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Courtney Hicks
Ed Austin
Dance 261
14 December 2015
Personal Dance Treatise: Mind, Body, Spirit
Dance is an invigorating experience in connecting the mind, body, and spirit through
physical movement and expression. The art form of dance becomes dull and uninspiring when
any one of these essential elements is missing. Dance is an art with a multilingual vocabulary
that uses the body as a means to teach essential values and morals, connects individuals
phenomenologically, and instills a deep respect for an ultimate Creator, even God.
As the global population becomes ever more connected through technology and the
Internet, the essential human connection between individuals is being lost. Human beings rarely
talk face-to-face, preferring to rather, text, tweet, Skype, Facebook message, etc. However,
although the nature of human communication is changing, humans are inherently social beings
with a need to connect physically and emotionally in a deeply personal way. Dance is an innately
multilingual language that continues to develop and foster the vital human connection.
Individuals do not need to speak the same oral language in order to understand the
language of dance. Dance uses the physical body as the means of expression. Arms and feet are
nouns and verbs, the head and the spine are adjectives and adverbs. Dance thus unites societies,
races, cultures, and nations. A Brazilian artist can take a ballet class in Russia and understand the
movement and expression of the steps through the use of his eyes, instead of his ears. A Korean
audience can watch, understand, and enjoy a full-length contemporary dance work performed by
an Italian dance company because the language is the samethe language is dance. As the

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world continues to grow, expand, and experience political and social conflict, dance serves as
one of the great mediators on the earth.
Just as dance serves as mediator, the essential purpose of dance is to teach. As the world
and its inhabitants continue to grow selfish and narcissistic, dance teaches its students to give of
themselves, to value hard work and vulnerability, and to learn that life is not fair. Dance is a
performing art and its purpose is to shape artists in to givers; to give a piece of themselves as an
offering to others. Odette, in Swan Lake, gives a piece of her soul as she dances the fourth act of
the ballet. Prince Siegfried has just betrayed her and pledged his allegiance and love to the evil
Odile in the previous act. In her final moments, Odette uses expressive arm movement and
delicate footwork as a means to express not only her despair, but her subsequent willingness to
forgive Prince Siegfried. Through facial expression, rich arm usage, and breath-taking leg
extensions, Odette teaches the audience that love can be painful but that forgiveness is sweet and
rewarding. Through the physical movement, the artist gives of herself so that the audience can
learn an important moral lesson. This giving of oneself to teach others is inherent in the art of
dance.
In addition, dance exacts discipline and determination. It can be tedious and painful to
enter the studio day in and day out when ones muscles are shaking and fatigue is setting in, but
that is the essence of dance. Dance teaches its participants essential life skills, namely hard work
and determination. The ability to pick oneself up both physically and emotionally during a class
carries over into a dancers social and professional life. In addition, the ability to be vulnerable
and take risks is a vital component in the life of a successful dancer. Martha Graham explained
that dancers must be hard workers and risk takers. She taught, The smile is there [on the
dancers face] because he is practicing living at that instant of dancer. He does not choose to fall.

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At times I fear walking that tightrope. I fear the venture into the unknown. But that is part of the
act of creating and the act of performing. That is what a dancer does (Graham). Dancers are
instilled with the power to work tirelessly and be vulnerable until a job is complete.
In addition, throughout a dancers life he/she will experience moments of great thrills and
accomplishments and times of frustration and rejection. Dancers continually face the pressure of
competition from fellow dancers and a hungering desire to please teachers and directors. At
times, artists may receive the role in a work that they had always dreamed they would dance.
Hours of strenuous work and dedication in the studio seem to pay off in this moment. However,
throughout a dancers career, he/she will experience intense times of rejection. Even when the
individual may feel that a particular part should have been given or more accolades were
deserved, the nature of dance is tough and unforgiving. Dance thus teaches the valuable lesson
that in life, sometimes outcomes and struggles are simply not fair. In a world that has embraced
the entitlement mentality, this value is easily overlooked and undervalued. However, much of the
worlds complaints and conflicts would be solved if people learned this critical lesson. Dance
teaches its artists to be giving, hard-working, and selfless.
Communication and relationship skills are fostered in a dance environment. Dance
promotes experiences in which human beings can be connected in a phenomenological manner.
Phenomenology is the idea that human experiences, especially physical ones, can be connective
and enriching. The notion of being present and attentive to ones body and the bodies of others is
essential in phenomenology. The feeling of losing oneself in the movement or feeling the energy
of fellow dancers in a performance are examples of phenomenological experiences. According to
Sondra Fraleigh, a present-day author on the subject, explains that, It [phenomenology] hopes to
arrive at a shared meaning, recognizing that this world is indeed our world, that our being-in-

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the-world is conditioned by the existence of others (Fraleigh). In other terms, the feelings of
connectivity and aliveness that dancers are exposed to in the rehearsal studio and on the stage are
moments in which the artist and his fellow dancers are becoming bonded on a higher level.
Fraleigh continues to explain that, self and other are terms that take on meaning in relation to
each other. Individual subjectivity is therefore understood in view of its intersection with a
surrounding world (Fraleigh). Dance encourages humans to form close relationships with one
another, to work as a group rather than as individuals, to achieve a common goal such as the
mastery of choreography and performance. As dancers move through space with their physical
bodies, inherent emotional and spiritual connections are formed and strengthened. The
sacredness of the physical body helps these phenomenological moments to become even more
intense.
Gods greatest gift to His children was the physical body, together with the spirit, the soul
of a man. The divine Creator expects each and every one of His offspring to use the body to its
fullest potential and ability. As understanding of the body increases through experiences with
physical movement, sensitivity and awareness of a mans spirit is strengthened and cultivated.
The body and spirit were created to co-exist in harmony together. There is no purer harmony than
the bond that is formed between the body, mind, and spirit through dance. Dance allows for one
of the most God-like experiences on earth. God created the body to be used and expressed on this
earth. Using the physical body to create beauty is fulfilling Gods purpose for the Creation.
Dance is an art form that should be preserved and protected. It is more than just a
beautiful presentation of technique and artistry. Dance holds a connective power between its
participants and ultimately between its participants and God. The common movement vocabulary
crosses all borders and boundaries. The discipline required instills the gift of giving, hard-work,

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and selflessness. These attributes lead to individuals who are willing and able to form
phenomenological bonds with others. Lastly, dance is a sacred art form, which allows the
connection between the physical body and spirit to be increased thus leading ones soul to a
closeness with God, the ultimate goal of this life.

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Works Cited
Fraleigh, Sondra. A Vulnerable Glance: Seeing Dance Through Phenomenology. Dance
Research Journal 23.1 (1991): 1116. Web. 11 December 2015.
Graham, Martha. I Am a Dancer, 1952.