Emotion in dance : abstract ballet and its possible emotional effect on an audience

Abstract

Shifting attitudes in choreographic approaches has ultimately led to developments in narrative content and characterisation of dancers in ballet. This theatricality that can be traced back through four centuries of dance - from the Early Ballet Period to the Neo-classical Era - dissembles and offers an insight into the understandings of this development towards creating non-narrative choreographies. Moreover, this dissertation seeks to employ theories of emotion and expression in order to contextualise and analyse the changes in relation to the most evident development in ballet throughout these four centuries. Lastly, the research delves into the possible effect that non-narrative Neo-classical choreography has had on audiences’ experience and interpretation of viewing a dance performance.