What are 'dance actions'?

Dance actions refer to the specific movements that dancers perform throughout a piece of choreography. This includes a wide variety of movements such as turns, jumps, gestures, and stillness. Understanding dance actions is crucial as they form the foundation of how a dance is constructed and communicated. Through these movements, dancers express ideas, emotions, and narrative, and they are integral to both the creation and performance of dance.

In contrast to other aspects of dance, such as themes, costumes, or rehearsal notes, dance actions are purely physical and directly observable elements in a performance. Themes relate more to the overarching concepts or emotions behind a dance work, costumes enhance the visual representation and aesthetics, and rehearsal notes serve as documentation of practice sessions or creative thoughts. Each of these elements plays a role in dance, but dance actions specifically denote the dynamic movements executed by dancers during a piece.