Social Dance by Gerald Jonas and Language and Languages by

Robin G. CollingwoodBy: Lindsay Kaufman and Edited By:

Laura Pratt and Dr. Kay Picart

Language and Languagesrobin g. collingwood

• The Linguistic Expression of EmotionThe Linguistic Expression of Emotion

• The linguistic expression of emotion is an activity without which the experience of that emotion cannot exist.

All art is a form of language

Language is any _______and __________ bodily activity

Total body gesture

Vocal Languages, Speech, and the Expression of Thought

• Vocal languages is thus only one among many possible languages or orders of languages.

• Any of these might, by a particular civilization, be developed into a highly organized form of emotional expression.– There is no physiological basis for the difference.

• Vocal language is the expression of ________, ________, and speech is a ______________________________________________________________________________________.

Speech as an example of a System of Gestures

• Speech has a peculiarity that each gesture produces _________________________________________.

• SPEECH IS NOT JUST A SYSTEM OF SOUNDS!• It is a system of __________ made with the lungs

and larynx, and the cavities of the mouth and nose. • Speech is, therefore, a

___________________________________________________________________________________.

Body of Languages• Dance is the mother of all languages and other languages are merely

subdivisions of this original one.

• All the different kinds of language have a relation to the body gesture. – Art:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

– Instrumental music: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

– Every kind of language is in this way a specialized form of bodily gesture, and in this sense it may be said that the dance is the mother of all languages.

Discussion:

• What are your thoughts regarding Collingwood’s accusation that DANCE is the MOTHER of ALL LANGUAGES?

• What shape does such an accusation take when it is applied to societal structures?

• What examples of the “social language” can you think of that embody Collingwood’s idea of dance as the mother of all languages?

Social Dancegerald jonas

• The social dance socializes.– __________________________________________

– __________________________________________

• We only become aware of how much our social dances reflect the values of our society when we come into contact with a society whose dances differ greatly from our own.

Cultural Difference of the Social Dance as a Linguistic Expression

• Different civilizations have developed for their own use different __________ all of which are communicated through body gestures. (Jonas)

• Thus, different civilizations have developed their own __________, all of which reflect the values of the society and are utilized as mechanisms of social control.

• In referring to Collingwood, dance is a ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

The Social Dance on the Island of Rarotonga

• Brief History:– Rarotonga is an island in the __________.– Rarotonga has previously been a territory of __________

along with 13 smaller islands known as the Cook Islands.– The Cook Islands gained their independence in _______. – The native spoken language in Rarotonga is ________, but

the English language is taught in schools. – The Portuguese first explorers came to the Cooks Islands in

the early part of the ___ century.– Cultural shift occurred after Captain James Cook, of

England, came 3 times between ____ and _____.– Along with Capt. Cook, the pressure on the native culture

was fueled by the presence of ___________ who began arriving in 1823.

A Time of Social Change in Rarotonga

• The missionaries: (109) – ___________________________________________________

______________________________________________. – Thought that the social dances of the natives were indecent.

• ____________________________________________________________________________________________________.

• Thought to lead directly to ____ (similar to the Tahitian dances).

– This was enough “evidence” that Satan ruled there without any opposition from any otherwise “good” forces.

– Missionaries were successful at converting the natives to Christianity.

• ________________________________________________.

• Jonas explains that this was because Christianity offered ___________ an alternative religious-political system (111).

The Social Dance of Rarotonga (109)under cultural change brought about by outside influence

• Islanders were not as willing to compromise their ____________ dance as they were to compromise their indecent ___________.

• By 1945, the New Zealand authorities had banned all native dancing.– “Papa Tom”: Sir Thomas Davis

• ____________________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________________

Characteristics of the Rarotonga Social Dance

• Performed by _____________ gender-specific teams where the men and the women teams never touch.

• Men and women are ________________________________________________________________________________.

• All team dances are performed in front of a ________________________________________.

• In all dances (team or couples’ dances) men and women______body contact.

~Jonas (109-110)

Social Control in the Name of Pleasure

• Even when people get up and dance for their own pleasure, __________________________________________, is of vital interest of the society at large.

• According to Jonas, social dance begins with _________.

• If people dance to please the powers that be or to earn a living or to avoid ill consequences, then it is ______ social dancing.– People sometimes feel pressure to dance in

ways that are _____________.

Social Dance as Social Control?

• How does the social dance enforce social control?

• Is this an ‘violent’ method of social control?

• What kinds of social values are reflected in the social dances of a society?

The Social Dance of Rarotonga

as a Mode of Social Control (110)• “Papa Tom” understands that the most important function

of Cook Island dance is the same as it is everywhere else in the world.– _________________________________________– _____________________– The emphasis on gender-specific movements express actual social values

and practices.• Men and women ______contact.• They may come close to display a sexually teasing conversation of the man and

women through gender-specific moments.• Good dancers take pride in their ability to

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“[Dance] is the worlds way of letting boy meet girl.”

Through social dance, new generations learn how to perform in society as men and women.

More on the Social Dance of Rarotonga (110)

• In the Cook Islands, the “emphasis on dancing in orderly rows separated by gender, expresses something basic to Cook Island culture: – The extended family is everything!

• ________________________________________________

– What is the importance of the nuclear family?

• Jonas explains, “team dancing contributes to the islanders’ sense of belonging to a large, cohesive social group.” – What are the “hidden meanings” expressing?

Jonas and the Social DanceCollingwood and Dance as Mother of Language

• Is Collingwood’s idea applicable to Jonas’s description of the social dance in that the social dance communicates cultural values to the people of that culture?

• Is social dance the ‘mother’ social language in the terms expressed by Collingwood?

• What really is social performance?

Bibliography

• Collingwood, Robin G. Language and Languages, from The Principles of Art. (1938) What is Dance.Ed. Copeland, Roger and Marshall Cohen. Oxford University Press. New York,NY. 1983. Pages 371-376.

• Jonas, Gerald. “Social Dance” Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. New York, NY. 1992.