Moving, Drawing, Writing: Exploring Different Forms of Literacy

Verbal & Nonverbal Communication  Verbal communication - involves spoken & written words  Nonverbal communication - involves movement, gestures, pictures, drawings & different types of sounds other than language

Picture Languages Humans have used a number of picture languages such as...  Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics  Aztec glyphs  Petroglyphs of the Chacoan & other ancient indigenous people of the Americas

Sign Language Sign language is another form on nonverbal communication. For example...  When a signer positions the hands diagonally with the palms facing, touches the finger tips & then moves both hands diagonally downward, the word house is communicated.  And to communicate shoes, the signer holds both hands in fists with the palms facing downward, and then moves the fists horizontally towards & away from each other.

The written word & movement in terms of...  Phrases  Phonology  Morphemes  Syntactics  Semantics

Connecting Movement & Word Phrases...  A dance is made up of many movement phrases just as a sentence or paragraph is made up of word phrases.  It is also possible to capture the rhythm of a series of phrases in movement by using longer movements for phrases that are emphasized and shorter movements for less stressed phrases.  For example in the sentence “I had a red hat” you can stress the phrase “ a red hat” to create a movement rhythm consisting of short & long actions.  This rhythm could be diagrammed as: __ _____.

Connecting Movement & Phonology...  Phonology refers to the small units of sound that make up a language such as b, ph or g.  It is possible to create movements that copy such sounds.  For example - A slow, sustained action copies the sound of “st” while a dabbing action is like the “g” sound.

Connecting Movement & Morphemes...  Morphemes are the smallest unit of meaning in a language.  A simple word such as dog is a morpheme.  Single movements or gestures also communicate meanings.  For example - Gestures such as beckoning or waving have a meaning.

Connecting Movement & Syntactics...  Syntactics refers to the rules of grammar.  One rule in English is proper word order. In English we say red hat, but in French chapeau rouge is the proper word order.  Movement order is also important.  For example - A mime can pretend to open a drawer & take out an object, followed by removing his hand & closing the drawer. But if the mime fails to remove his hand before closing the drawer, a different meaning is communicated.

Connecting Movement & Semantics...  Semantics refers to shades of meaning conveyed by language.  The words “mashing potatoes” have a different meaning from the words “slicing potatoes.”  Similarly, the movements performed in a Romantic Ballet send a different message than the movements of hip hop dancing.

What is movement literacy?  It is...  Being sensitive to variations in your body or kinesthetic feelings when performing different movements.  Understanding that different movements communicate different messages.

Exploring Movement Literacy  Perform the following actions as you concentrate on the body feelings you experience.  Pierce the space around your body with one arm.  Bring both hands next to your shoulders & very slowly press them away from your body.  Walk as if you are walking on very sticky mud.  Walk as if you are surrounded by a dense fog.

Following the movement exploration...  Write down as many words as you can think of that describe the body feelings you experienced in each exploration experience in the previous slide.  Were the words you wrote down different when you were describing your body feelings for the different exploration experiences?

Now let’s carry this exercise a bit farther.  Draw two visual symbols that you think represent two of the body feelings you experienced in the movement explorations you just completed.  Examples of two such visual symbols are shown on the right.

Another way to connect movement & drawing... It also possible to draw a diagram that represents the pathway or floor pattern followed by two dancers in a dance. An example is shown at the right.

Yet another way to connect movement & drawing... In addition, it is possible to draw a diagram that represents the changes in energy quality performed by one dancer in a dance as seen at the right.

Visual artists & visual literacy  Being sensitive to the use of color, line, texture, shapes & other components of a visual work of art is called visual literacy.  Students of the visual arts study in order to develop their visual literacy just as dancers perfect their movement or kinesthetic literacy.

More work with movement literacy...  In dance education we use specific words to describe our movements.  These words include the following movement components: direction, level, size, timing, duration, rhythm, quality, shape, pathway & position.

A final exercise in movement literacy...  Perform a simple series of movements such as...  Walk over to a chair; sit down on it; and then stand & walk away from the chair.  Then, describe your movement sequence using the movement components listed on the previous slide.  For example you may walk in specific directions to move towards & away from the chair. When you sit on the chair & stand, you change levels.