THIRD: Lizzie Roxburgh (GS) (Dance) An exploration of factors that influence emotional delivery and perception in dance

Third Prize Creatives: Dance

An exploration of factors that influence emotional delivery and perception in dance

Lizzie Roxburgh Girls’ School

Lizzie chose dance as it is something she has always been passionate about and is something that has shaped her character and taught her important skills such as determination and focus.

Dancing, for Lizzie, is one of her main self-regulation tools which she often uses as an outlet for her emotions. For this reason, she wanted to explore the connections between dance and emotion and maybe even discover something new about her perceptions in the process.

Lizzie plans to study Mathematics at university but still intends to continue with dance through other means.

An exploration of factors that influence emotional delivery and perception in dance

The link to the dance can be found here: Lizzie Roxburgh - Aske Level Project 2021

When choreographing, performing or observing a dance, comprehensive emotional delivery and perception is paramount. In order to explore the factors that affect emotional execution in dance, I choreographed a performance consisting of multiple different emotions that experimented with many choreography styles and techniques. This was subsequently performed in front of an audience with the intention of uncovering the most important feature, if any, of a dance when it comes to the presentation and comprehension of emotions and feelings.

Research shows that dance is a natural way to communicate and represent emotions and feelings without using spoken word, Hanna JL (2017). Deciding on a concept is one of the most important aspects of a performance because it sets down the foundations to build upon. A study was conducted to investigate how the perception of emotion in a dance changed depending on whether the emotion was purely acted or induced, Burger B, Orlandatou K, Van Dyck E. (2017). The results showed that dancers more consistently portrayed the intended emotion when it was induced. For this reason, the concept chosen was one where I could personally connect to the emotions and feelings I was portraying. This performance shows the emotional journey of someone drifting away from those they love which I felt I could best represent due to my recent move overseas.

After deciding on a concept, the second choice to make is the music. In a study conducted on the factors that affect a dancer’s ability to convey emotion on stage, Hargreaves J, et al. (2013), it was concluded that, when a dancer tries only to act out an emotion without feeling it, they cannot convey the emotion as well as it the emotion is induced prior to the performance. When choosing music for each of the emotions I wanted to convey, I began with an idea of my personal feelings around that emotion and how I would chose to represent it to be able to

properly connect with the emotion in stage. However, in another experiment which explored the presence of an audience, Hachimura and Shikanai (2014), it was revealed that audience in interpretation is also a key factor in how emotion is perceived in dance. For this reason, I also looked up the emotion to gather an idea for the wider more general accepted meaning behind that emotion. This allowed me to find both compelling music for an audience and music that I personally could connect to on stage.

The order in which the emotions occurred throughout the performance shows the journey that the story of losing touch with those you love takes, and therefore it was important that this was something I could related to personally, Hargreaves J, et al. (2013) and Burger B, Orlandatou K, Van Dyck E. (2017). It would begin with reaching out to a friend but when unsuccessful would induce a feeling of being trapped and the contrast of these emotions side by side would also emphasise the confinement felt when trapped. This would lead to the loneliness of feeling cut off from them. Consequently, the confliction as to whether to continue reaching out or to leave them behind for personal benefit would lead to a feeling of helplessness, where you feel stuck with no way out.

The first piece represents the desire to reach out to the people you are losing along with the music, ‘Tell Your Heart to Beat Again’ by Danny Gokey. The variation in the dynamics and tempo of the music emphasise the push and pull of this emotion and the lyrics portray this further. In a video explaining the use of different choreography styles, Auti Kamal. (2018), I found lyric study, a choreography technique that follows the lyrics of a song, so be best suited to this due to the emotive lyrics of the song. A study conducted to explore the communications of emotion in dance, Leman M, et al. (2017), concluded that the audience usually follows the movements of the chest to decipher emotion in a performance. Due to this I incorporated extended and exaggerated upper body movements into this piece to best show the intensity and frustration that occurs alongside the longing to reach out. The broad use of space, both outwards and upwards, and dynamic elements to this choreography creates momentum and further emphasises the exasperation and desperation that accompanies this emotion.

The second piece was to represent feeling trapped and confined. I see trapped as a feeling often paired with anger so I wanted the music to reflect the passion and intensity of this feeling. For this reason I chose ‘Blood Walk’ by Cabaret Nocturne which is a sharp and striking piece of music and used an urban-contemporary style to further stress the harsh nature of feeling trapped. Staccato rhythms and movements paired with the restriction of space used during this piece build an uncomfortable atmosphere. The choreography was also confined to the percussion in the music, being retrained to both the space and music, to accentuate this emotion. Puppet-like motions represent the idea of feeling out of control and unable to escape.

