Duff/Farrell 1

Kelsey Duff and Ellie Farrell

Communication and Culture

Professor Marsilli-Vargas

9 November 2014

Vitality

Introduction

“See you at Vitality?” is a common phrase used amongst the dance community at the

University of San Francisco.  Vitality is a dance organization formed by college students of

different cultures, races, and backgrounds that come together as one to share their love of dance.

These students come together willingly every Thursday night to get away from the hysteria and

stress of college life itself and solely focus on a single subject, the subject of dance.

Incorporating all styles of dance, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz and ballet, these students

incorporate and infuse their background knowledge of dance to form their own style and their

own type of communication.

This ‘melting pot’ of dancers from all areas of the world deserves to be studied because

they come together to create their own language of dance. Incorporating both the standard

vocabulary of dance as well as their own individual language.  Understanding the

communication to teach dance and how the dance itself is used to communicate an entirely

different idea to the audience is something that is worth researching.  Because of this, the

following questions helped direct us in our study of the group Vitality.

What process of communication is used when forming a dance?

How is dance used to non-verbally communicate?

How does the dance community wish their dance to be interpreted by the audience?

Duff/Farrell 2

In order for these questions to be answered we conducted an ethnography, which is a

research method in which the researchers immerse themselves in a group with the goal of

observing, participating and recording in order to develop connections and meanings of

communication within a group. From our observations, we found that the dancers use their body

as a form of language in which to communicate a particular story to the audience. The story

being told is directly affected by which song is chosen, the tempo of the song, and the

choreography that correlates with both song and tempo. The communication used to teach the

choreography within a dance involves its own specific vocabulary, which has direct connection

with time itself. The song directs what style of dance will be used, what story is being told, and

what communication will be used in order to teach the dance.

Methods

Research for this project began in September of 2014 and concluded in November of the

same year.  We used both audio and video recordings to collect about seven hours of audio and

about 30 minutes of video. The site where the research was conducted was in the gymnasium

belonging to the University of San Francisco; better know to its students as Koret Gym. We

visited the site every Thursday night for seven weeks, spending approximately two hours at the

field site each visit.

There are approximately 15 members in the dance group ranging in different skills. The

members are typically between the ages of 18-22 including 4 male and the rest female dancers,

however there is a higher ratio of female dancers compared to male. The classes take place in

one of the main studios in Koret. In the studio there are mirrors that lay against every wall to

give the dancers a full 360 view of themselves while they are practicing. The studio includes a

state of the art surround sound system that allows the captain/dance leader to control the music,

Duff/Farrell 3

volume, and overall tempo for the class. There are also two giant fans in the center of the room

to keep the dancers cool while they are dancing.

The classes start with the head, Melissa, leading a stretching and abdominal

routine where music is played. Melissa then introduces the dances breaking it down into different

segments, explaining each segment individually. Once the dancers perfect each segment as a

whole they fuse all the segments together to create a dance.  While practicing each segment, the

dancers revert back to the music to go over the previous steps, connecting their moves to the

lyrics of the song.

We were informed about Vitality through the President, Melissa, who is a member of our

sorority, Delta Zeta. Melissa invited us to observe their first meeting to get an overall impression

and familiarize ourselves with the group as a whole. After the first meeting, we provided Melissa

with a consent form, which she gladly signed, allowing us to observe, record and participate in

the classes. At the beginning of every class we attended, we had Melissa ask the group

collectively if they were okay with us observing and recording them. Every dancer openly

consented and welcomed us with open arms.

In our first few visits with Vitality we observed the overall structure of the class and the

general terminology of dance itself. All of the dancers were extremely friendly toward one

another. Jokes are told, hugs are given, and laughter is heard throughout the classroom. Many

were practicing dance moves before class began, doing partner stretches, or just talking about

their daily activities. As we watched the dancers one by one form instant smiling faces as they

entered the dance studio it made us realize how happy dance makes them, and how much dance

is part of who they are. We also began to understand that the major leadership role for Vitality

was the teacher or instructor of the class. Vitality is made up of an executive board, which

Duff/Farrell 4

includes two males and three females, who teach, instruct, choreograph the dances, and

participate in the class. They were the ones who took control and directed the class, but yet still

maintained an open mind and listened to everyone’s opinions when it came towards improving

or changing particular parts within the dance.  Once class had begun, it was as if an imaginary

switch of dance was turned on, the regular conversations had ended and instantly a new language

of dance had immerged. Vocabulary terms and sounds used to communicate to the dancers how

to dance became common language in the class.

