#Musicality in dance meaning series

A good example would be a series of Scatter Chasses in Quickstep or the Walks in Jive. Steps that have a prominent action that is repeated over and over. For example, a Chasse in most dances can be thought of as sustained for musical interpretation.Ī Percussive action involves a very definite beat pattern that repeats fairly quickly and evenly. A sustained action is often a sequence of steps that have similar importance. In such cases we can say that the dance has a Sustained quality. Think of a series of steps that do not create a strong sense of any one being more important than any other. In a Sustained action, the motion continues fairly steadily throughout the sequence of steps. You don’t want to stop like a wall and throw away the energy, but instead keep flowing to create energy for the next action. There should always be some continual movement even after that point. It simply means that the primary emphasis is at the end of the step.

#Musicality in dance meaning full

It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean everything comes to a full stop. The same thing happens in the checking action of a Cross Basic in Cha Cha. There is motion and then it very suddenly stops to create a dramatic effect. A Contra Check, especially in a dance with staccato action such as Tango, is a perfect example of an Impact musical emphasis. If you move and run into a wall there’s a very sudden stopping action. Impact actions happen when the emphasis is placed at the end of the movement.

Impulse can be used in many places in Tango, even a basic Closed Promenade. There is a moment of great energy, after which it dissipates and releases more gradually. Think of what happens when fireworks go off. In an Impulse action, the energy takes place at the beginning of a step. If you’re confused by Swing musicality as a Latin element, just think of the Whisk in Samba. The musical emphasis is somewhere around the center point. After that the momentum begin to slow as it continues to rise until it reaches its peak. At the end of the first step we reach the center of the pendulum swing, which is the moment of greatest kinetic movement. A good example is the Natural Turn in Waltz. In such actions, for musical purposes, the primary emphasis is on the center of the movement, at the point of maximum kinetic energy. Swing in this case refers only to the musical value through the movement, so it applies to Latin/Rhythm as well as Ballroom/Smooth dances (as do all six of these variations). In terms of musicality this doesn’t necessarily refer to the pendulum swing itself. Many steps have a swing character for musical purposes. The first type of action is a Swing action. When you understand these aspects of musicality, you should be able to create more musical dancing. This post explores six ways that music can influence your choreography.