Music and Dance

Over the years, I've studied a lot of different dance styles, both in classroom and workshop situations. I've also seen lots of dance performances, and I've noted a few patterns about the relationship of dance to music.

1. Dance is the visual representation of the music, and enhances the experience by combining visual with audio.
   
2. The music is mostly irrelevant to the dance, and if the movements coincide with any part of it, it's coincidental.
   
3. The dance is done only to the rhythm of the music, and the music is therefor interchangeable, so long as the music has a coinciding number of counts for the choreography/combination.
   
4. The dance is representative of the theme of the song, rather than the melody/rhythm.
   
5. There is no music at all, and the dance is performed in silence, or the act of the dance itself creates music.
   

#1 is something I see very frequently in improvisational belly dance, and is how I generally treat music/dance, when I perform. I do not necessarily believe it is the superior way of doing things, but it appeals very much to my personal aesthetics. Maybe it's a synaesthesia thing, but when I hear certain parts of music, it feels/looks like certain body movements to me.

I have seen #2 in contemporary and butoh performances, where the music and dance sometimes seem at odds with one another. I think this may be intentional for the purpose of shaking up the viewers' perception a bit, and perhaps keeping them off balance.

I have also seen it with bad dancers, who have a wooden ear and/or no sense of rhythm. I've also seen it with inattentive dancers, who are more concerned with going through a series of tricks and combinations, and are completely ignoring the music.

#3 I've seen in a lot of classroom situations, and in choreographies which are based on counting, rather than anything else to do with the music, specifically. It is especially easy to replace a dance done to one 4:4 or 3:4 time signature song with another. Just adjust the speed of the dance to the tempo of the piece. I personally find this the least interesting, but in terms of teaching, it is the simplest--especially when drilling technique.

I have also seen it in square dancing, where the dancer is using the music for rhythm, but the voice of the caller for combinations.

#4 is something I've seen in contemporary dance, as well. I have also used this a few times, while using dance as a story-telling medium. I have also seen it when a dancer performs to dialogue or poetry.

#5 is something I see in percussive dances, like tap, slap dance, etc. I have long wanted to experiment with this in different ways (ie. wiring up parts of my body so that different movements would play different sounds through a computer), but I do not have the technical know-how. If someone wants to collaborate with me on this, let me know!

There may very well be other patterns, but these are the ones I've noted. What are your opinions on the topic?

"Common" Sense About Fitness

I hear a lot of questions and statements about diet and fitness from people which makes me realize that what I thought was common knowledge, really isn't.

So here are a few things which I find myself telling to various clients, over and over again.

• Any pill that makes you lose weight is bad for your health. If you want to lose weight, do it through lifestyle, rather than quick fixes.
  
• Going on a diet is not a good idea. You may lose weight in the short term, but as soon as you start eating normally again, your body will overcompensate because it thinks it's leaving a famine, and will store even more fat than before. Starving yourself is not just not healthy.
  
• You cannot spot-reduce fat. Doing lots of sit-ups will not make you lose the pudge on your belly. The only way to spot reduce fat is through surgery. Working a particular area will not burn fat just in that area. What it will do is make the working muscle stronger.
  
• Just because a restaurant does not sell french fries does not mean everything on the menu is good for you. Nachos with all the fixings are not health food.
  
• Lifting weights a couple times a week will not give you an extremely muscled body by accident. Getting a bodybuilder's physique takes a lot of specialized work both in the gym and in the kitchen.
  
• Skinny does not mean fit. Fat does not mean unfit. There is a wide range of healthy body types, shapes, and sizes.
  
• Weight is irrelevant, except in extreme cases. Muscle weighs significantly more than fat. It is possible to drop several sizes without losing a single pound.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that sprung to mind.