This is a preliminary study of Alaskan Eskimo dance, the first findings of a three-year comprehensive survey of Alaskan Eskimo and Indian musical systems, funded by the National Science Foundation. The study is primarily synchronic; limited diachronic comparison may be made by consulting a recent study of nineteenth century Alaskan Eskimo dance (Johnston 1974a: 17–26). The populations investigated are the Inupiaq-speakers of Northwest Alaska, numbering about. 11,000, the Central Yupik-speakers of Southwest Alaska, numbering about 17,000, and the Siberian Yupik-speakers of St. Lawrence Island (Alaska), numbering about 1,000. A prime finding is that stylistic differences in Alaskan Eskimo dance coincide approximately with Alaskan Eskimo language (not dialect) areas, with the exception of St. Lawrence Island Eskimo dance, which follows Northwest Alaskan tendencies. The study presents both emic and etic information concerning dance elements, symbolism, functions, and accoutrements.

Alaska Eskimo music has a relatively homogeneous style centering around use of the shallow frame-drum, unison singing, glottal pulsation, pentatonism (but with the additional use of microtones), asymmetrical rhythm, and sectionalized repetition. Intentionally rhythmic, patterned sequences of nonverbal body movement and gesture form an integral part of this musical system, for each complete dance routine (particularly of the sayuun category) is permanently associated with a specific melody, drum rhythm, and set of meaningful songwords. More significantly (from the anthropological point of view), each song-dance pairing is associated with and re-enacts either some recent, significant, true event in cultural history (such as a heroic or comic whaling incident), or a story involving a legendary figure or culture hero. Each song-dance pairing is associated with a specific Eskimo dancer, the latter usually being the creator. If the original creator of the dance is deceased, then the dance is associated with the present-day owner, usually the namesake, partner, or offspring of the creator.

How marvelous to observe what pure ecstasy dance brings to small children where the movement has become an exploration of the total being. “spontaneity and creativity working together toward a knowing, doing, and valuing experience” (Dimondstein 249). But dance as defined in America, when applied to the young means one thing, to the middle-aged another, and to the aged something entirely different.

The whole spectrum of movement is diminished for the aged. Within our system we have subtle culturally determined reinforcers which encourage negative self-images and attitudes as people grow old. Our society prescribes, along with what we eat, wear, and think, even how and when we shall grow old. Individuals are forced to assume the characteristic physical and mental attitudes of the aged, once they have acquired a certain number of years. The current aged population is a product of its upbringing - of the youth culture and “the Pepsi generation.” Forced into obsolescence, the bodies of the aged become “folded inward” reflecting and enforcing their withdrawal from society. Their perception of themselves as fragile is visible in their every movement.

This paper focuses on aging as a natural biological process and studies the role of movement and exercise in this process. It puts forth the thesis that regular programs of dance and movement are vital for the physical and mental well-being of the aged in our society.

In considering dance, the arts generally, human movement and physical education from a philosophical point of view, it has increasingly struck me that perhaps the biggest single area of confusion in the theoretical literature on these important aspects of human experience concerns the relationship of body to mind. This is, of course, a very large issue in contemporary philosophy, which I have tried to consider rather more fully in a recent book. But I want now to concentrate on one aspect of that issue, and to suggest that much popular talk and many theories of expression and meaning in the arts, especially dance, are vitiated by an underlying confusion about the emotions generally. In this paper I want to try to show just how a fallacious theory of the emotions creates insuperable difficulties for an understanding of any of the arts. It can, I suggest, be shown that though it is commonly accepted without question, this theory implies a position which few would want to accept, for a consequence would be that the arts, like the emotions in general, could not be intelligibly discussed. And even those who hold this traditional dualist view of the emotions usually contradict that consequence pragmatically, in that they exchange opinions about the arts as freely as anyone else.

As an example, consider the dilemma in which a teacher of dance, imbued with such a theory, would find herself if she were to trace out the consequences of it, though we should remember that the same issue of principle would apply in other art forms and to discussion of expression in other physical activities.

Recently, events occurring in the tiny, relatively marginal world of dance notation (made public in Britain through ‘Tomorrow's World’, BBC1, 18th April, 1974) seem to call for a commemorative note in the Dance Research Journal of CORD, although technological breakthroughs are not usually subjects given serious attention by an anthropologist (1).

