Dance is an interaction at its core, it is widely demonstrated through people as they interact with sound and their surrounding environment. Dance is enriching and freeing, it is a way for us to stretch and test our bodies’ limits and often brings emotional and physical healing to the dancer.
Sliced Images 'Layback Spin', Park, Chan Girl, 2011, From the collection of: Korean Art Museum Association
A uniquely constructed metal statue of a ballerina stretching her arms up, tilting her head and leaning her torso back as she lifts one leg and balances herself on the other. She may dip farther back and hold this stance momentarily before she carries her motion into a new position.
Dancers watch side stage during a performance of Le Corsaire, Photograph by Darren Thomas, 2013-05-30, From the collection of: Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Backstage dancers watch as the performing woman is twirled by the performing man. Her balance is altered at her hips as her movement is reliant on the man's lead. He leads her towards him and as she spins she is able to maintain an appropriate distance away until he is ready to pull her in or let her go.
The Dancer of Thebes, Claire J. R. Collinet, ca.1925, From the collection of: Museo Art Nouveau y Art Déco - Casa Lis
The statue is a lightly clothed and decorated dancer in mid leap. She is mounted on a plaque depicting Ancient Egyptian carvings and as one arm pushes back her front arm reaches towards her destination, her knees are tucked in and stretching forward to amplify her momentum, and her skirt is full of ripples as if flying through the air.
Gypsy Dance in the Gardens of the Alcázar outside the Pavilion of Charles V, Alfred Dehodencq, 1851, From the collection of: Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga
Men, women, and musicians are gathered around a street dancer performing for money, she is keeping beat to the music, the man strumming the guitar is mid strum, the man clapping is mid clap, and she is about to snap her fingers and change her position. One toe sticks out of the bottom of her dress as the other arm is up usually in dance her next movement will be a reversal, switching legs, dropping her arm and raising her other one.
Anna Pavlowa, Arnold Genthe, about 1915, From the collection of: The J. Paul Getty Museum
A woman clothed in Native American clothes raises her arms and her leg is poised in a position ready to snap forward or continue its motion upwards and around back down to the ground. Her clothes have full motion indicating very fast paced dance. Her leg muscles are chiseled, she is very flexible and strong.
Wild Boar, Kim Jun-geun, 1850/1950, From the collection of: Korea Data Agency
Two wild boars are running in the same direction and somewhat towards each other indicating a playful attitude. The are leaping and the artist even depicts a smile. The boars are in a playful dance with each other, this is an effective method of releasing pent up frustration that even wild animals partake in. Their fast motion is apparent by their bodies leaning forward and their tails straight back with bristles flowing backwards.
murmur 21, 26 November, 2006, Barnes, Richard, 2006, From the collection of: Universidad Pública de Navarra
Thousands of tiny birds swarm and swim through the air intertwining with one another, creating a dark cloud of chaos. These birds are notorious for creating scenes of ebb and flow, back and forth motion, a definite characteristic of dance. They stay very closely clustered as the flap their wings at speeds like hummingbirds and create a loud resonating sound that can be heard for miles. It is a rare thing to see a murmur, to see so many creatures move so fast and in sync with each other. The connection that these birds have are only matched by that of their counterparts, fish under the see that swim in schools. No other creature in such a mass amount dances so on beat with one another.
Still Life-Fire, Yoo, Hyun Mi, 유현미, 2007, From the collection of: Korean Art Museum Association
This painting of a seemingly empty studio with pillars features a painting, on the floor leaning up against the wall, of most likely the very same studio. There is a fire burning in the middle of the floor in the painting. Though the fire is not a dancer in movement I still decided upon this work of art because it is a perfect representation of what moves a dancer. Without a body to manipulate, this fire burning on the dance floor is what is left of a dancer. Her fire is what gives her movement and flow, energy and desire, a light within her soul and a need to set it free. but without a body the fire burns in an empty room with no witnesses.
Stepping on Flowers, Xia Xiaowan, 2001, From the collection of: Long Museum West Bund
This is a bottom angle view of two horses running in a tight circle with each other, a very common dance movement with a partner. Their tails have momentum and are flared out from the direction they are coming from outwards to the direction the horses are pulling towards. The horse on the right of the frame is bending his hind legs as his front legs are elevated in a position ready to leap over the horse on the left. From the viewpoint of this image we are unable to truly see if the horses are playful with each other or in a more serious interaction, both of which are qualities of different dances.
YOYO, Hou Yi-Ting, 2007, From the collection of: Fubon Art Foundation
In her black light environment, this rave dancer's hair is her most predominant feature and the way her fists, knees, and feet are planted on the ground gives her core bounce and allows her head to have full motion. This dancer's position gives her the opportunity to make the biggest impression and this image allures the viewer to want to see the next moment.
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