1

Writing About Dance

  1. General Purpose and Audience

Dance is a non-verbal art form that uses movement to communicate ideas, questions, statements, and sometimes narratives through images, metaphors, symbolism, and sensory experiences. Dance can tell the viewer a great deal about the cultural values of the originator(s) of the dance. People write about dance to explore choreographers’ and dancers’ intentions and to understand their own responses to a performance, to share the experience with other viewers,as well as to share the essence of the experience with readers who did not see the performance. Therefore, dance is meant to be described, interpreted, and analyzed. Audiences include choreographers, dancers, theatre professionals (including actors, writers, directors, producers, technicians, and musicians), educators, administrators, students, and the general public.

  1. Types of Writing
  • Performance Critiques (with description, interpretation, and reflection)
  • Descriptions: to allow readers to develop their own interpretations. Description includes movement vocabulary, movement qualities, relationships to the music, time, space, lighting, costumes, props, interactions, choreographic development, and themes.
  • Interpretations: Making meaning of what a writer saw. What did the performance mean and why? How was this meaning conveyed? What emotions, kinesthetic responses, memories, thoughts or ideas emerged?
  • Dance essays
  • Research papers
  • Artistic Process Analysis
  • Personal Performance Reflection: initial reactions to the piece, emotions evoked, effects of the piece, intentions of the genre and/or the artists, how successful artists were in achieving their goals
  1. Types of Evidence

Dance critiques are primarily based on direct observation. When planning or preparing a dance critique, an audience member should take detailed notes to refer to later. A writer should be an active audience member, taking notes of every detail and referring regularly to the performance program.Writers should use their imaginations, their senses, adjectives, action verbs, similes and metaphors to paint a picture of the dance for a reader who did not see the performance. Interpretations and other support should be specific with descriptive examples from the performance. Other evidence may come from other primary sources (interviews with the choreographer, dancers or other artists involved in the production, fellow audience members), and some may come from secondary sources as well.

IV. Writing Conventions

  • Contextualize the performance for readers by providing context (where and when piece was performed; by whom; number of performers; names of performers and choreographer; type of venue; musicians and style of music or dance).
  • The introduction should be descriptive and creative to draw in readers; it should also be functional and informational (see above).
  • Critiques should have centralized themes established early in the paper and end with well-developed conclusions.
  • The dance should be referred to as a piece, performance, or work.
  • Music should be identified as recorded or live.
  • When referring to the choreographer or performers, use both names or a formal title plus last name; never use a first name only.
  • Write in the third person, not first or second.
  • Use actions verbs.
  • Research the genre of dance as well as the history of the company, performers, choreographers, composers, and musicians in order to understand the artists’ processes and intentions.
  • When a printed program is provided, read it.
  • When possible, see a performance more than once before writing about it.
  • Observe and record the audiences' reactions.

Develop Viewing and Writing Skills

To develop skills for viewing, interpreting, and writing about dance, see as much dance as possible and read dance critics such as Joan Acocella from The New Yorker, independent writers Ann Daly and Marcia Siegel, and the Village Voice's Deborah Jowitt.

  1. Terms/Jargon

1

  • Unison
  • Danseur
  • Ballerina
  • plié
  • arabesque
  • solo, duet, trio
  • canon
  • modern dance
  • ballet
  • folkdance
  • jazz dance
  • stage directions (up and down stage, stage left and right, center stage

1

V. Documentation Style

  • MLA or CMS(Always default to the style preferred by the instructor.)

*****

Sources consulted

Daleng, Maya. “Guidelines for Viewing Dance and Writing Critiques for Dance Performances.” Writers’ Web. University of Richmond Writing Center. July 2010. 6 June 2014.

Oliver, Wendy. Writing about Dance. Human Kinetics, 2010.