The new IBM ‘selectric element’ (i.e., a spherical ball which can be attached to electric typewriters having 88 Labanotation symbols on it) is more than deserving of anthropological attention, indeed, in my view, the matter rates linguistic and philosophical attention as well. In theory, the IBM ‘action sign ball’ has similar potential for wide repercussions in our lives as did Gutenberg's invention several centuries ago. The graphic linguistic sign can now be joined by its obvious counterpart, the printed human action sign.

Somewhat ironically, in today's world, it is technology which may finally establish the credibility of action sign notation (2). More ironic is the fact that IBM's superb achievement (in process of development in the U.S. since 1966) is likely to be denied full recognition because already, ‘the ball’ is being looked on by many as a mere practical aid to recording human movement and it is being associated with specialist fields like dance. As usual, concern with the syntagmata obscures the real issues of the paradigms. This is s a great pity, for there is much more to IBM's action sign ball than ‘practical aids’. Moreover, like any piece of technology, say, the camera, it will only be effective insofar as the vision of the people using it permits.

Those of us in the field of dance may encounter difficulties discussing the many facets of dance among ourselves, but most of us take for granted that dance can be an art form. Currently, however, there are many approaches to dance including chance choreography, the dance happening, non-dance, and minimal dance which are in radical contrast to what has generally been accepted as the art of dance. It is reasonable to raise questions about how the new dance forms fit into the established scheme of things. It is reasonable to also raise questions about the defining properties of art in general. The purpose of this paper is to point out very briefly, some of the thoughts of respected aestheticians on the concept of art. An examination of pertinent aesthetic theory will indicate there can be no simple answer to the question, “What is art?”. There is no one theory of the artistic which offers a comprehensive explanation. A cross section of references chosen for their readability, accessibility, and relatedness bears this out. Although there are no articles devoted specifically to dance, one can sift through the material and find what pertains not only to art in general, but also to dance.

Because the world of art is always changing, the phrase, “work of art,” is bound to be used in varying ways. Paul Ziff has pointed out the difficulties in arriving at a definition of art. Disputes occur simply because of what critics mean when they refer to something as being a work of art. Ziff maintains that these disputes must always be examined in the social context in which they occur.

The phenomenon of spirit possession exists throughout Africa and many other parts of the world. Recent studies view possession as a performance, concentrating on the manner in which mediums become possessed and a description of the ensuing action. The following study of the Ondo ceremony of the Anago-Yoruba in Dahomey, while concerned with this, focuses more specifically on the numerous symbolic references to possession within the dramatic framework. Possession cannot be meaningfully discussed solely as a state of dissociation. As a performance it is made up of complex arrangements of symbols—visual, aural, and kinetic. The combination forms the reality of possession as witnessed by the audience. An examination of each element in the ritual complex deepens one's understanding of the others and of the whole. Dance specialists, particularly those analyzing dance cross-culturally, should be sensitive to all contextual elements in order to perceive patterns of thought and philosophical ideas expressed kinetically. This paper considers a number of crucial ritual elements: first, imagery in oral tradition, which reveals the personalities of the gods involved in the ritual; second, shrine architecture and priestly regalia, which symbolizes man's relationship to the divine; and third, the possession dance, which unifies the vast array of references to possession in time and space.

The purpose of this essay on Dances of Anáhuac by Gertrude P. Kurath and Samuel Marti is twofold: to assess the authors' explanation for the existence of dance as a behavioral phenomenon in Mexican prehistory, and to assess the use of dance representation--objectification of a transient phenomenon in ceramic, lithic, or painting form--as correlative data in understanding processual change in time and space. To reach these goals, I will evaluate how Kurath and Marti meet their stated objectives, indicating some of the problems, and then suggest a complementary hypothesis for the purpose, development, and change in dance. My argument for this hypothesis is derived from theories dealing with a particular conceptualization of dance (including its intrinsic properties which allow it to function as an affective and cognitive semiotic system), persuasive communication, socio-political change (stratification and integration) in general and in Anáhuac, and art iconography. These will be discussed as well as some considerations for testing the hypothesis.