Musicality In Dance: What Is It? Can It Be Taught?

What Is Musicality?

Musicality in dance has two main components. Receptivity and Creativity.

Musical receptivity is ones ability to receive, comprehend, be sensitive to, and have a working knowledge of musical concepts like rhythm, tempo, phrasing, and even mood.

Musical creativity (or musical artistry) is the ability to connect with accompanying music, interpret it, or phrase and add movement dynamics that relate to music even in the absence of accompaniment, in a way that is unique or interesting.

Musicality in dance then might be considered a measure or degree to which a dancer is receptive and creative in his translation or rendering of music through movement. It is a key ingredient in a dancer’s display of artistry (more on developing artistry can be found here).

Can Musicality Be Taught?

In a previous blog post I offered my thoughts on How To Develop Musical Awareness In Dance Students. Within the article I shared some reasons why it is important to help your students improve their musical receptivity and offered a few methods to help bridge the gap in experience and increase students’ sensitivity to music at any age.

In the comments Deb, always a thoughtful reader and responder, pondered if teaching musicality was even possible especially for those don’t seem to be born with a musical gene. I’m sure we’ve all had those students that certainly made us wonder! I had to consider what I’d witnessed, eventually weighing the effects of nature versus nurture in my own experiences. This was my answer:

I think that what we consider “natural” ability is mostly learned in a sense, albeit for some very early in life. My son at 2 already displays a very “natural” sense of rhythm and musical awareness however he also heard and felt music and movement from within my body as I taught classes, we dance around our home, music is often a part of our daily routine… Perhaps it goes back to those synapses that people form very early in life, why its best and easiest to learn languages at a very young age for example. Music is another kind of language and those neural pathways are opened through exposure and experience when we are young [sometimes very, very young]. As we get older it may be harder to carve out those pathways, just as it harder to learn a language as one gets older. But I do think it is possible to develop greater musical awareness and comprehension in students with time and exposure (and a willingness on the part of the student since learning is of course a two-way street). Will those that are not “naturals” ever catch up with those that are? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s worth a try.

Though babies show a preference for moving to a rhythm, even in this recent study [Babies are born to dance to the beat - telegraph.co.uk], it seems individuals display varying degrees of accuracy. In thinking more on this topic, I realized that there will always be degrees of potential and talent, which may be either naturally genetic or nurtured very early. Either way, as teachers we can establish greater receptivity in our students by giving them the opportunity to be receptive. We can provide plenty of practice so that they have the tools to expand their musical creativity.

How would you define musicality?
Can musicality be taught?

More thoughts and tips on teaching musicality:

Musicality in performance — 7 Secrets of Super Performers

“While counting can be important sometimes for finding moments of precision in a dance, musicality in performance is expressed through more than just counting beats. In fact, while counting, it is easy to forget that a beat includes not only the sharp “tap” of a particular rhythm but also the space between those taps, just as all movements include transitions and shifts of weight between desired “shapes” of the body. Exciting and musical performers fill these spaces in the music and movement, not letting the energy or intent drop between shapes or between counts. Enjoyable performers also utilize dynamics in their performance. Resisting “sameness,” as they dance, they incorporate…”

Musicality in jumping — Vertically Challenged: Improving Your Jumps

“Awareness of your breath will improve your height and help release excess tension. Also, listen while you’re jumping to the timing and tempo of the music or rhythm accompanying your movement. Try clapping in time with some music, making circles…”

Musicality in choreography — How To Make Choreography “Your Own”

Tools for connecting movement effort to dynamics and time — Teaching Dynamics: It’s All In The Effort

Encourage a bit of experimentation — Set Your iPod to Shuffle

Developpé Dilemma: Deb Vogel Addresses a Reader Question

I often get emails from dancers, students, and others asking for advice or help with a particular problem. I do try to answer inquiries from readers or do my best to point them in a direction where they may find answers. When I received Amy’s question about pain in developpé below, my instinct was to help yet, I was not confident that I was fully equipped to assess what might be happening with Amy. So, I did what I would have for any student who had a problem I could not work out – I took her question to someone more knowledgeable than I – Deb Vogel, a neuromuscular educator and movement analyst who has been working with dancers for years. She has an awesome blog within which she answers questions very much like Amy’s. I reference her work often in my articles about the body and while I have a teacher’s knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology (enough to write and research for my articles and work with students in person), I felt sure that Deb would provide a more educated response.

Deb has been kind enough to do just that right here on Dance Advantage.

