A Note on the Relationship between the Dance Movements and Everyday Activity

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  • セネガルの舞踊と日常動作の関連に関する研究ノート
  • セネガル ノ ブヨウ ト ニチジョウ ドウサ ノ カンレン ニ カンスル ケン

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Abstract

In general there are two views on the relationship betweenthe dance movements and daily work.From one point of view, dance movements are formedin a domain which is completely cut-off from those of dailyroutine. In dance the body is used in different ways from thoseemployed in daily work movements. In one sense, dance couldbe defined as composed of movements not found in ordinarydaily work. Dance must be something different. Theessential point is that dance movements are articulated, andby this articulation dance becomes something out of the ordinary,or unusual.The other perspective regards dance movements as beingclosely related to routine work movements. Many authors claimthat the movement style in dance represents a crystallizationof the frequent patterns of everyday activity.These two view points are apparently contradictory;but this is, in fact, not so. That is, movements performedalmost automatically or unconsciously in the everyday life are,in dance, performed consciously. Therefore they articulate.Dance movements themselves are rooted on the habitualmovements of a people's daily activity. So dance activity andeveryday activity are not entirely distinct. The criterion whichdistinguishes dance movements from daily activity is that , inthe former, movements are performed consciously and witharticulation.In this note I use as an example some particular posturesand movements of Senegalese (Ful6e, Wolof and Serer)women's dances. In their dances, the upper torso is lightlyinclined forward and the pelvis is tilted downward. Theimportant movements consist largely in those of the pelvis.This angular posture in dance appears to be related tothat in which babies are carried on their mothers' backs, andthat the pelvic movements are connected with the women's dailyactivities; pounding grains and drawing water from a well.

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