Sound and Movements

There are many ways of creating dance - or rather "there are many sources of inspiration" for creating dance. Some create based on a storyline, a character, an image, an emotion, a life event, a music, etc..

I personally love creating dance based on music. Music moves me, like perhaps you have seen how  Gangnam Style move this baby.

I am one of those very kineasthetically responsive individuals, and was particularly reactive to pulsating pop beats when I was in my childhood all the way through my teens and early 20's, with pop being a huge influence in my interest in dance as mentioned here. Of course I'm not about to burst into a Gangnam "horse ride" the moment I hear the song now, but you get the idea.

Then as I mature, I find myself responding more towards subtle, meditative tones of Asian classical music, or strong orchestral harmonies, including western classical, new age and contemporary genres - such as the soundtracks of Hans Zimmer.

Music gives me vision. I see movement, feel movement, and I am driven to move. Music sometimes drowns me. I can become drunk in music, even when I'm not drinking. Itut is where my most passionate pieces come from.

However, there are school of thoughts who decides that dance should be independent of music. On a moderate scale, it should be telling a story beyond what the music is telling - which has a good point. But on an extreme level, choreographers are purposefully using music or sound just as a backdrop or "noise," and having the dancers dance in a way that completely ignores the rhythms and flow of the music.

Some dances are performed in silence.

I haven't done the extremes yet. For now, I am still very much attached to my music... like a lover...

Moving to sound

In my practice of dance and improvisation, I have found spaces where certain movements and exact matches for certain sounds and certain notes, where our body acts like an instrument, like a recorder with its holes along our torso, or a drum set, with sounds at different spaces.

It may take a more auditory person to be able to "hear" sounds in their body, just as it may take a more visual person to "see" movements in space.

"Seeing" movement

In most of my dance teaching, it is very common for me to give instructions to my students, such as in children's creative dance and improvisation classes to "paint in the sky." This is where you imagine that your hands become paint brushes, and that your sweeping movements create colours where the air is your canvas. You can really have lots of fun, "painting" the world around you with the sweep or your hands, your feet, and other body parts. It is usually important to "see" where your movement is coming from and where its going, partly also to be able to decide on the aesthetic result you are trying to achieve and to fill in the space with the presence of your movements.

The non-visual dancer

However, during my course of teaching, I had encountered one student who was particularly gifted in his hearing. He is a natural musician and composer. He can play any instrument he tries, and any tune he hears in his head - or at least that is what I have observed. However, he was struggling in my class, which was unfortuantely compulsary for him to complete as a part of his IB MYP program.

After struggling for some time, I finally had a chance to work with him personally.

I figured that since he can't "see" movements, perhaps he can "hear" them.

I began working by opening up his body through the sound of my voice, moving through different notes to stimulate different joints in his body.

It immediately worked! His hardened, skinny body suddenly is able to start moving fluidly, and he suddenly understood improvisation in a way he never had before!

Finally, he was able to create a solo piece to submit as a final work to complete his program. It was not perfect, but it was good progress.

And I finally understood now, that some people cannot "see" movements, but perhaps, they can "hear" movement.

If you are a teacher, what difficulty have you encountered with students learning dance?
How do you overcome them?

Until next time,

Take care.