This analysis better determines which of the two facets is prominent in the progression of a particular musical piece. It also necessitates analyzing the musical texture to assess whether or not the melodic line has a distinctive progression throughout the musical piece that is “liberated” from the rhythmical pattern of the sequence. Identification of basic musical components involves detecting the melodic line and the rhythmical pattern (for terminology, see the section “Materials and Methods”). Thus, to compare the timing between music and dance, one needs to identify key elements (events) in both media. Synchronization of Choreographed Movement Phrases to Different Musical ComponentsĮxamining the synchronization between music and dance entails looking at the “onset or continuous action of an event at the same time as another” ( Brick and Boker, 2011, p. We note that this study was deliberately conducted in the realistic conditions of a dance studio (rather than in laboratory conditions), because we were interested not only in the theoretical aspects of the dancers’ somatic of musicality but also in the practical implications for dancers, choreographers, and dance rehearsal managers in their daily practice in studios. Following this, we examine preliminary data on professional dancers who differ in their somatic responses to various musical components, and offer several practical implications as a result. In our study, we term the somatic responses of a dancer to various components of music as the “dancers’ somatic of musicality.” Initially, we elaborate on several possibilities of tuning dance sequences to particular components of music, and provide examples of dance sequences choreographed primarily in relation to the melody or to the rhythm of the music. However, the aim of this article is to focus, define, and analyze the specific synchronization of choreographed dance to the major components of music: the rhythm and the melody. Music can also serve as a general background (or noise) to dance in this case, no specific synchronization of movement to sound is required. It is important to note that contemporary dances may be performed (choreographed) without any accompanying music (see, for example, Waterhouse et al., 2014). This expectation of the choreographer raises questions about the musicality of dancers: is there an inherent difference among dancers’ responses to the various components of a musical piece? Do some dancers synchronize better to rhythm and others to melody? Could such putative differences impact on dancers’ capability to learn or perform certain dance pieces? Could awareness of such differences on the part of the dancer, the choreographer, or the rehearsal manager be used to better adapt the learning process of a dance piece to individual dancers? Dancers are typically asked by the choreographer to synchronize their movements to certain components of a piece of music, such as its rhythm or melody. Professional dancers, on the other hand, are expected to move to accompanying music in a specific, choreographed way, rather than spontaneously. Such somatic response to music has been observed worldwide and in a variety of circumstances, including within the mother and infant relationship, as a factor impacting group cohesion, in tribal dances, and as a personal trait (see, for example, Farnell, 1999 Brown et al., 2005 Luck et al., 2009 Phillips-Silver, 2009 Witek et al., 2014 Honing et al., 2015). This response is expressed as a movement, primarily in tune with the beat or rhythm of the music ( Large, 2000 Leman, 2008 Toiviainen et al., 2010). Listening to music very often triggers a spontaneous bodily response on the part of listeners, irrespective of whether they are dancers or not. Nevertheless, most dances are practiced and performed hand-in-hand with music. Music and dance are two independent art forms.
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