I "poteri" del corpo che danza. Spunti filosofici sulla dimensione simbolica della danza a partire da Susanne Langer e Daniel Stern

In Feeling and Form (1953) philosopher Susanne K. Langer elaborated one of the most interesting philosophical reflections on the symbolic nature of dance. The present article further elaborates on these reflections and integrates them into the analyses by Daniel Stern and Rudolf von Laban. The final aim is understanding how the symbolic character of dance can be concretely articulated through body, movement and space. The main argument of the essay is that dance is able to express awareness of life as a whole. Originally, the ecological dimension (being part of nature), the political dimension (belonging to a community) and the ecstatic dimension (being part of a whole) would all be intimately bonded. This bond would be represented by dance, which may be called «the most serious intellectual activity of primitive life ».In Feeling and Form (1953) philosopher Susanne K. Langer elaborated one of the most interesting philosophical reflections on the symbolic nature of dance. The present article further elaborates on these reflections and integrates them into the analyses by Daniel Stern and Rudolf von Laban. The final aim is understanding how the symbolic character of dance can be concretely articulated through body, movement and space. The main argument of the essay is that dance is able to express awareness of life as a whole. Originally, the ecological dimension (being part of nature), the political dimension (belonging to a community) and the ecstatic dimension (being part of a whole) would all be intimately bonded. This bond would be represented by dance, which may be called «the most serious intellectual activity of primitive life ».La filosofa Susanne K. Langer ha elaborato, in Sentimento e forma (1953), una delle più interessanti riflessioni filosofiche sulla natura simbolica della danza. In questo saggio prendo spunto da tali riflessioni per collegarle con le analisi di Daniel N. Stern e Rudolf von Laban, con l’intento di comprendere come la specificità simbolica della danza si articoli concretamente nel corpo, nel movimento, nello spazio. E per mostrare come la dimensione ecologica (sentirsi parte della natura), politica (sentirsi parte di una collettività) ed estatica (sentirsi parte di un “tutto”) presentassero alle origini un legame strettissimo, espresso dalla danza, «la più seria attività intellettuale della vita primitiva»