The Power of Dance/Movement as a Means of Expression

Abstract

We live in a world of movement and all of the creatures are in a gradual evolution and development. Indeed, the whole universe is in a dance/movement. The universe and all of its components are in a well-programmed movement. This movement is very effective in framing the order of the universe. The movement is the way of expression for humankind. The movement was the nucleus of the life for the primitive forms of the human; they had to be in movement in order to survive their life, to find their food and clothes, or even to protect the fire. They used movement in religious rituals and ceremonies to express their fear, happiness, passions or hope. The birth, breeding and death are all the essentials of human life and they all occur as a result of the movement. When the humankind is closer to the nature, the movement becomes more spontaneous in expression. The learning process in the early ages is performed through living and doing, therefore the movement activities are the natural method for such kinds of learning. The movement activities help individuals to develop their physical, mental, social and emotional growth. The movement activities are vital for individuals as much as art or math. By means of the movement activities, a child might recognize and be aware of his/her own physical skills and limits, as well as s/he might be able to explore and understand his/her body. The creative movement activities are also divided into two groups as personal movements and functional/physical movements. While the personal movement activities reflect the mood and character of an individual, the functional/physical movements serve for a more practical purpose such as development of motor behaviors. There is not forethought or pre-planning processes in creative movements. The individuals let themselves to the rhythms of the music and go to a totally different ball game. There is not a perfect or previously practiced movement type. Individuals learn how to perform a dance through practicing the movements and through combining those movements within the course of time. The knowledge of movement and experience in combining the movements to perform the dance lead the individuals to create a composition. All of these actions improve the movement knowledge of the children. Within the course of time, the movements become more controlled, fluent and elegant. This is also reflected in the quality of the dance (Lynch-Fraser 1991). Therefore, individuals should refresh their understanding about theirselves and about the things in their environment through the dance/movement. This restrats in learning will continue without any judgements. With reference to the above mentioned arguments, the following issues will be discussed in the present study:

•  The power of dance/movement as a means of expression

•  The relationship between individuals and dance/movement (The gains of dance/movement to the individuals)

•  The need of dance/movement for the individuals in relation to his/her creative, artistic and aesthetical aspects.

•  The relation of dance/movement with the other kinds of art