All movement is motivated and the purpose of exploring the motivation of movement as it pertains to dance is simply to get the dancer and choreographer to ask why. Why did I move? What motivated my leg to swing? Did the audience “read” the correct motivation into the movement? To create dance as art the idea and motivation must take first in importance. As proven by social dancing and folk dancing the majority of mankind is capable of learning dance steps and executing them with great skill. To communicate an abstract idea or emotion through movement takes conviction and belief in the motivation behind the movement. This communication and motivation will bring the students choreographed dances to an art form level.
The students will now be ready for the introduction of the literature material from which the ideas for their final projects will be selected. This list will include:
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“The Captive”—Borges
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“The South”—Borges
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“Paseo”—Donoso
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“Macario”—Rilfo
A synopsis of “Macario” and “The Captive” are included in this unit. The above list of short stories will be on file in the Y.N.H.T.I. office.
The student should read the selections keeping “motivation” upper most in their minds. They should look for a character or situation which they can clearly relate to. These interpretations of the literature could range from the abstract to the literal. A single idea or feeling could be extracted from the story or a literal translation performed with a full cast of dancers portraying the characters. As stated in the opening sentence of this paper “Movement is a natural means of expression and communication.” The students should now have a large “vocabulary” of movements to communicate their ideas to an audience. The elements of design will allow students to stylize everyday movements (which would include the locomotive and fundamental movements taught during the warm-up) and social and folk dancing steps making them uniquely their own.
Each short story will be assigned as an in class reading. First silently then out loud, asking questions as it’s read through the second time. In addition to searching for motivation the students should ask themselves:
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1. What is the main idea of the story?
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2. What are the high points?
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3. What elements of design would best express the main idea?
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4. What elements of design would best express the high points?
The characters should be analyzed as such:
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1. Who is the character?
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2. What does the character want?
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3. Why does the character do what he/she does?
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4. Which elements of design best suit each character?
Before these discussions it should be emphasized that there are no wrong answers. The interpretation of literature is personal and individual. Once there is a clear understanding of the story have the class begin moving. Pantomime sections of the story or improvise movements expressing a selected emotion such as the joy of the parents in “The Captive.” The students should immediately begin pulling from and relating the stories to his/her own experience.
Once the student has made his/her final selection for the final choreography project the above story and character analyses should be completed in writing. This will help the student to obtain a full understanding of his/her ideas and motivation from which he/she will dance.
Music should be selected that will complement the ideas. Music from the countries where the stories take place should be researched. Tangoes for Jorges Luis Borge’s “The South” could work well with the story line. Students could also compose music using percussion instruments, dance in silence or use sound effects.
