Chanel Smith and Professor Shani Robison, Dance

Sacred Geometry is the study of the symbolic meanings within harmonic shapes found in nature. These shapes can also be called the Platonic Solids which follow the Fibonacci Sequence known as the Golden Ratio (Fig 1). These aspects of Sacred Geometry have been studied for centuries. Civilizations and individuals who have studied these includes the Egyptians, Greeks, Leonardo da Vinci, Fibonacci and even modern day architects. Rudolf Laban also used these shapes to create a series of movement scales in the 1920’s (Fig 2). He called these shapes crystalline forms which he felt not only expanded human movement potential, but also created a certain feeling tone within the mover. With the application of these scales the mover could come in contact with the mysteries of the universe and have the heavens open for even a brief moment.

Rudolf Laban’s movement scales are an aspect of his movement analyses system known as Space Harmony. The symbolic nature of both Sacred Geometry and Rudolf Laban’s Space Harmony interested me as a ballet dancer. I learned ballet as a technical application to the body almost to the degree of robotic information that had to be perfectly executed. The sense of spirituality and mystical awareness that Laban described in his theories were never related to the movement of ballet. I recognized this as a problem because without any passion behind the movement it just becomes a series of steps strung together.

What is too often forgotten in ballet technique is that the movement has symbolic meaning within it. The choreographer does not have to rely on the subject matter, costumes, lighting and music to reveal the message of the dance. Laban argues that the movement alone has meaning because it is an unspoken language of man1. Not only is movement a language but it also can be a way to connect the mind, body, and spirit as one. This creates the potential for the dancer to experience spirituality within his or her own movement.

In this project I applied the ideas of Sacred Geometry and Space Harmony to ballet technique in order to reveal deeper meaning through the movement. I was interested to see if these applications could be an effective way to create a spiritual awakening in the dancer or the viewer or both. This project took form in three different ways; research, personal application to my own dancing, and choreography. I worked with professor Shani Robison, Artistic Director of BYU Theatre Ballet, to determine the progress of my work.

I first researched Sacred Geometry and Laban’s Space Harmony to find the specific connections these ideas could be linked to dance. In many ways this was a preparation for creating my own philosophy of performing and teaching ballet and dance. From this research I wrote two papers on this applied topic. One of these papers was published and presented at the BYU Department of Dance Writers’ Symposium. Another will be presented at the Integrated Movement Studies program held at University of Utah.

Second was the process of applying these ideas to my personal ballet technique. In ballet, most of the movement is performed within an octahedron shape. In Rudolf Laban’s Diagonal Scale the movement is performed within a cube shape. These shapes are visualized around the body and the movement reveals the inner scaffolding of the shapes. Within the octahedron the movement reveals the directions up/down, side/side, and forward/back. However, within the cube the movement reveals diagonal directions which have equal up/side/forward directions or the counter tension down/side/back. Because of the direction change within the cube the movement feels differently in the body compared to the movement of the octahedron. Also, the movement within the Diagonal Scale is highly focused on finding stability within the counter tensions. As I practiced the Diagonal Scale I began to feel improvement of stability carried over to my ballet movement.

After this personal application I took the movement from the Diagonal Scale into choreography. I created a dance piece to be performed by members of BYU Theatre Ballet. The intention was to culminate my newly found ideas and philosophies into one experience that could be shared with others. I used the movement of the Diagonal Scale to portray the meaning and feeling of the dance. More than one audience member provided me with feedback saying the dance gave them the feeling of joy. This gave me a small bit of proof that my choreography had been successful in creating a feeling within the viewers. I would like to investigate further into the choreographic aspect of this work.

Integrating Sacred Geometry symbology and Space Harmony into ballet technique and choreography provided new insights to a traditional form of dance. Having this new prospective gave me as a dancer and choreographer rejuvenation. I created deeper meaning to the movement rather than just putting steps together in their traditional way. It is hard however, to quantify an answer from my original question of provoking spiritual awareness within the technique of ballet. Nevertheless, I believe this goal was reached at the most important level at this time in my life as I personally discovered spiritual growth from this experience. Learning to teach spiritual awareness through movement is a journey that I have begun from this project and I feel it is worth pursuing further.

References

• Laban, Rudolf. The Language of Movement. Great Britain: Plays, Inc., 1974.