"Footnotes"

by Julie Van Camp

Humanities, February 1983, p. 4.

Note: Materials in Humanities (published by the National Endowment for the Humanities) are not copyrighted, as they are publications of the U.S. government. They may be freely reproduced, although the Editor of Humanities has asked that credit be given to the original publication, and the author respectfully requests that this full citation be included in any reproduction, whether for personal, scholarly, educational, or commercial use.


Dance is an elusive art form, existing in the moment of performance. Its transience poses special obstacles to analysis by scholars. Program notes, reports by critics, personal memories, and still photographs provide secondary sources limited in their potential for sustained analysis and study of actual dances.

Videotapes and films capture actual performances but, in and of themselves, do not differentiate the choreographic design from the often extensive nuances of interpretation and interpolation by individual performers. Videotapes and films are also inadequate because they often cannot capture all movements of all dancers, especially for works with large ensembles.

The Dance Notation Bureau is undertaking a project with NEH support to preserve more accurately the creations of the choreographer through a technique called "Labanotation." The Bureau defines Labanotation as "one of several systems for recording human movement in a symbolic language, much the same way that notes are a symbolic language for music."

Developed by Rudolph Laban in 1928, Labanotation can record even the smallest gesture -- the raising of an eyebrow, the lifting of a finger -- through the use of geometric symbols posed against a staff that represents the human body.

The NEH is supporting the notation of six major works by Antony Tudor, choreographer emeritus of the American Ballet theater. The works being notated -- Dim Lustre, Dark Elegies, Pillar of Fire, Undertow, and Jardin aux Lilas -- complement earlier work by Tudor already in notation. Tudor has been actively involved in the project, preparing accompanying statements of his intentions for the works and other insights of value to scholars in reconstructing and analyzing the choreography.

Tudor is best known for his "psychological ballets," created mainly in the 1940s, capturing inner emotions and conflicts in strong, sculpted movements. Born in England, Tudor came to this country in 1939. He became convinced of the value of notation in 1961, when he and Muriel Topaz, now executive director of the Dance Notation Bureau, were both on the faculty of the Julliard School and four of his early works were notated. Many small companies around the company have been able to restage his work without the considerable expense of bringing Tudor or one of his assistants to teach the choreography.

Because of his positive experiences with the usefulness of notation, Tudor stands out as one of the most enlightened choreographers in permitting access to the notations of his work for research and study purposes, such as classroom use of the choreographies and research in comparative analysis, choreographic analysis, and movement technique.

Another grant from the NEH is supporting the publication of existing notated scores of works by Doris Humphrey, a major American pioneer in modern dance. Doris Humphrey: The Collected Works, Volume II, to be published by the Dance Notation Bureau, will complement the previously published Volume I.

Two Ecstatic Themes (1931) consists of two female solos, Circular Descent and Pointed Ascent, the only surviving solo pieces of the many choreographed by Humphrey during the 1920s and 30s

Air for the G String was choreographed in 1928, the same year as the previously published Water Study. Both dances were created for groups of female dancers, offering ample territory for analytical comparison. While Water Study relies exclusively on human movement, Air experiments extensively with fabric manipulation to enhance the human movement.

The third work in the new collection is Day on Earth (1947), an example of her later dramatic works, centering on themes of the family.

In addition to the scores themselves, the books include glossaries to assist the novice in following the notated score, suggestions for supplemental reading material, and information about films and videotapes of the works. Word notes are also included to aid in eliciting a visual image of each dance. Appendices include details about the musical score, costuming, and lighting, and selections from critical reviews of original performances.

Notated scores are invaluable to scholars analyzing in detail the composition of historically significant choreographers. Scholars literate in the notation can analyze the complex rhythms and counterpoints of a choreographic design in ways impossible to achieve by relying only on the memory of performances and the sketch of videotape.

Creation of notated scores is expensive, however, as the notator must be present while the work is being created "on" dancers or, preferably, when an existing work is being taught to a new group of dancers. Choreographers themselves typically do not write the notations. After many hours of observation, the notator makes a pencil score and a second notator checks its accuracy before a final inked score is made.

Many researchers are not fluent in notation, another obstacle to its widespread use. There is also considerable debate about the precise elements of a dance essential to its identity as a particular dance. This uncertainty has encouraged many choreographers registering their works for copyright to deposit both a notated score and a videotape with the Copyright Office.

Despite these problems, themselves the subject of considerable scholarly interest, the growth and dissemination of dance notation is a major step in the evolution of dance scholarship.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay was written to report on the awarding of a grant of $4,500 to the Dance Notation Bureau for "Doris Humphrey: The Collected works, Volume II, ed. E. Stodelle," in 1981-82 by the Research Publications Program, NEH, and a grant of $28,890 in outright funds and $11,750 in Federal matching funds for the Antony Tudor Project for 1981-83 by the Research Tools Program, NEH. --JVC (September 1996)


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