Space Awareness in Dance

What is Spatial Awareness in Dance?

Spatial awareness is a part of learning to dance. This lesson explains this ability we all share
and how dancers train intensely to master this skill and apply it to their craft.

Space
Let us start with SPACE! What is it?
Space is everything that surrounds us; it is the
objects and the people, as well as the emptiness
we use to move around. Spatial awareness, also
called spatial perception, is the degree to which we
understand the space around us; it is the
relationship between the objects in that space to
one another, our understanding of how we can
move through those spaces, and our relationship to the empty spaces and the objects
around us. This occurs on two fronts, one that uses our senses, like sight and hearing, to
understand the space exterior to our bodies, and one that uses our bodily systems to
understand our position and movement through space. A perfect example of one of the
above is our sense of balance.

Space is where the body moves

As dancers progress through space, their bodies create patterns on the floor and in the air.
Spatial designs are an essential part of the dance, giving dancers a purposeful reason for
moving.
1. Space Locomotor Leap – These are skills of skipping, galloping and sliding.
2. Space Non-Locomotor – These are skills of balancing, stretching, pushing, swinging
and bending.

What are the three most important elements in

dance?
1. Space – This is where the dancer is dancing in. Space has
different levels: Low floor, Medium standing moves, high
jumping and raising steps.
2. Time – This is split into rhythm, speed and syncopation. This
is usually effect by the music, which the dancer is dancing too.
 3. Energy – This depends on the movement of the dance, such as the difference
between ballet and hip-hop, one is soft and smooth while the other is sharp and
energetic.
The link shows dancers using different space and motions: https://vimeo.com/77909495