As we continued our visits we became aware of the importance that timing and tempo

play in understanding and learning the dance. We also became aware of how much music is

connected to the dancers. Music plays a crucial role within each class. When you first walk into

the class there is music playing, it continues to play as they begin their warm-up and remains a

Duff/Farrell 5

constant throughout the entire class. Music is the key ingredient in creating the perfect dance.

Music is the foundation for the choreography, tempo, and overall story that will be

communicated to the audience. The song chosen for any dance acts as a compass for the dancers

giving them the direction they need in order to build a strong, emotional performance.

In our final sessions observing and recording the classes, the focus of the class was on the

dancers upcoming performance at Culture Scape. The two songs they were performing chosen by

the executive board are XO by Beyoncé and Take Me Home by Cash Cash. They have been

practicing these dances since we have begun our research. The instructors main objective in there

last few practices leading up to their big performance was not for the dancers to perfect the

dances technically, but to perfect the dance emotionally. Being emotionally connected to the

song is extremely important to conveying the overall story to the audience, making sure the

dancers trigger the audience’s emotions.  With the performance coming up, communication

began to emerge on what costumes would be, what props would be used, and how they would

transition between groups within the dance.  Dance became focused not on technicality, but on

the show, on the story. Their most important goal as a dance company is to communicate the

emotional theme of the song to the audience.

Results

These next few sections describe the communicative patterns in which provide

supporting evidence in our claim that the language of dance is used to perform and share a story

and specific emotions to the audience. These communicative patterns include connecting dance

with the tempo of music, the use of repetition in order to practice their dance, and connecting the

dance with the song in order to portray the story being told to the audience.

Tempo/Sound

Duff/Farrell 6

In the beginning of our research we began to notice that Vitality had their own idea of

time. They had an 8 count within their dances. Each count represented a new movement or

expression the body was portraying in the song. If they didn’t have their counts down, then they

couldn’t connect the timing of the song and tell its story through their body movements.

However with the 8 count there were “ands.” Count1 would be one movement … “and” would

be some type of quick shift that’s not as intense of a movement or huge change from the first

movement, but rather a staccato movement. Time also varied based on the song they were

dancing to. Instructors used the term “live” at various times when teaching other dancers the

dance. When they wanted a certain count to be longer the would say “Liiiivvveeeee in this” and

if a dancer wasn’t sure if the count was a rapid movement or a longer movement she would state

“am I living in this count to long?” or “so is this part in the song where I live in this moment.”

Almost as if it’s a feeling or a deeper connection to the song when a dancer would live in their

count. Counts were never equal and they varied based on the tempo of the song. Timing and the

songs tempo worked equally together. A dancer needs the song to keep track of their counts as

well as understand when they were supposed to “live” in the moment. Just like the term dude, as

discussed in the article by Scott Kiesling, has different meanings depending on the context, live

for the dancers of vitality has a different meaning from its original definition. Living within the

context of the dance can be defined as exaggeration. “Living in a count” of a song has to do with

emphasizing and exaggerating, and is used when wanting to express an important idea, subject or

statement that needs to be critically communicated to the audience in order to understand the

story being told.

Throughout the course of the classes the dancers also used different sounds to

communicate how long certain movements are supposed to be held or performed. Each sound

Duff/Farrell 7

used mirrors the sounds within the song. Each sound is then connected to a certain movement or

movements.  For example “strum” is a sound related to a specific movement within the dance

and the sound by itself controls how long and how fast the movement is to be held. The sound

“ra ta ta ta” when used describes the movement as slightly faster, whereas the sound “strum”

describes the sound as slightly slower. Not only does the sound reflect the movement but similar

to the counts it also can be used as a way to time the movements. For example “da da da”  and

“tic” are both used as a way to tell time and to count, each da and tic count as a second.  

1 Melissa: So you went, three, four, tattoo >ra-ta-ta-ta-ta<, da da strum. Saw you down 2 town, sing-in–the =3 Georgia: Saw you down town singin’ the blues. ((while dancing in front of mirror))4 David: Music?(.)5 Melissa: Do more or go on?6 Group: [Go on!]7 Georgia: Can we do the head roll?8 Dani: SHHH!! (.)9 Melissa: So from here. You just hop onto your left food and then you straighten out. 10 Jason: [So we do it on relevé?] 11 Melissa: Yea so (2) plié, relevé, plié. ((Shows the dance moves))12 So you’re going this position, this position, and this position.13 So sing-ing the— On blues, you’re gonna kick your leg back, turn14 push it to go into this clave.15 Georgia: [WOOF!] ((Sighs))hhhh16 Melissa: What do you need? Want?17 Mark: Slowly, from the top.(Melissa walks over to front of mirror, group sets in a dance formation)18 Melissa: Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four>five and six and seven and

eight< and one, two, three, four, five, six ,seven, eight.19 Georgia: What’s seven?20 Melissa: Uhmm, I don’t know. (re-acts the dance)

Three, four, five, six , seven, eight.21 Dani: Oh, so you kick on seven?22 Melissa: Kick on seven, turn, seven, eight –So you have two counts to do a half-turn.

