The construction of classical dance vocabulary in the light of the principle of variation

a comparison with the compositional techniques of contemporary dance

抄録

Since the late 20th century, a new compositional or improvisational technique in dance has been created, by William Forsythe among others. This technique has built a new vocabulary of movement, developing methods for generating and modifying movements and establishing concepts and terminology for the procedures corresponding to them. Although what Forsythe aims at with this methodology is way beyond what classical ballet does, the mechanism for building such a vocabulary appears to be similar to that used in classical ballet, if both are viewed in the light of the principle of variation. To compare the mechanisms for both styles of dance, in this paper the author first analyses the technique for building such a vocabulary in contemporary dance, and then in the construction of a classical ballet vocabulary – not as a fixed structure, but in how it is, and has been, built and expanded. To examine the latter, the focus is especially on the fact that classical dance steps have changed significantly over time, while the basic terminology has changed little. The comparison seeks to demonstrate that the technique for building a vocabulary in contemporary dance is in essence an application of the mechanisms used in classical dance. Throughout the discussion, this paper tries to bring light to bear on the potential for changing or inventing new things in the intrinsic mechanism of classical dance, even though this tends to be regarded as a style of dance whose vocabulary is composed of a predetermined set of steps and phrases subject only to rearrangement.