What Dancers Think of For Their Dance

Sometimes, watching someone perform could be a magical experience. The feeling of immense bliss for a viewer to see unexpected movements which completely go in the right flow is just satisfying. This is definitely something we are working towards at Amchi and this makes me think of the little instances when viewers would ask us how we move in a certain way or how we remember intricate details and instructions in mind while performing!

There is actually a paper written by neuroscientists from The University of Maryland back in 2014 where an experiment was conducted to see how the brain actually thinks while dancing. It shows some great promise in understanding dance in more depth. To read more on that .

Now, let’s dive deep in how a dancer (in this case me) thinks while dancing. I would like to be clear in saying, however, that different people have their own ways of processing their thoughts while dancing and hence it’s a reason why we move differently than others. Thoughts while performing varies based on the performance itself, if it’s a solo, duo or a group dance. This can be seen as a dancer moves differently within these variations. Regardless of who you are dancing with there are essentially 3 elements that you have to consider, and these elements are being worked on and thought of from the very start itself.

The first element focuses on positioning, which is essentially marking all the places where the dancers will move about during their performance. The second element is body movement, basically what and how the body is directed to move to portray a specific part of the track. This element is the most heavily worked on by dancers. Lastly, the third element is facial expression, essentially the emotions we convey while executing the movements.

These 3 elements change in level of importance as a performance varies. So let’s talk about that!

Solo

Positioning
The first element does not play an integral role unless there are precise camera or prop points which need to be achieved. Normally during a solo performance, it would not matter if the performer is a little off their mark because no one would know it. So while working on the marking, a dancer makes a general mark where they need to be during any particular point in the dance. The only time this matters a lot, I suppose, is when you are lacking in space and your movements get compromised! Otherwise, it’s not a big deal.

Body Movement
The second element for a solo performance becomes essential as a performer is literally a ‘One Man Show’. This means that all eyes are going to be on them. So for this kind of performance, a dancer needs to put in a lot of effort to make his movements look impactful. I personally try to involve word plays as much as possible to make the choreography into a visual narration of the song’s story that is being conveyed by me.

Facial Expression
The third element is also an essential part as the expression of the performer will set the tone of the performance. Usually, it is the third element that is overlooked by dancers. So it is important to remember that a dancer is a storyteller, and so the audience will appreciate a performance even more when they feel connected to it through emotions which can be conveyed by your facial expressions.

Duo

Positioning
The importance of the first element slightly increases for a duo choreography since there will be two dancers who will be moving around in the hopes of not crashing into each other. There is always a little room for error allowed, however, as there are only two people and if one slightly misses the mark, the other can try to adjust themselves accordingly.

Body Movement
The second element is thought from a synchronization point of view as the duo performing are basically two brushes painting the same picture. So, to ensure one precise emotion is being communicated, the dancers put a lot of thought into ensuring that they are in synchrony.

Facial Expression
The third element is still given a lot of importance as a duo is meant to either feel the same way or to have contrasting emotions, which of course depends on the message of the performance. So having a blank face would make the performance incomplete as the audience is not able to comprehend what exactly is happening.

Group

Positioning
In a group setting, the first element becomes immensely important as every misstep can perhaps make the entire group performance go wrong. Especially when stunts such as flips and lifts are part of the performance, it will require a great amount of precision to ensure that the choreography is perfectly timed. I was told by my dance teacher back in school that in a group dance, it is either perfect or it is absolute crap, and every single member of the dance has this responsibility to ensure they do their steps right.

Body Movement
The second element is given slightly lesser importance as the choreography becomes less complicated as the power of the performance comes from executing basic steps in total synchrony to make the big picture look impactful. (If you don’t completely agree or understand, try isolating one dancer from a group and see how they dance individually). If that same choreography was done as a solo performance, it would not have the same impact. So the steps are still important but they need not be highly complicated and errors are more acceptable (unless the spotlight is on you).

Facial Expression
The third element is similar to a duo performance. Expressions are highly important if you are anywhere near or are in the spotlight. Ideally every member should have expressions but dancers who are ensuring the performance is going well would just mainly need to ensure that they are in the right place at the right time.

Every dancer, be it a beginner or an expert, has these three elements, probably defined differently, where each aspect of the dance is being constructed. Over time, dancers learn to build on all elements simultaneously compared to beginner dancers. So if you are a beginner, all you require to do is work on one element at a time and find your own mojo to get your performance to look its best. So, don’t give up! You’ll get there!

. . .

To view more of our content, visit our YouTube Channel & Instagram!

Originally published at http://amchikingdom.wordpress.com on July 23, 2021.