Memory and dance : 'bodies of knowledge' in contemporary dance

This chapter begins by considering the way characteristics of dancing shed light on perceptual and cognitive constraints and capacities. The contemporary view in psychology that perception and action are interconnected will be summarized. General characteristics of human memory will be outlined followed by an account of short-term or working memory for dance. Longterm memory for dance will be conceptualized as both somatic declarative memory and as implicit memory. Long-term memory as ‘veridical expectations’ and ‘schematic expectations’ will be discussed together with examples of experiments designed to elicit explicit, declarative (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) expectations for contemporary dance. The chapter concludes with a discussion of characteristics that distinguish long-term memory for dance and the potential for questions from the artform to illuminate the way the brain perceives, retains and recalls contemporary dance