Finding a Choreographic Relationship Between Music and Dance Performance

The choreographic project increase emerged from a choreographic curiosity about how the relationship between dance and music can influence each other within a contemporary dance performance. The choreographer was also interested in whether or not the audience can perceive the choreomusical relationship. The exploration of literature considered the aesthetic, educational, and accessibility differences between dance and music. This is followed by a detailed exploration of related terminology and ideas that choreographers can utilize. Lastly, the literature studied how the audience can perceive the choreomusical relationship presented in a dance performance. The choreographer, with the assistance of the dancers, generated movement and the structure of the dance within the rehearsal process by using the context provided by the literature. It was here that sections and musicality were explicitly defined by the choreographer and dancers. During the live performance of increase, an audience survey was conducted to gather data on whether the participants’ formal training in dance or music influenced their perception of the choreographic sections. The survey also aimed to understand if the audience felt the music and movement complemented each other. The responses demonstrate a correlation between formal training in dance and music and the perception of the choreomusical relationship in the performance of increase. Participants with longer formal training in both music and dance were the most sensitive to the details of the choreomusical connection. Those who have less training in either, or have no training at all, perceived the connection with a varying degree of detail.