Kaley Johnson

Ed Austin

D-459 Senior Seminar

4 April 2015

The Creative World of Dance

Albert Einstein once declared, “We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for

madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we

create the dreams” (Einstein). Richard Kraus, author of the History of Dance in Art and

Education, defines dance as an art performed by individuals or group of human beings, existing

in time, space, force and flow, in which the human body is the instrument and the music is the

medium (Kraus). Man has danced since the beginning of time—linking past with the present.

Another philosopher of dance opined, “the soul searches for outlets to put its deepest thoughts

and feelings into mediums that will do the human spirit justice” (Marshall). These are feelings

that cannot be expressed or described by the medium of words or sound. Dance is a vital part of

our mortal experience, moving us to a deeper human need to create order, beauty, and meaning

deep from within our mind, heart and soul.

Dance is offered in most university settings as a formal educational program. Many

would do away with dance major, or the arts in general. Advocates of the basic academic studies

claim the arts as “frills to be sacrificed to the financial shortfalls, or to increasing demands for

computer and technological training” (Hallet). The arts such as dance are often referred to as

“niceties” or extravagances, perhaps with no enduring significance—suggesting that we direct

our time and energy toward more traditional academic pursuits. While dance is often considered

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a trivial pursuit, what place does dance department have in a university setting? Indeed, what are

the purposes and consequences in choosing to pursue a formal university dance education?

A meaningful university education fuels the human hunger for imagination and creativity.

Michelle Root-Bernstein, an award winning novelist and professor, in her book Sparks of a

Genius, advocates forging a pioneering education to “produce the imaginative generalists who

can take us into the uncharted future” (Root-Bernstein).  No matter our background, education,

talents, or perceived abilities, each person has within them an inherent wish and innate capacity

to create something of meaning and beauty. President Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the

Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church states, “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings

of the human soul” (Uchtdorf). We create to inspire, make us better than we would have been,

and bring to life visions we might not otherwise see. William A. Wilson, in his novel The

Marrow of Human Existence, notes that we have all been born with a yearning after artistic

expression and appreciation, which distinguishes us from the animal world. Human creativity

bring us close to the divinity within us, therefore we should cultivate our artistic expression in

our own lives, applaud it in the lives of others and seek and honor it wherever we find it

(Wilson).

Richard Florida, the Hirst Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University asserts

that human creativity is the ultimate economic resource. Creativity brings to life new ideas and

ways of doing things, which ultimately increases productivity and raises our standard of living

(Florida). Like liberty or security, we must think of creativity as a basic aspect of humanity. The

IBM Corporation recently conducted a study including personal interviews with over 1,500

corporate and public CEOs across 60 nations and 33 industries in search for the most important

leadership quality for business success (Tomasco). Creativity came in at number one. This IBM

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study supports the position that the arts which inspire creativity, should be viewed as equal to the

sciences.

A university education filled with creativity and artistic expression will inspire a lifetime

of learning. William Butler Yeats, a forefront of 20th century literature, observed that an educated

person is continually learning. He stated, “What is worth knowing is how to recognize the good,

the true, and the beautiful. A truly educated person is prepared for a never-ending encounter with

a wide range of artistic expressions” (Yeats). Dance is a prime example of an ongoing pursuit

that powers this artistic expression. As I am finishing my senior year in the Dance major at BYU

and am preparing to begin my Graduate studies at the University of Arizona, I look forward to

learning more fully how to express my feelings through this creative discipline. My dance

profession will forever provide opportunity for new learning and experience.

Dance, while a rigorously physical and creatively engaging activity, is also an academic

field with a great body of knowledge. Records dating back to caveman paintings during the stone

ages illustrate that human beings have long integrated dance and creativity. With scholarly

developments in the mid 20th century, dance was separated from the academic fields and now has

established its place among university disciplines. There is much to learn about the creative

process in this university setting.

Judith B. Alter, an author and professor in the Dance Department at the University of

California, explains the creative processes of dance in her chapter found in the Encyclopedia of

Creativity. The creative work is done by the choreographers, whose medium is movement.

Making dances to express their artistic dreams, their work is constantly evolving in context of the

space, performance and performers. Evidence in various biographies and autobiographies show

that beyond the kinesthetic, musical, and visual intelligences, choreographers demonstrate high

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levels of verbal, intrapersonal intelligences that are key in communicating with company

members, business agents and patrons of the arts. Logical and even mathematical intelligences

are used when discovering, clarifying and building concepts on which composer base their

choreography, and organize and arrange movement sequences. In turn, the dancers use their

creative ability in recreating the dances at level of interpretive excellence known as artistry.

Alongside other creative individuals, psychological studies have found that dance students are

above average intellectually in their creative capacities. With a wide variety of interests and

competency in one or more of the arts, dance students are “significantly more positive, flexible,

achieving, and dominating than the average college students” (Alter). The outstanding dancers

apply all intelligences in their performance and with choreographers, are often widely recognized

for their creative contributions.

In support of this vital creative process, the mission statement for the Department of

Dance at Brigham Young University is to “prepare reflective and articulate dance artists,

performers, teachers and scholars through the refinement and integration of body, mind and

spirit” (BYU). The process of training, choreographing and performing dance is a culmination of

the university program experience. When this dynamic combination is achieved, dance

innovations range from technical developments to major choreographic breakthroughs in training

and performance.

