Module 6: ELEMENTS

OF ARTS: Performance
Arts
1. PERFORMANCE ART

1. DANCE
Dancing is an art and a recreation. Dance is considered as the most spontaneous and
personal of all the arts. The word "dance" comes from the French word danser, which means
"To dance." The body as its instrument is the immediate signifier. As an art, it tells a story, a
set of moods, or express an emotion. Dance is also the most universal and primitive form of
art. Because it is the most natural form of expression in its spontaneity of gesture and mimicry.
Dances vary in form. Some forms of dances are religious dance, magical dance, commemorative
dance, ceremonial dance, recreative dance, and testimonial dance.

Types of Dances
1. Ethnic Dance - this is a type of dance which is native to a specific race or ethnic group.
Tribal or ethnic dance is considered intimately related to the everyday life of the
community. The term ethnic is used for religious dances, dances that are designed as
hymns of praise to a god or to bring on good fortune in peace or war.

2. Folk Dance - this is associated with ethnic traditions and cultures of different societies in
which certain melodies, rhythms, costumes, and folk symbolisms are preserved. Folk
dances have cultural significance and inherent beaut. By means of folk dances, we can
learn a great deal about the culture of a people their beliefs, interests, desires, and
habits. Through our own folk dances, we can discover a lot more about our own
heritage. Folk dancing is also a form of social dancing that has become part of the
customs and traditions of people.

3. Social Dance - Social; or recreational dance, is intended for pleasure. Social dance is
usually performed by pairs or groups of people who follow definite patterns. They include such
forms as waltz, fox trot, swing and the old favorites as the cha-cha, rumba, tango, as well as the
latest rock dances. Most of them have specific steps and rhythm, but many newer ones allow
the dancers to compose their own movements as they dance. They may dance to the music of
live bands in ballrooms or to recorded music in night clubs called discotheques, or discos. As
such, it is the kind of dancing people do for fun. Hence, it is sometimes called popular dancing

4. Spectacular Dance - This type of dance is performed for the entertainment of spectators.
Spectacular dance, or art dance, may be either a solo performance or a group arrangement likes
in ballet intended to be viewed by an audience. An art dance may or may not be related to a folk
tradition. Some of the examples of this type of dance are ballet, musical comedy dances,

acrobatic dance, and tap dance. Spectacular dancers may take personal satisfaction in creating
something beautiful. Their own enjoyment, however, is less important than their ability to
interpret the dance effective for the audience.

5. Modern Dance - this is a dance form characterized as natural, spontaneous, and

free. It does not stick to conventions, and has varied styles of movements, usually based
on the current trend. It has also been called expressional dance, contemporary, or
interpretative dance.

2. DRAMA
DRAMA
Drama or play is a presentation ma
Dramas must be performed or acted out by the characters on stage, film, radio, television, or
outdoors. The two aspects of drama are drama as a script and drama as a play. The drama as a
script is a dialogue read by the persons representing the characters. The drama as a play is a
script coming to life, involving the director's interpretation of the script and the
performances/portrayals by the characters. Here, we are going to define drama as a script. Drama
may either be a tragedy (a story of struggle against circumstances and sufferings) or comedy (a
story of achievement, self-deception, or optimism).
as a script and drama as a play. The drama as a script is a dialogue read by the persons
representing the characters. The drama as a
play is a script coming to life, involving the director's interpretation of the script and the
performances/portrayals by the characters. Here, we are going to define drama as a script. Drama
may either be a tragedy (a story of struggle against circumstances and sufferings) or comedy (a
story of achievement, self-deception, or optimism).
Elements of the Drama
 1. Plot is the soul of the drama. It is the overall structure of the play concerned with what
happens in the story. The plot is divided into: exposition/introduction (author
introduces the character, provides information about earlier events, and present
situations); inciting action (situation moves toward a point); rising action (part of the
complication); crisis or turning point (choices and decisions lead to the inevitable);
falling action (incidents following the turning point happen without decrease in
intensity); and the denouement or resolution (which clarifies and relaxes the tension).

2. Character/Dramati Personae are make-believe persons, either protagonists or

antagonists and whose personalities are carefully brought out by their appearance,
speech, actions, and what other characters say of them. The characters must be shaped
to fit the needs of the plot, and all parts of the characterization must fit together.

3. Conflict- In drama we find a struggle, clash of wills, and conflicts.

4 Irony arises from a recognition of discrepancy between the expected and actual, the
apparent and real.

5. Theme or Idea refers to the dramatic situation that may be taken from the Bible, myth,
legend, history, or anything familiar to the audience. The theme is central in building
the story. It is a conviction about the real world we live in, and it may be complex and
may have contradictory evaluations. Theme may be directly or indirectly stated. The
stated theme, rather than the enacted theme, is the heart of a play. Theme is enacted
throughout the plot.

