Dance Deconstruction

The term deconstruction is related to “a philosophical and critical movement, starting in the 1960s and especially applied to the study of literature, that questions all traditional assumptions about the ability of language to represent reality and emphasizes that a text has no stable reference or identification because words essentially only refer to other words and therefore a reader must approach a text by eliminating any metaphysical or ethnocentric assumptions through an active role of defining meaning, sometimes by a reliance on new word construction, etymology, puns, and other word play.”

In this dance research we deconstructed by looking close to specific aspect of the dances; meaning the use of space, parts of the body (arms, head, legs), attitude, music (rhythm, melody), relationship with other dancers. We drew the path of the dances using different colours to different sequences of movement and dynamics. We reproduced the movements of the original dance but only in one part of the body. We danced them horizontal and vertical. We exchange roles of gender, etc.

Trough the deconstruction of the original meaning and movement, we tried to turn the common aesthetic around offering new angles of interpretation. This material left will help us now to compose.

Here are some examples of what we deconstructed of what we found interesting in each of the mentioned Mexican and Portuguese dances.

Corridinho

   Rhythm of the movement

 Circular flow

  Physical contact

  Positions of the arms

 Spinning

Concheros

Path on space

Central concentration of the energy

Use of the heads

Fouettés

Inclination of the torso 

Speed of the feet

Jarabe tapatío

  Tapping

Attitude projected by the torso in relation with each other

Movement of the big skirts

Vira

       Space path

Use of the arms (square and strong)

 

Movement of the dresses by turning