ČO SA DEJE ZA SCÉNOU? PRÍPADOVÁ ŠTÚDIA PRENOSU TANEČNÉHO PREJAVU VO FOLKLÓRNOM SÚBORE

• Authors: Dubravčák Ján

Title variants

EN

What happens behind the scenes? Case study of the transmission of dance expression in the folklore ensemble

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

Dance expression can be understood as a form of communication that manifests mental representations in a specific cultural context. This type of symbolic communication embodies cognitive processes influenced by individual experiences and memory. In this article, I focus on the reproduction of dance expression in a selected folklore ensemble, interpreting the data through the lens of evolutionary anthropology. The field research was carried out from August 2023 to February 2024 within the chosen dance collective in Bratislava. I gathered ethnographic material through 16 semi-structured interviews and two participant observations during the rehearsals and performances of the addressed folklore group. In summary, the reproduction of dance might be categorised as a three-phase process: (1) simultaneous repetition (reproduction of the most legible movements), (2) detailed precision of movement (emphasis on the regional specificities of dance), and (3) automatization of movements at the implicit level of procedural memory. Actors of reproduction, when transmitting dance expression, adjust their behaviour to their representations of folk dance, which are conditioned by a specific cultural context. The fidelity of dance reproduction depends on the experts’ ability to demonstrate dance motifs as well as to describe them verbally. On the other hand, novices through social interaction receive the mental representations that shape their dance expression.

Keywords

EN

FOLKLORE ENSEMBLE; DANCE EXPRESSIONS; FOLK DANCE; COMMUNICATION

• Publisher: Institute of Ethnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Ethnological Society, and Slovak National Museum - Ethnological Museum (in Martin)
• Journal: Etnologické rozpravy (Ethnological Disputes)
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 64 – 83

Contributors

author

Dubravčák Ján

• Filozofická fakulta, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave, Gondova 2, 811 02 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

• https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4709-426X

Identifiers

DOI

10.31577/EtnoRozpra.2025.32.1.03