem planejamento, por um descuido. Um ótimo descuido" (DRAG L. B.). Neste artigo apresentamos dados de uma pesquisa realizada na cidade de Porto Alegre, situada no Rio Grande do Sul, em um bar noturno chamado Workroom,

- by Giuliano Souza Andreoli and +1
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- Anthropology Of Dance, Gender and Sexuality, Performance, Estudios de Género

The purpose of this research was to explore the varied ways in which self-identified transgender people experience bodily identity, specifically feelings of dissonance between inner sense of self and visibly bodied self. Ethnographic case study research was conducted in the form of in-depth interviews with two, self-identified transmen. Interview topics focused primarily on participants’ past and present feelings about their bodies, their experiences of gender identity “from within,” and their journeys to discover and work towards more personally authentic gender expression. In total, four themes emerged from the interviews, two of which emerged in both interviews: 1) finding one’s authentic gender expression, and 2) accepting one’s past as part of one’s total gender identity. Each participant also had one theme that was unique to his interview: The influence of social expectations on body image and The importance of passing in a socially conservative environment. The participants’ narratives were transcribed, and results were analyzed in relation to the various theoretical work presented in the literature review. The results of these interviews suggest that the participants’ relationships to their bodily selves, as experienced “from within” and as represented in their visible presentations, are complex. Their embodied identities cannot be reduced to the “trapped in the wrong body” narrative that is deployed in mainstream media to represent all trans relationships to bodily identity. Additionally, both participants said that movement activities increased their sense of being “at-one” with their bodies, and described experiences of self-empowerment or transcendence while engaged in dance, thus suggesting that dance/movement therapy might prove useful to individuals reconciling inner and outer bodily identities.

- by Rachel Wyman
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- Dance Studies, Dance/Movement Therapy, Transgender Studies, Anthropology Of Dance

The article suggests that a dance field emerged i the early 20th century with 3 subfields, folk dance, theatre dance and ball room dance. These fields are compared to the total dance activity in the country, and a pioneer representing each of the fields is portrayed in term of social class and ideological standing. They are Hulda Garborg, Gyda Christensen and Hjalmar Svaae. Examples from other Nordic countries are also brought in. Egil Bakka followed up this pilot study with another article; "Class dimensions of dance spaces: situating central agents across countries and categories"
Nordic Dance Spaces. Practicing and Imagining a Region
Edited by Karen Vedel and Petri Hoppu Routledge 2016T

- by Egil Bakka and +1
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- Dance Studies, Anthropology Of Dance, Ethnochoreology, Dance History

Blumen sind mehr als Blumen: Sie kodieren historisch und kulturell bedingte Nachrichten, die entziffert und gelesen werden können. Was zeichnet eine solche Kommunikation durch die Blume aus?
Der Band erkundet erstmals das Feld der kulturwissenschaftlich informierten Pflanzenkunde und fragt nach den Medien floraler Kommunikation. Die Beiträge aus Kunst-, Tanz- und Literaturwissenschaft, Medientheorie und Biologie untersuchen die kodierten Botschaften, die mit Blumen versendet werden, und fragen nach der Vermittlungsposition, die die Blume als hybrides Natur-Kultur-Objekt zwischen unterschiedlichen Wissensbereichen einnimmt. In drei Sektionen – Dissemination, Animation und Zirkulation – wird aufgezeigt, inwiefern das jeweilige Verständnis einer Blumenkommunikation durch die eingesetzten Medien bestimmt wird und welche Konsequenzen dies für die Konzeption des Vegetabilen nach sich zieht.

- by Alexander H Schwan and +2
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- Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, Queer Studies, Philosophy

I focus on the performances of the most prominent and internationally known Macedonian dances, Lesnoto, Teshkoto, and Kopachkata during the protests of the citizen initiative entitled “Za Zaednichka Makedonija” [For a Common Macedonia]1 or “Ilinden 4”. Many Macedonian artists and institutions who openly supported the protests, including several amateur folk dance ensembles as well as The National Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Macedonia “Tanec”, were the target of harsh criticism, mostly due to the question of whether their participation was voluntary or paid. My crucial point in this discussion, however, is that dance was used as a symbolic political strategy in the form of staged display, where through a patriotic gaze based on emotional response, the audience was engaged in the performance of the nation, one that is often emblematic of the past. Through my concern with the production of identity and how identity can be negotiated through dance, I argue that these “folk” and “national” dances were decontextualized from social to spectacular in order to express a distinctive Macedonian identity and to assume pride of place. The dances that I mention in this text are not only “folk” or “traditional” as they are often labeled. They come from the idea that they represent what Theresa Buckland frames as dances “in the field,” (Buckland 1999) where the “folk” were usually peasant societies that performed the dances in a social context, as part of their everyday lives. However, along with several processes of recontextualization, these dances were often globally exported as a popular medium through which the state could express a form of national perception, and today they exist as “national heritage” as well.

Putting some air on their chests
Masculinity and movement in competitive air guitar

- by Sydney Hutchinson
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- Dance Studies, Popular Music, Gesture Studies, Ethnomusicology

The early days of this dance are shrouded in a mist of uncertainty. Was this a peasant dance which was then taken over by high society, as has often been claimed? Or was it entirely a creation of the upper strata? All documentation we have regarding the Maltese dance dates to no earlier than the nineteenth century and is connected with the Governor’s Palace or with high society balls. This article briefly looks at the history of the dance. Since this was a special edition of Treasures of Malta focussing on the Gollcher family, it looks at the Gollcher contribution to the 'Maltija', a printed music score of which is to be found in the Palazzo Falson Library.

- by Anna Borg Cardona
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- Dance Studies, Anthropology Of Dance, Dance, Dance Research
- by Magda Zografou and +1
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- Dance Studies, Dance Anthropology, Anthropology Of Dance

The Mohiniyattam that we see now is a highly re-constructed version of the dance form than what was practiced before. Practitioners and Nationalists have helped recreate a dance form sans ‘vulgar’ content, i.e. cleansed it like other Indian dance forms during that period. It was recreated with the idea of womanhood and femininity that supported the nation building process. Later, movements inspired from the environment was embodied into the dance form.

- by Swaroopa Unni
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- Anthropology Of Dance, Embodiment, Dance History, Dance ethnography