Dancing Calgon: Embodied Research through Motif Notation

This embodiment study is presented in video from the qualitative analysis of two dancers’ experiences with dancing and writing using Motif Notation as they engaged in the practice of learning a dance from video. They interpreted their scores, revised the notation, and performed for accuracy. Through the dancers’ voices, movement, and Motif Notation scores, the study captures dancers’ experiences of how score writing can inform embodiment of an unfamiliar dance style. The dancers shared their self-discovery processes of using intellect to deepen embodiment—and embodiment to deepen intellect. The study with these two dancers revealed that (1) Motif Notation deepens cognitive, social-emotional, and psychomotor learning, and (2) notating while learning movement supports the concept of a dancer as a “researcher,” one who investigates in order to clarify meaning and improve embodiment. This study is IRB approved