In her introduction to the book Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat*, Nikki Giovanni explains the genesis of rhythm in language, music, and ultimately hip hop: “When humans were beginning to develop our own language, separate from the growls and howls, separate from the buzz and the birdsongs, we used rhythms: a sound and a silence. With no silence, the sound is cacophonous. With no sound, the silence is a lonely owl flapping her wings against the midnight sun seeking a careless mouse.”

Last week we explored Attitudes to Time in yogic philosophy, coaching, and as an element of dance. Today in episode 45, we’re getting into more detail about musical expressions of the element of time in dance. 

As dancers, we are well-served by learning to hear and analyze music, and to develop a close relationship to the music we dance with. Katherine Teck states in Ear Training for the Body: A Dancer’s Guide to Music*, “The most obvious reasons for dancers to develop a keen awareness of specific musical events is so that they can recognize aural cues during onstage performances. To put it bluntly: If performers cannot quickly sense and remember what they should be doing in relation to the music, they will have a rough time making it in the dance world.” (p.3)

In Ballet Pedagogy: The Art of Teaching* Rory Foster outlines some music essentials for teachers and students of dance: "Any understanding of music fundamentals, its form and structure, will broaden and enrich one's teaching capabilities and effectiveness. Ballet is performed to music, and its kinesis and aesthetics work with many of the same components of music such as meter, tempo, rhythm, accent, phrasing, and dynamics." (p.79)

In the Podcast, I break down Beat, Rhythm, Tempo, Meter, Bars, Measures, Phrasing, Cadence according to these sources.

In the future I will discuss other forms of music outside the classical western tradition such as world music and the liberating tradition of hip hop, I’ll share my handout of “Music Basics for Dancers” and more exercises and resources to develop your own musical sensitivity and dancing musicality, and we’ll practice rhythm through walking, jumping, and manipulating our focus. Stay tuned on my YouTube Channel and Blog for more!

What are your struggles and triumphs in working with music as a dancer, or in understanding it as a musician or audience member?

Blythe Stephens, MFA Dance