Amy’s Question

Hello, my name is Amy. I recently stumbled upon your article regarding the psoas and it immediately sparked something inside. I am twenty years old and danced for majority of my life. I started ballet a little later than most around ten. I have been dancing with different ballet companies, but find myself still crying myself to sleep at night because I cannot get through a center exercise/adage with my terrible extension. I have had training growing up where there was no discussion or thorough understanding of HOW to lift one’s leg or what those muscles really do. I have turnout and can kick quite high, but ask me to develop my leg past my knee and I cringe and tear up. (Sounds so dramatic, but hurts so badly). As I begin to lift I immediately feel the top part of my leg tense and it feels like someone is pushing down upon my leg as I go higher. I know that is not how the leg should be lifted. I cannot find any teachers to help me fix this issue, I have asked around and perhaps their discussions or explanations make no sense. I feel like no matter how much I try, I cannot fix this issue. I am desperate to at least be able to hold my leg a little above 90 degrees with ease. I figured perhaps, you might have a little insight that could point me in the right direction. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I hope you can help!
Sincerely,
Amy

Amy, you are on the right track with thinking that it might be a strength issue with the iliopsoas muscle. As Nichelle pointed out in her article on the iliopsoas – when the leg gets above 90 degrees the quadriceps lose their leverage and the iliopsoas becomes the prime mover of an extension. You would think that doing multiple grand battements and kicks in class would strengthen the iliopsoas – but they don’t.

Here’s a simple and easy way to start strengthening your iliopsoas. Sit on the front part of a chair with your back long and tall, both feet on the ground. You are going to monitor staying on top of your pelvis – don’t let yourself roll to the back side of the pelvis during this exercise. Start by lifting one knee up towards the ceiling, and then lower it just so your toe touches, and lift it again. Can you do 20 repetitions without fatiguing? That would be your first goal, and you’ll be delighted  at how quickly you gain strength.

Do the same movement on the other leg. If you want to make this more challenging you can tie a theraband around both thighs to provide resistance to the leg that’s lifting.

Once that becomes easier to do you can lean back in your chair so your back is against the back of the chair (your lower back and pelvis may be slightly tucked under, that’s okay for this exercise – even though it isn’t for your standing alignment). Now have one knee bent with your foot on the floor and the other leg straight. Turn the straight leg out slightly before lifting it up as high as is comfortable to the front before lowering to the level of the other knee. Continue lifting and lowering the straight leg up to 20 times before doing the other leg.

Another variation is to lift the leg up as high as you can, bend it into a passé like position and then straighten it forward (parallel to the ground). Then reverse, bending the knee and lifting the thigh like a developpe to the front and then lower the leg to parallel to the floor. You can again use the theraband wrapped around the thighs to make it more challenging.

In the beginning your iliopsoas may tire very quickly…. but in a relatively short time you will see improvement. It goes without saying that after you have spent some time strengthening the iliopsoas you would then want to stretch it out with doing one of the many variations of lunge stretching. I’ve put a short video up on YouTube on iliopsoas stretching.

Hope that helps!
Deborah

Author, academic, and co-founder of The Center for Dance Medicine in NYC, Deborah Vogel has been involved in the medical field since 1978, helping hundreds of people – from dancers to athletes to office workers – get the most out of their bodies while minimizing injury risks. Her articles can frequently be found in Dance Teacher, Dance Spirit, and Pointe Magazines Deborah wrote Tune Up Your Turnout: A Dancer’s Guide, and has co-authored a 3-level guide for teaching functional anatomy in bite-size pieces within a class format. She offers a free newsletter for dancers on injury prevention and technique tips as well as running The Body Series, an online source of educational products for dancers and dance teachers. Currently, she is on faculty at Oberlin College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Month by Month: January — Setting Goals

January classes are probably well under way. However, there is no time like the present for you and your students to set goals for the coming months. January is a great time to take a little time out to guide students in setting goals and planning how they’ll achieve them.

If you are midway through your season, now may be a good time to meet individually with older students about their progress and goals for the year.

Short or long-term goals could be set for an entire class as well. Have the students work together on planning some group objectives.

Even very young students could learn an important lesson on planning and reaching goals.

Talk about January being a month when many people think ahead and decide how they’ll get from one place to another.

• Practice with each exercise, selecting a goal such as remembering to point their toes on each sauté.
• Practice setting goals and sticking to them. For instance, the goal may be staying quiet as students wait their turn to go across the floor. Ask for suggestions on what they will do instead (watch closely) and then have them choose a method to make sure they are watching (each dancer strikes a pose when they finish their progression and it is the job of everyone else to copy their body shape).
• Literally practice pathways that start at A and end at B, then allow each individual dancer to choose the movements, rhythms, or methods to get there. Discuss how there are many ways to reach the same goal and have them explore which choices worked best, or fastest, or were the most fun.

I know time in the studio is always precious but with older students, take time out of class to discuss how to set realistic goals for technique, flexibility, or performance. The time spent will be worth it if each student stays focused with clear steps on how they’ll hit their target. Students could try coming up with both a short-term goal (one month) and a long-term one (6 months or a year).

