Laura Shapiro: What is Dance?

To define something is to set limits or boundaries, yet many practitioners of the elusive, ephemeral medium of dance, especially in a restless, novelty-driven culture like ours, often seek to break through and go beyond the limits and boundaries of precedent and propriety. One dictionary defines dance: “to perform (make, do, accomplish), either alone or with others, a rhythmic and patterned succession of movements, commonly to music,” with the etymology of music coming from “any art over which the Muses presided, especially music and lyric poetry set to music.” These definitions notwithstanding, some dance is created and performed in silence, and some contemporary dance appears to have been created without any discernible rhythms or patterns. Interestingly, some cultures only have one word for what we call music and dance. For them sound and movement are facets of the same thing, usually involving religious, social or political ritual, rite or ceremony. For me–as a choreographer, performer and teacher–dance is as essential to everyday life as breathing and nourishment, enabling me to mediate the experiences of physical and non-physical reality in performance and practice.

– Laura Shapiro

Laura Shapiro is a NYC-based choreographer/performer who has collaborated with many new music and jazz composer/performers. Since the 60×60 format assigns the music to each choreographer, it creatively challenges her to explore themes and styles that she might not otherwise choose. On first listening to Hallelujah, she was reminded of Japanese ghost stories. Then, after reading the composer’s notes, and mindful that this week there are both Jewish and Christian holidays, her thoughts turned to religious paintings, and then to films based on Biblical subjects.