Arts Education

» Paym Bergson - How does a dancer learn a ballet?

Or any dance for that matter?
I've always wondered, and reading your article on Nureyev (as well as some of your other fine work in this Topic) reminded me to ask.

Thx!

-Paym

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» Jo Murphy - How does a dancer learn a ballet?

In response to How does a dancer learn a ballet? posted by paymb26:

I'll write an article about how ballet dancers learn how to dance.
Thanks for the question!

We learn to do what we see. So kids who are naturally graceful have a head start and then they copy.
Mirror neurons have a lot to do with it.

Not only do we copy people but animals and the rhythm of nature. Indigenous People's dance can be an example of this, or think of Swan Lake!
Flight of the Bumble Bee.
Even Nutcracker is about the way of the walk.

Once awareness and kinetics has become a part of the repetoire of the nueral pathway people can imagine all sorts of combinations of the movements stored.
So it becomes a language in the way Chompsky would describe.
Once language has been acquired - symbolism allows composition of a more abstract nature.

The short answer is
"We begin with baby steps."

Great idea for an article though!
Thank you for posting,
Jo

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» Jo Murphy - How Does A Dancer Learn How To Dance?

Hi Again Paym,
Well It has taken me a while to get back to this question.
I am writing my Masters Paper now over the holidays and this topic came up in my research.
The book to read is
Blom, Lynne, Chaplin, Tarin, The Intimate Act of Choreography, University of Pittsburgh Press, USA, 1982. ISBN: 0-8229-5342-0
"One of the most useful and insightful books written about dance composition,"
and

Blom, Lynne, Chaplin, Tarin, The Movement of Movement: Dance Improvisation, University of Pittsburgh Press, USA, 1988. ISBN: 0-8229-5405-2
A sequel to their first book, this volume provides the pedagogic fundamentals for teaching creative dance or dance composition /choreography.

It might take me a short while but I will post a book review here soon,
Thanks for asking the question.
I hope you have had a great Christmas,
Jo

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