Choreographic art and its trace: a discussion around the ephemeral nature of dance, the choreographic notation and the technological revolution of movement capture

Abstract

Dance, unlike music, does not yet have a universal notation that is used as a generalized medium for sharing, teaching and preserving the choreographic heritage. Despite the lack of a global standard, numerous choreographic notations have been created throughout history. The first major notation systems, created during the 17th and 18th centuries, relied on description and pictographic representation as ways to combat the ephemeral nature of dance movement. During the 20th century, as first film and then video established themselves as the ideal technologies for the visual recording of movement, new forms of notation continued to emerge.

In the 21st century we find a wide range of technical possibilities capable of capturing a dancing body, such as biometric sensors or motion capture techniques. This not only enhances the research and documentation of dance, but also encourages us to ask ourselves how artists have incorporated these movement writing solutions into their creative processes.

This text discusses the romanticization that has been made of the ephemeral nature of choreographic art from the world of dance, in contrast to the solutions that choreographic notations and audiovisual technologies have brought to it. In addition, it is analyzed whether this may be one of the factors that have made it difficult to fight against the loss of dance heritage, while proposing the use of a specific terminology to face this problem within the perspective of the movement arts.