Transcript Social Dance and Languages

Social Dance by Gerald Jonas
and Language and Languages by
Robin G. Collingwood
By: Lindsay Kaufman and Edited By:
Laura Pratt and Dr. Kay Picart
Language and Languages
robin g. collingwood
• The Linguistic Expression of Emotion
All art is a form of language
Language is any _______and
__________ bodily activity
Total body gesture
• The linguistic expression of emotion is an activity without which
the experience of that emotion cannot exist.
Vocal Languages, Speech,
and the Expression of Thought
• Vocal languages is thus only one among many
possible languages or orders of languages.
• Any of these might, by a particular civilization, be
developed into a highly organized form of emotional
expression.
– There is no physiological basis for the difference.
• Vocal language is the expression of ________,
________, and speech is a
___________________________________________
___________________________________________.
Speech as an example of
a System of Gestures
• Speech has a peculiarity that each gesture produces
_________________________________________.
• SPEECH IS NOT JUST A SYSTEM OF SOUNDS!
• It is a system of __________ made with the lungs
and larynx, and the cavities of the mouth and nose.
• Speech is, therefore, a
__________________________________________
_________________________________________.
Body of Languages
• Dance is the mother of all languages and other languages are merely
subdivisions of this original one.
• All the different kinds of language have a relation to the body gesture.
– Art:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
– Instrumental music:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
– Every kind of language is in this way a specialized form of bodily gesture, and in
this sense it may be said that the dance is the mother of all languages.
Discussion:
• What are your thoughts regarding Collingwood’s
accusation that DANCE is the MOTHER of ALL
LANGUAGES?
• What shape does such an accusation take when it
is applied to societal structures?
• What examples of the “social language” can you
think of that embody Collingwood’s idea of dance
as the mother of all languages?
Social Dance
gerald jonas
• The social dance socializes.
– __________________________________________
– __________________________________________
• We only become aware of how much our social
dances reflect the values of our society when we
come into contact with a society whose dances
differ greatly from our own.
Cultural Difference of the Social
Dance as a Linguistic Expression
• Different civilizations have developed for their own
use different __________ all of which are
communicated through body gestures. (Jonas)
• Thus, different civilizations have developed their own
__________, all of which reflect the values of the
society and are utilized as mechanisms of social
control.
• In referring to Collingwood, dance is a
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
__________________________________________.
The Social Dance on the Island of Rarotonga
• Brief History:
– Rarotonga is an island in the __________.
– Rarotonga has previously been a territory of __________
along with 13 smaller islands known as the Cook Islands.
– The Cook Islands gained their independence in _______.
– The native spoken language in Rarotonga is ________, but
the English language is taught in schools.
– The Portuguese first explorers came to the Cooks Islands in
the early part of the ___ century.
– Cultural shift occurred after Captain James Cook, of
England, came 3 times between ____ and _____.
– Along with Capt. Cook, the pressure on the native culture
was fueled by the presence of ___________ who began
arriving in 1823.
A Time of Social Change in Rarotonga
• The missionaries: (109)
– _________________________________________________
________________________________________________.
– Thought that the social dances of the natives were indecent.
• __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
• Thought to lead directly to ____ (similar to the Tahitian
dances).
– This was enough “evidence” that Satan ruled there without
any opposition from any otherwise “good” forces.
– Missionaries were successful at converting the natives to
Christianity.
• ________________________________________________.
• Jonas explains that this was because Christianity offered
___________ an alternative religious-political system (111).
The Social Dance of Rarotonga (109)
under cultural change brought about by outside influence
• Islanders were not as willing to compromise
their ____________ dance as they were to
compromise their indecent ___________.
• By 1945, the New Zealand authorities had
banned all native dancing.
– “Papa Tom”: Sir Thomas Davis
• __________________________________________
__________________________________________
• __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Characteristics of the Rarotonga Social Dance
• Performed by _____________ gender-specific
teams where the men and the women teams never
touch.
• Men and women are
________________________________________
________________________________________.
• All team dances are performed in front of a
________________________________________.
• In all dances (team or couples’ dances) men and
women______body contact.
~Jonas (109-110)
Social Control
in the Name of Pleasure
• Even when people get up and dance for their
own pleasure,
_______________________________________
___, is of vital interest of the society at large.
• According to Jonas, social dance begins with
_________.
• If people dance to please the powers that be or to
earn a living or to avoid ill consequences, then it
is ______ social dancing.
– People sometimes feel pressure to dance in
ways that are _____________.
Social Dance as Social Control?
• How does the social dance enforce social
control?
• Is this an ‘violent’ method of social control?
• What kinds of social values are reflected in
the social dances of a society?
The Social Dance of Rarotonga
as a Mode of Social Control (110)
• “Papa Tom” understands that the most important function
of Cook Island dance is the same as it is everywhere else
in the world.
– _________________________________________
– _____________________
– The emphasis on gender-specific movements express actual social values
and practices.
• Men and women ______contact.
• They may come close to display a sexually teasing conversation of the man and
women through gender-specific moments.
• Good dancers take pride in their ability to
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
“[Dance] is the worlds way of letting boy meet girl.”
Through social dance, new generations learn how to perform in
society as men and women.
More on the Social Dance of Rarotonga (110)
• In the Cook Islands, the “emphasis on dancing in
orderly rows separated by gender, expresses
something basic to Cook Island culture:
– The extended family is everything!
• ________________________________________________
– What is the importance of the nuclear family?
• Jonas explains, “team dancing contributes to the
islanders’ sense of belonging to a large, cohesive
social group.”
– What are the “hidden meanings” expressing?
Jonas and the Social Dance
Collingwood and Dance as Mother of Language
• Is Collingwood’s idea applicable to Jonas’s
description of the social dance in that the
social dance communicates cultural values
to the people of that culture?
• Is social dance the ‘mother’ social language
in the terms expressed by Collingwood?
• What really is social performance?
Bibliography
• Collingwood, Robin G. Language and Languages, from
The Principles of Art. (1938) What is Dance.Ed.
Copeland, Roger and Marshall Cohen. Oxford
University Press. New York,NY. 1983. Pages 371-376.
• Jonas, Gerald. “Social Dance” Dancing: The Pleasure,
Power, and Art of Movement. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,
Publishers. New York, NY. 1992.