Is Dance a Language?
A certain only encyclopedia states that humans communicate with body language 90 percent of the time. However accurate that may be, we can certainly say that movement can express a lot, whether the motion is done consciously or unconsciously. People dance when they are happy, they tap their feet and bop their heads happily. You can see that a person is happy by how they dance. When a couple dances slowly on the dance floor, shifting their feet carefully, their bodies close together and moving freely, you can see the romance between them. When someone is sad they will sit with thier head in their hands, and if a child is angry he might thrown a tantrum by throwing himself on the floor and acting out. These movements too can be part of dance. Humans express so much through their actions and the way they perform that action. No everything can be said in words. Dance is not only body movement, but body language. Each movement and how it is executed can convey emotions and feelings. Whether the dancer jumps energetically or tilts her head down as she takes tiny successive steps toward her death, dancers can tell a story without words. What dancers do with their hands is also very strong language. Do they bring their hands to their hearts, are they reaching out for something?
Of course, dance needs music to fully convey the story and set the mood. I think that music is half the language in a dance. It aids the person in understanding the performance better, and after all, what would dance be without a rhythm or sound to move to? The meaning of a dance can be changed if music is changed. Every step, stance and turn is important so that taken together, a dance routine is a story book. Dancers might use movements that you exhibit during the day yourself, or they might chaotically thrown themselves about the stage, but whether you recognize the meaning of a movement or not, you will understand the overall message. It is the language to which there is no actual dictionary, but it is rich with feeling and expression.
if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a moving gesture is worth ten thousand.
This is a wonderful interpretative dance. Language is used to tell, among other things, stories. And just like actors are story tellers, dancers can be very good actors too. One of the things I love about this dance is that there is a lot of meaning packed into actions. The camera even highlights the movement of her hands and feet, which are done deliberately and with a purpose. The music adds to the madness of the scene.