It is within these university settings that this learning, growing and innovating are

fostered. Last year, BYU had the unique opportunity of hosting Alexandre Munz, a highly

esteemed choreographer and teacher, from France. Alexandre is a creative genius by all scales of

intelligence. After an intense 10-year dancing career beginning at age 18 with the Berlin Opera

Ballet, Alexandre developed a unique somatic practice in response to his personal chronic

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pathologies. After receiving a grant from the French Ministry of Culture to implement a major

R&D project in partnership with national institutes, Alexandre has enriched the lives of health

experts as well as elite level dancers and athletes. Alexander was able to teach his somatic

practice at BYU for the first time on U.S. soil and also choreograph an original work entitled,

“Virtues Oddity,” for the BYU Theatre Ballet Company. The experience was invaluable

demonstration and development of the creative process; and I was captivated by his artistic

vision and captivating movement. I was able to personally witness the truth of David Henry

Feldman’s conclusion: “The Enduring belief that great creativity is developed largely alone,

without assistance from teachers, mentors, peers, and intimate groups is largely a myth”

(Feldman). In my most recent experience of choreographing, teaching and rehearsing my own

senior piece this past semester, I was able to experience this joy of creativity from a new

perspective as the choreographer. I realized the truth of Alexandre’s philosophy of the dancers

playing a fundamental part in the creative process. While as the choreographer I would come

with ideas and a skeleton, it was the incredible dancers that brought the piece to life beyond what

I ever could have imagined. Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognized leader in the

development of creativity, explores how creativity prospers best under particular conditions,

especially where there is a flow of ideas between people who have varying kinds of expertise. In

both Alex and my own rehearsal settings, there was a wide variety of strengths and diversity

within the artists that greatly enhanced the product and enriched overall process. In addition, he

argues that creativity requires an atmosphere where risk-taking and experimentation are

encouraged rather than stifled (Robinson). Again, in both settings, it was a constant collaboration

between the choreographer and the dancer. The openness and eagerness to create on both ends

gave way to incredible inspiration for the artists and audiences involved. Alexandre’s innovative

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pedagogy and work as well as my opportunity to conduct my senior project are evidences of

choreographic genius, dancer artistry, and the beauty of creativity, which are so wholly able to

thrive in this university setting.

Based on the above evidence, it is easy to say that dance in a university setting is a

valuable educational pursuit that cultivates and nourishes our innate desire to create. George

Bernard Shaw, in his play, Back to Methuselah, summed up his approach to life: Other people,

he said "see things and . . . say 'Why?' . . . But I dream things that never were-- and I say: 'Why

not?'” (Reed). The skeptics of society, whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities,

cannot possibly solve the problems of the world. Rather than letting creativity fall to the

wayside, the arts, including dance are “imperatives to our human existence, pursuits we must

follow in order to be fully human” (Yeats). Dance must be fostered in the university setting so

that we might produce men and women with creativity who can dream of things that never were,

and ask why not. In these dreams we will find the limitless potential for our uncharted futures.

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Bibliography

Alter, Judith B. "Dance and Creativity." Google Books. Encyclopedia of Creativity,

Volume 1, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Einstein, Albert. "“We Dance for Laughter, We Dance for Tears, We Dance for Madness,

We Dance for Fears, We Dance for Hopes, We Dance for Screams, We Are the

Dancers, We Create the Dreams.”." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

Hallet, Janelle. "The Kennedy Center: ARTSEDGE - the National Arts and Education

Network." ARTSEDGE: Arts Education: Making the Case With Legislators. Katie

Freeman, 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

Feldman, David H. "TICI: The Experts Speak on Creativity and Innovation."

TICI: The Experts Speak on Creativity and Innovation. Stephen F. Austin State

University, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Florida, Richard.  The Rise of the Creative Class.  New York:  Basic Books, 2002.

Kraus, Richard G. "P.24." History of the Dance in Art and Education. Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969. N. pag. Print.

Marshall, Marcie. "Philosophy of Dance - Marcie Marshall." Marcie Marshall. I

IPage, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

"Mission Statement." Dance RSS. BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications, n.d.

Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Tomasco, Steven. "Creative Class." Creative Class RSS. N.p., 18 May 2010. Web. 23

Mar. 2014.

Uchtdorf, Dieter F. "Happiness, Your Heritage." - General-conference. LDS.org, Oct.

2008. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

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Reed, Dan. "Reed's Ruminations: A Blog by Dan Reed." 'Reed's Ruminations: A Blog

by Dan Reed' N.p., 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Robinson, Ken.  Out of our Minds: Learning to be Creative.  West Sussex: Capstone

Publishing Limited, 2001.

Root-Bernstein, Robert and Michelle.  Sparks of Genius:  The Thirteen Thinking Tools of

the World’s Most Creative People.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Company,

1999.

Wilson, W. A., Rudy, J. T., & Call, D. (2006). The marrow of human experience: Essays

on folklore. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.

Yeats, William B. "W.B. Yeats Quotes." W.B. Yeats Quotes (Author of The Collected

Poems). Good Reads, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

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