6. Climax. The climax is the scene or incident that is the fruition of the
accumulated suspense, and that stirs the most intense feelings or emotions. It can also be
described as the turning point of the story. It is very likely to be the most elaborately presented
scheme in the play. A full-length play will have several big scenes. The climax can be
differentiated from the other big scenes like the development of action and the denouement by
its greater intensity and its structural relationship.

7. Music and Spectacle is a theater convention which is a part of the total appeal of the
drama. Both show the relationship of script, actor, audience, author producer, society, genre,
stage, and other elements of the drama. Aside from "background" music, there is music of speech
and of movement. Spectacle intensifies emotions, whatever these emotions are. In theater arts,
the element of a spectacle heightens the atmosphere, whether of vitality, terror or sorrow.

8. Costumes and Make-Up. Every costume should be comfortable and secure together
so the performer doesn't have to worry about it once it is on. Before put the dress
rehearsal, all the parts of each costume should be hung together and tagged in one
specific dressing area. A dressing crew from the costume committee should be on hand
to help.

9. Dialogue is the conversation between and among the characters of the drama.
10. Setting, Scenery, and Lighting. Scenery and lighting, furniture, painted backdrops, or
large props should appear real. The scenery may be simple, for it is supposed only to
suggest the scene. The imagination of the audience will complete the picture. Proper
lighting can add a great deal to the realism of the play. Consider brightness, color, and
direction in lighting the play. Consider the holding of the play: would it be daytime or
night time?

Elements of Poetry
Poetry is a genre in literature that
imaginatively and figuratively
expresses man's thoughts
Elements of Poetry

Poetry is a genre in literature that imaginatively and figuratively expresses man's thoughts and
feelings, usually in verse form. Its theme is generally personal-love, death, frustration, hatred,
faith in God and man, human sufferings, culture and traditions, etc. Its elements are
and feelings, usually in verse form. Its theme is generally personal-love, death, frustration,
hatred, faith in God and man, human sufferings, culture and traditions, etc. Its elements are:

1. Language - Language may be denotative (actual meaning); connotative (implied

meaning); poetic (language that considers diction, vocabulary, and level-simple
or conventional); and figurative (most often using simile and metaphor). Among
the types of literature, poetry writing is the most challenging for the following reasons:
first, the choice of proper words or grammar; second, the denotative and symbolical
meaning of the chosen grammar; and third, the limitation imposed by the structure and
rhythm of sounds.

2. Tone refers to the atmosphere, feeling, attitude, stance, or the way the poet looks at his
subject or the world. Such feeling or atmosphere is reflected on his poetry may be
serious, ironic, bitter, joyful, resigned, etc.

3. Imagery is the representation of sense experience or the total sensory suggestion of

poetry. An image is the mental duplication of a sense impression. Images may be
visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or bodily. The poet is an image-maker who
reinforces his thoughts with concrete words. The most common imagery is visual, as
we are made to see what the author is talking about.
 4. Sounds are characterized either as pleasant (full, open vowel sounds) or unpleasant
(short, abrupt, vowel sounds which are irritating).

5. Rhythm and meters related to the "beats of our hearts" and the "flow of air from our
lungs." Rhythm is the regular and irregular patterns of stressed and unstressed
syllables, metrical, or rhetorical stress. Meter is the arrangement of accents so that
they occur at approximately equal intervals of time. A metered language is a verse.
Having the same final sound of words at the end of lines indicates an end rhyme. At
present, there are poets who do not adhere to rhyme and meter in their writings. Such
poetry is referred to as "free verse.

6. Thought or meaning refers to the experience the poem expresses (What it feels like to.
Two meanings are distinguished: the total meaning and the prose meaning. The total
meaning of a poem is the idea in a poem, a portion of the total experience it
communicates. The prose meaning is the value and worth of the poem, the total
experience it communicates.

7. Shape of the poem refers to the pattern of arrangement of the words on the page. Most
poems consist of lines grouped into stanzas. Each stanza has its distinct features of
thought similar to a paragraph.

8. Speaker. All poems have a speaker, the voice that talks to the readers. In some poems,
the speaker identifies himself as "I" and "me" while in others the speaker remains in
the background. The speaker may or may not be the poet.

Elements of the Essay

Essay is a literary composition on a particular subject. It is usually short and expresses the
author's personal thoughts, feelings, experiences, or observation on a phase of life that has
interested him. Biography, history, travel, art, nature, personal life, and criticism are among the
innumerable subjects of essays. The essay may be grouped as formal or informal.
An essay is considered informal if it is light, humorous, and entertaining. It is formal if it is
heavy, informative, and intellectually stimulating.
The following are the elements of an essay:
1. The issue introduced. This refers to the subject matter around which the essay will revolve.
2. The writer's viewpoint and thought. The final stand of the author on the issue he has
discussed.
3. The relevance of the issue to the life of the reader. This refers to the value of the material to
the reader and his perception and response to it.