Loneliness was the concept behind the third piece of choreography. To encompass the feeling of abandonment that accompanies this emotion, I chose the music ‘Memories’ by Michael Ortega which is in a music box style to show the silence that is connected to being alone with your thoughts. I also consider feeling lonely to be a sad and melancholy emotion so this music is something I can connect to more when dancing, Hargreaves J, et al. (2013) and Burger B, Orlandatou K, Van Dyck E. (2017). The balletic lyrical style of dancing used portrays how simplistic, pure and innocent loneliness can be. Slow, fluid movements were used to convey the idea of being weighed down, this paired with the use of contraction helps to create a suffocating atmosphere. I used a motif throughout the represent the monotony and repetitive nature of loneliness.

The fourth piece was to convey the internal conflict of this situation. I wanted to show an emotion that was different and more bold here. This emotion is one that most people would feel guilty about so I wanted to use a style of music that represents the confliction this would invoke within someone. For this reason I chose the music ‘Heart Cry’ by Drehz. The cuts and breaks in this music emphasise the push and pull of having conflicting thoughts. Furthermore, the music is relatively slow and less powerful which I felt would further show the struggle through the conflict between the rhythm and the dynamics. To reflect this in the choreography, 159 | Page

I used a combination of staccato and smooth alongside once another in order to convey this internal battle.

Finally, the last emotion in the performance was helplessness. Whilst others may see helplessness as a sad feeling, but I see it as very frustrating as you know there’s nothing you can do. Consequently, I used the song ‘Mad at You’ by Noah Cyrus which shows the difficulties and frustration that would be felt in this scenario. I was inspired by the style and intensity of the dancing in a section of choreography for this piece of music, Sabrina Lonis (2020). Like this video, my choreography aimed to capture the dynamics and intensity that this music creates to portray further this frustration. The motif used represents the lack to control and confinement you feel when helpless. This links back to the trapped piece whilst the music and dance style connects with the very beginning of the performance to express how our emotions are all intertwined and feed one another.

The final step in the choreography journey is the performance which, in this case, was a live performance to an audience of 15 participants containing a mixed level of dance experience. The costume was all black with a minimal and simplistic style in order not to influence the audience’s perception of emotion further and limit it to movement and music alone. In response to the performance, the audience were asked a series of short questions to give insight into their perceived emotions and feeling and determine what features they used to conclude these. The majority felt that emotional delivery and expression is the most important aspect of dance in general. The response on which choreographic element they use to determine emotion was much more varied, many participants identified this as the music while the remainder were split equally between dynamics and facial expression. Since emotions are such a personal aspect of us as people, it is not surprising that we also have different forms of expression for these which is demonstrated in this response. The intended emotions were not revealed in advance and the participants were asked to identify the emotion or feeling they took from each piece. In general, the responses showed the perceived emotions to match well with the intended one. However, there were a few discrepancies that occurred. These discrepancies were consistently linked to the music choice, specifically the tempo and dynamics which is unsurprising considering that this is the main feature used to identify emotion according to those participants. As stated in ‘Dance and Emotion’ , Hanna JL. (1999),

emotions in dance are not universally understood and can be influenced by our cultural background which may have also played a factor in these differences.

By considering both the discoveries made during the choreography process, the performance and the analysis of audience responses, it is clear that there is no singular factor that determines the delivery or perception of emotion in dance. I would argue, however, that some features hold more weight than others. Music choice, as identified during the audience survey, can make or break whether the intended emotion is perceived in the correct way. Furthermore, some aspects, such as facial expressions, are more easily interpreted whereas dynamics, tempo and intensity are much more subjective. Consequently, laying down strong foundations with the less subjective features allows for easier comprehension of those that leave more room for interpretation.

Burger B, Orlandatou K, Van Dyck E. (2017). The Communication of Emotions in Dance. The Routledge Companion to Embodied Music Interaction, p. 123 – 130.

Hachimura K, Shikanai N. (2014). The effects of the presence of an audience on the emotions and movements of dancers. Warsaw, Poland: Elsevier Ltd.

Hanna JL. (1999). Dance and Emotion. Encyclopedia of Human Emotion, Vol. 1, p. 171 – 177.

Hanna JL. (2017). Dancing to Resist, Reduce and Escape Stress. The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Wellbeing. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Hargreaves J, Leman M, Lesaffre M, Maes P, Van Dyck E. (2013). Expressing Induced Emotions Through Free Dance Movement. Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour, Vol 37, p. 175 – 190.

Kamal A. (2018). How To Choreograph A Lyrical Dance With @Miss Auti. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvKiVZc_f-M (Accessed: 02/12/2020)

Leman M, Lenoir M, Lesaffre M, Van Dyck E, Vansteenkiste P. (2014) Recognising Induced Emotions of Happiness and Sadness for Dance Movement. PloS one, Vol. 9, Issue 2.

Lonis S. (2020). MAD AT YOU – Noah Cyrus | Contemporary Dance | Choreography Sabrina Lonis. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ophatMMLbsU (Accessed: 03/01/2021)

Externally assessed Distinction Projects