(3) Ok. So are we ready? 23 Group: [Yea.]24 Melissa: Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four>five and six and seven and25 eight< and one, two, three, four, five, six ,seven, eight.26 WOOOH!! hhhh27 Group: Hhhhh!28 Melissa: Again?

Duff/Farrell 8

(( Group acknowledges by nodding their heads while heavy breathing))29 Melissa: Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four>five and six and seven and30 eight< and one, ho,ly, shit ((while panting)) 5-6-7-8.31 That wasn’t holy shit to you guys. Hhhh32 Group: [hhhhhh] 33 Melissa: Music?34 Mark/Dani: Yea music. ((Music Plays))((Melissa observes as group is dancing to song))(Melissa stops music)35 Melissa: Wait, I think I sped that whole part up (.)36 Ansley: =Probably.((Melissa plays music, listens closely))37 Melissa: Ayy ! It’s right there! OK!38 Whatever just happened I wasn’t counting, but its tatoo >ra, ta, ta, ta ,ta<39 strum. You get to liivveee in this moment for a hot second, and then you 40 strum on saw(.)41 But it’s on the rih, its on the rrrrihhhhhh. Sing-ing, the—Like try and milk.42 Like feel the blues. As psychotic as this is right now there is actual emotions 43 right now so you need to feel blues out. 44 OK, what do we need?45 Jason: Let’s play it back with the music.

Each dancer understands each sound. When the instructor uses the sound each dancer

knows exactly which area of the song she is referring to as well as the movement. Sounds act as

a language for them. Each sound has a different meaning and each dancer understands what is

meant when the sound is used or heard. The noises they make act as their own kind of slang.

Every dancer understands what is meant when the noises and sounds are made, but the noises

and sounds are unique to their group and to that specific dance. It is similar to how there are

certain words or phrases used within different parts of the country that are unique to the people

that live there and hold a certain meaning to them that differs from the meaning it hold to people

who don’t live there.

Structure

Not only do the sounds act as a language but names of the dance positions act as

Duff/Farrell 9

language. Each pose, each movement, has a name, or a sound, in which to identify it,whether  it

be a sound like “ra ta ta ta” or a name like Pique or ronde de jambe, The sounds are a specific

language unique to this specific group whereas the names themselves are a universal language

understood by a majority of dancers, depending on their level of expertise. Either way however,

in order to understand it you must take the time to learn it. But because the words and sounds are

unique to their group are codable they are more available to them making it easier to understand

the meaning of the language within the context of the class (Brown and Lenneberg).

In the dance class they use metaphors in order to help the dancers understand the

movements needed to be made with their dance. For example when lifting their body up, the

instructor stated that they should make it seem like they are a rubber band being stretched out

and then quickly snapped back in order to understand that specific movement made during the

count. There was a specific kind of neck roll the instructor wanted the dancers to do as well in

their dance. This was not a normal neck movement and in order for the dancers to make the

correct movement she called it a “chicken neck.” This helped create an easier communication on

how to have the dancers understand what they were doing for that specific count and do the

action correctly. Go deeper more examples 2 more examples

MOLASSES

1 Melissa: ((instructing dancers/dancing))Live::! Saw you down, milk this out--town 2 Really(.) This needs to be –down, this is the tic. This one you milk it out, like you 3 are pulling molasses.4 Georgia: OK play it with the music. ((Dancer turns music on))5 Melissa: ((music is playing, dancers are dancing, Melissa is observing))6 -Strum- (stops the music)7 Do you see how she sings town? I’m not gonna try to and re-inact it but she like8 really drags it out. She says saw you down town:: , Sing—holds it out =So 9 hold it out. It’s like, its like you are a slinky. You’re put together and someone 10 pulllls you apart and you go back together. hhh11 Jason: Like a rubberband? Hhh.12 Nicole: Yea. Like a rubberband. Hhh.

