ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the human geography of the two-body system, focusing on how dance partners position themselves and move in relation to one another so as to maximize communication, freedom of motion, and dynamic effects of momentum and rotation. The first parameter to be examined is frame, the physical aspect of the connection that enables kinesthetic communication from one partner’s center of gravity to the other. Frame shape, in turn, is the silhouette created by mirrored dance postures; differences in frame shape have ramifications for both lead/follow power dynamics and significations of race, class, and sexuality. The proximity of the partners to one another also affects dance function and implication; the closer partners are together, the more possibilities for communication and the more restrictions on independent movement. Dancers can also have differently angled and spaced orientations to each other, which likewise affect capacities for independent movement and communication. Partners may coordinate footwork patterns in various ways, dependent on orientation and proximity. Axis can be the vertical line of the body that determines balance, or the vertical line around which dancers turn in rotation. Rotation can operate as a dynamic marker of white femininity and sexuality. Partner connection demands pressure and may in some cases be a byproduct of elasticity (push and pull). Different approaches to elasticity, in turn, can also signify intersectionally on class, race, and gender.