“Poetry and music exist in time. Painting and architecture are part of space.
But only the dance lives at once in both space and time.”
_Lyall Watson
The power of dance is that we embody our experiences. Dance is not a simulation but a real experience in time and space. Space is a key component of dance and sometimes we could miss the subtle influence it may have simply by us dancing through space. It may be easy to imagine that dance is a body moving through space when actually the dance creates a unique spatial experience for the dancer. In the dance we are not separate from space, we are space, we are time, and we are the movement – all rolled into one embodied experience.
Firstly we experience space in different ways. In circle dances for example there is no hierarchy, everyone has an equal position. We are individuals dancing and yet together we form the circle. It’s no wonder that the circle has been an intr
icate part of dance since our ancestors gathered around the fire consolidating their communities and connecting with each other.
This is just one aspect of space and dance. There are many experiences. As dancers, we interact with space in many different ways. What does it feel like to dance alone in one place – never leaving or venturing out of our personal range of comfort? Contrast that with what it might feel like to take off, move through space, turn, jump and extend our movements. These two opposites offer an experience of “stuckness” vs an experience of “exploration”. And, how do we move through space? Do we focus on linear movements moving forward, or do we alter directions?
Even when we dance alone we are involved dynamically with space. Yet, when we dance with others new possibilities unfold. By negotiating through space with others we learn about relationships. Are we rigid, or are we flexible? Do we dominate, submit or find a beautiful harmony with the other?
The way we negotiate space in our dance is a reflection of how we live our life. By exploring new possibilities in the dance, and learning to glide, turn and leap through space we embody an experience that can be translated into life.
_Christos Daskalakos
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