Duff/Farrell 10

13 Group: hhhh.

It is important to notice that sounds and the noises used to explain the dance are

extremely helpful in structuring the dance. The movements and positions are all based on the

lyrics. When the instructor is choreographing the song they take into count the noises and sounds

displayed by the music and try to replicate those sounds and noises through dance. The arm

movements, leg movements, neck rolls, all try to reflect the music. The dance positions and

movements all help to display the story of the song.  

Video ??Measuring Emotions

As stated in the article (whats the name of the article) by Marco Jacquement, just how

honor is the foundation in the Italian culture that has infused itself into its community, “Living”

is the bases for Vitality’s culture.The name Vitality is defined as the power giving continuance of

life. In other words living out the song gives the dancers there own sense of power. Dance is

there way of showing their culture. As explained in the article it is difficult for people to

understand one’s culture when they are not part of the community. For dancers their difficult task

is expressing their culture to a different community, there audience. Dance is their tool to

connect the audience with their culture. And allows them to share an emotional story to which

they all relate to in there own way. This liberation is then shared to the audience through their

performance and that acts as the foundation of their company. Living is how they express

themselves and express the meaning behind the dance.

In order to express the emotion behind their song to their audience, dancers must first

break down the song not as dancers, but as someone listening to the song for the very first time.

Once the company technically perfects the dance they take a moment to feel out the music.

Duff/Farrell 11

Melissa, has them all lay down on the ground with lights dim and eyes closed. She then plays the

song. This is the dancers moment to live out the song in there head. They take this time to hear

the lyrics and understand the meaning behind their dance and how the lyrics reflect the overall

performance. This moment is critical because this is the moment where the roles reverse. The

dancer now becomes the observer. This is the time when they form a deeper understanding of

how the audience will perceive solely the music and the lyrics by itself. This gives them the

ability to understand how their dance can enhance the emotions behind the song. How they are

“living” can be translated to the audience, and enable them to leave with a stronger connection to

the song, then just listening to the lyrics. After they listen to the song they are given time to

reflect on the music internally. Once they take the time to understand what the song and story

means to them on a personal level they do a the dance full out. Living out the entire song with

expressed emotions, focusing on conveying the overall story of the song through the dance. At

this time technicality does not matter. “Living” out the song becomes the dancer main priority.

((All of the dancers are lying down on the

ground, Melissa has them close their eyes))

1 Melissa: Hey, everyone. Don’t shh!! Don’t take this time to take a fucking nap. Uhm, listen 2 to the words. The musicality you guys like, you guys like know. You know the3 choreography you know everything. Uhm:: Just listen to the song and

like think 4 of how you can relate to this song. At some point, like, this song doesn’t need to 5 be about your boyfriend or girlfriend. Like this can simply be like a best friend 6 you had or like any kind of relationship you’ve had in your life that you were just 7 so like, simply happy. Like think of this song and think about, where in a time in

Duff/Farrell 12

8 your life that you felt this way and use that when we do it. OK? Sounds good?9 Jason: Yes lets do it!10 Melissa: Let me find the song now.((Plays entire song)) (3:36) ((song finishes)11 Melissa: OK(.) I don’t want anyone to talk, just stand up and set it up from the top. Couple, 12 ((points at them)) you better liveee:: I should make you guys do flirting 13 exercieses.hhhh14 Mark: hhhh.15 Melissa: Kay, ready? Full out. Flirt, smile, focus, all of this in one.((Pair starts to dance, song is played))16 Nicole: Yess !!! Liveeeeee:: ! ((Music Stops, all of the dancers applaud the pair))

With this interpretation comes action. Once they take the time to understand what the

song and story means to them on a personal level they do the dance full out enhancing the dance

by exaggerating movements that directly connect to the meaning of the song. Living out the

entire song with expressed emotions, focusing on conveying the overall story of the song through

the dance. At this time technicality does not matter.“Living” out the song becomes the dancer

main priority.These movements are emphasized by elongation and exaggeration. They are living

out the movement in order to convey that word or phrase in the song. That is there way of

communicating to the audience the emotion they want them to take out of the song. The words

and phrase being emphasized are the words that dictate what the emotional meaning behind the

song is. There are various examples in there dance XO in which they live out various words and

phrases in order to convey the emotional meaning to the audience. The song xo is a love story

about a couple who live a hectic lifestyle and push themselves to embrace the present and enjoy

the moments with ones you love because you never know what tomorrow holds. love they have

each other before it too late.

