Rotation is Your Motivation: Phase 2

Abstract

„Rotation is Your Motivation” deals with the relationship between anatomical structure and aesthetic values in dance. The project's title refers to William Forsythe's work, which used hip rotation to initiate improvised movement material. The research project is an artistic and scientific exploration of the anatomical functionality of the dancing body and how it affects artistic expression. Summary of Phase 1: The first phase was a mix of scientific and artistic research. By evaluating the dancer's hip joint structure and its movement possibilities, we wanted to determine if function and aesthetics are the same in contemporary dance techniques.

- The scientific research: We measured the hip joint's external and internal rotation on volunteering dancers and took pictures of their hips with a machine called DEXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry). We correlated the angle of the femur's head with its external and internal hip rotation. Results: We found no relation between the hip's geometry and hip rotation ability. - The artistic phase: We worked with two dancers, one with extreme external rotation and one with extreme internal hip rotation. We created movement material for two types of hip joint ability: one with more external hip rotation and one with more internal hip rotation. We saw significant differences in how the movements look on the dancers with different movement potentials. The artistic phase created a beautiful unison material that can never be perfect unison because of anatomical diversity.

The Second Phase of the research project is a study of how to implement dance-science research into dance pedagogy. The "Rotation is Your Motivation Phase 2" research project aims to collect knowledge about the anatomy of the dancing body to open a discussion about the relationship between anatomy and talent and between the scientific and artistic sides of dance. This phase investigates what measurements of the dancing human would be necessary to understand their physical capacity. With measurement, it is possible to assess a dancer's status quantitatively. Monitoring an athlete's status is routine in the athletic world and is starting to appear in some dance training and performing institutions. It provides crucial information such as the dancer’s training readiness, injury risk, and current training load. It may also include psychological status and health status.