Below is a one-page form that can help students plan their strategy.

The top half of the page asks the student to set a goal. For example, the dancer may want to be able to do a triple pirouette.

Then, it has the student list specific steps they’ll take to reach this goal. For instance, the dancer may do Theraband exercises at home to strengthen weak or wobbly ankles, spend the moments before class on warming up with core exercises instead of chatting or stretching, test and challenge her balance throughout class (at the end of each exercise, by taking the hand off the barre occasionally, etc.). Help your students break down their goal into these manageable pieces.

Then the form helps them prepare for the inevitable moment when they lose their focus or motivation. This backup plan could be asking a classmate to join her in the warm-up, or watching an inspiring video of professionals turning, or picking one favorite television program during which she’ll sit and do the exercises.

The bottom half of the form is to be completed when the desired window of time has closed. Six months later, has your student been able to consistently do a triple pirouette? You could collect all of your student’s worksheets in a notebook until it is time to revisit them. When you do, the form offers some questions of reflection that work even if the goal was not attained.

Remember, your students will probably need some help with this exercise. Encourage thoughtful planning and creativity, offer examples, and suggestions if they need them. Good Luck!

What are some other ways you could put goal-setting into practice in your classroom?

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Why Do You Dance?

I’ve been asked this question several times in the last few weeks. The folks at Jacob’s Pillow are asking the question, it was posed in a casual exchange last week, and at the forums on Dance Advantage Interactive… I get the feeling I’m meant to answer! I’ve had to truly think about it though. Frankly, when faced with the question directly I’ve come up sort of empty. I’ve been immersed in dance my entire life or at least from the time that memory begins to serve me. Has there been an option not to dance?

I can tell you that I have not and do not always love everything about Dance as a career, as a path of study, as a goal, as a means to an end, as an activity, as a process. But at a point early on, I discovered a deep passion for moving, discovering, and exploring, for communicating and connecting in this language, and for watching others do the same. That affection for The Dance has prompted my pursuit of and pushes me onward in Dance.

I’ve never felt I have a gift for dance (and I’m quite sure there are others that agree with me). Rather, I’ve been given a precious gift. Namely, the people in my life that have enabled me to experience both The Dance and Dance and also the capacity for participation in this art form. There have been many moments that dancing for myself (i.e. participating in The Dance) has taken a backseat to passing on the gift but, always my participation fuels the vehicle. I can’t drive on ‘empty’ for very long.

But why, Nichelle? Why do you dance?

As cliché as it may sound (and I assure you this comes from a very real sentiment), you might just as well ask “Why do you breathe?” Dance is nearly as essential and involuntary. When I’m not dancing, I’m talking about dance. I’m watching dance. I’m sharing dance. I’m thinking about dance. My other interests all have a way of coming back around to dance… even this computer sitting at my fingertips.

(okay, here it is…)

Why?

Because, like the air I breathe, dance has been a life-giving, life-sustaining force. Each inhale has been a new experience – sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter – but always taken in and then sent forth into what I accomplish, what I create. I’m quite sure that only when I exhale my last will the dance in my mind and in my body cease. And even then my essence may will dance on.

So tell me, Why Do You Dance?

Share it in the comments below.

And why stop there? Be sure to let Jacob’s Pillow know why you dance. Enlighten the lovely members at DA Interactive, too. Shout it from the mountaintops, for that matter! We could use a few more people doing that because, you know what?, answering this question reminded me why I dance, something I know I need every once in a while to renew my purpose and motivation. Do you need that too?

Role Reversal: So What Does It All Mean?

I am still in the midst of my performance. Saturday will be the final show. So, in the meantime, I thought I’d open the floor for another Role Reversal discussion topic. The following video has had a few incarnations (this one was newly revised a few months ago) and perhaps you’ve seen it circulated on facebook and elsewhere online. If you haven’t, take a look:

Obviously, if you’re reading this blog, you use a computer, so maybe I’m reaching out to an already converted audience. However, I know that the technology we use in daily life does not always translate to use in our work or business (or visa versa), and perhaps the rate of change is more rapid than we thought or than we are prepared for. After viewing the video, I’d like to pose the same question the video asks: What does it all mean for dancers, dance teachers, studio owners, movement educators? Does this change the way you look at your job, the way you run or advertise your business, the way you reach out to or interact with students? Are dance educators and studios staying on top of ever-changing technology? Do they need to be? What steps have you taken to change with the times, if any? There is no right or wrong way to answer the question. You don’t even have to stick to the ones I’ve posed. In fact, maybe the video raised some questions of your own you’d like to ask. I’m simply curious to hear your thoughts.