Lyrics To Song XO By Beyonce

Your love is bright as ever (ever, ever, ever)

Duff/Farrell 13

Even in the shadows (shadows, shadows, shadows)Baby, kiss me (kiss me, kiss me, kiss me)

Before they turn the lights out (lights out, lights out, lights out)Your heart is glowing (glowing, glowing, glowing)

And I'm crashing into you (into you, into you, into you)Baby, kiss me (kiss me, kiss me, kiss me)

Before they turn the lights out (the lights out)Before they turn the lights out (the lights out)

Baby, love me lights out

In the darkest night hour (in the darkest night hour)I'll search through the crowd (I'll search through the crowd)

Your face is all that I seeI'll give you everythingBaby, love me lights outBaby, love me lights out

You can turn my lights out

[Verse 2:]We don't have forever

Ooh, baby daylight's wasting (wasting, wasting, wasting)You better kiss me (kiss me)Before our time has run out

[Hook:]I love you like XO

You love me like XOYou kill me boy XOYou love me like XO

All that I seeGive me everything

Baby, love me lights outBaby, love me lights out

You can turn my lights out

In Vitality’s performance they use elongated and exaggerated movements to embrace

words representing the meaning of love within the song and they use rapid and quicker

movements to express time. With these two styles of “living-out” the dance, it enables the

audience with the opportunity to connect with the dancers and the story behind the song. By the

dancers freezing time with elongated movements that focus on phrases that express the desire to

love and speed up the dance to express how fast time can go by, they are directly communicating

Duff/Farrell 14

to the audience the story behind the song. That we must value and endure love while we can,

before “time is run out.”

In the very beginning of the song the couple emphasizes the phrase “baby kiss me” They

use their arm as a way of blowing a kiss and extend their arm all the way out while doing so.

This movement sparks the communication between the audience and the dancer. This moment is

the dance is critical to laying out the meaning of the story to the audience because it displays the

love story that is about to take place between the women and man. Melissa, reiterates to the

couple over and over again how important it is to exude a sense of romanticism with one another.

1 Melissa: Uhm, performance. Everyone, (3) everyone.2 Nicole: Ok, my section, needs to be like, we’re all kind of like static smiling, ((points to3 the dance pair who act as the couple in this song)) but like you to have to like—4 that flirtatious thing. Like, oh, >I’m not looking at him, and then he looks at you, 5 and then you look at him< Like it needs to read like, right there because it is the 6 perfect moment for the audience to see you two interact. Uhm. So yeah, work that7 into character please.(Pair nods and smile, affirming they understand her)8 Melissa: Yea, uhm, like you need to be flirty with each other. Uhm for the ensemble, you 9 guys are like cheesing like, Mah! Hhhh =10 Group: = hhhh.11 Melissa: But like, it doesn’t need to be like that all the time. Like throw a smile in there, 12 >but it can’t just be like, just like, I don’t know how to like—it’s like a breath of 13 fresh air, its like a relief.

Directly after this time-consuming movement the entire dance company they perform a

(dance move) that is rapid and quick when the phrase “before time is run out” is played. This is

the dancers way of communicating to the audience the emotion and the theme behind the song.

As the dance continues the exchange between slow and stoccatto movements continues

throughout the performance. When the chorus is played, the lyrics project “ you love me like x-

oOOOoo” is played and the dancers connect both a rapid and exaggerated movement by

spinnging their heads quickly in a circular motion, like an O, for an extended period of time. This

Duff/Farrell 15

is done so to prove how one can love even when time doesn’t stop, if they just embrace it and

enjoy it. Towards the end of the performance the entire company extends their arms out and

slowly raps them around their body during “I give you everythinggggg.” This segment of

“living” is done to communicate to the audience, that one must put everything they have into

someone they love.

Final Performance

CONCLUSION

VITALITY CONCLUSION

When asking the president why they named their group vitality, she said it was directly

because of its definition. It’s name directly correlates to its definition. Vitality is… the power

giving continuance of life. Because after all she states “ it is not about how well you dance but

how well you live” “how well you can communicate to your audience and project the story being

told.” Living in a dance is not only a type of tool to measure a way in which one can influence

the audience to feel the same emotion, but living in a dance is a dancers culture and shapes the

way in which their community is formed and is maintained. Living is what shapes their

Duff/Farrell 16

community, it is their life-line, it is what liberates them to take time out of their every-day lives

in order to embrace their culture of dance and do what they love. Dancing is more than just a

structured dance based on time. It’s a community, It’s culture, it’s slang, it’s time, it’s a way of

life.

Communication and culture

The foundation of creating this group was revolved around living