ABSTRACT
Why end a play in this form of non-verbal, symbolic communication? Would not the verbal and physical presentation of a production satisfy the audience? Why include dance in a drama at all? Theatre and dance historians provide some answers to the questions. A noted scholar on Shakespeare and dance, Alan Brissenden, stresses that the post-play dance or jig could be boisterous and bawdy, though he cites an intriguing note from an
audience member that suggests at times a depth and purpose to this aspect of Elizabethan performance. 1 Another respected Shakespeare and dance scholar simply dismisses the post-play dances, and even the comment of the audience member, fi nding the after-play dance unrelated to what occurred on stage. 2 In a more comprehensive view, a report of Elizabethan stage conventions states there was variety in the types of post-play dances, even fi nding the bawdy versions particular to one theatre, the Red Bull. 3 In even broader perspective, a dictionary of Shakespeare’s stage context contains extensive notes on morris dance in Shakespeare, and comments that music and dance may have been a way of slowing down the audience as they exited the theatre to prevent a crush of people at the exits. While that practical purpose may be true, the dictionary also notes that dance and music as epilogue were an effective transition for the audience, moving between the world of drama and everyday life, and “seem often to be designed to achieve a deft transition . . . a tactful gesture worthy of so considerate personality as Shakespeare’s.” 4
From an ethnographic perspective, this last comment seems accurate, as inclusion of dance at any event is a noteworthy, extraordinary activity. Even if the post-play dances were seemingly only bawdy, or only for practical reasons of keeping an audience entertained when leaving a theatre, the use of choreographed movement and music is suggestive. Dance may be used to rebel against structure in a society, promote a certain view of ethical behavior and proper relationships, serve as an emotional release, or provide an audience with non-verbal refl ection on what occurred on stage. For all these reasons, like ritual, dance may symbolically communicate intuitive and affective reactions to an event, aiding observers in processing experience at a pre-cognitive and pre-verbal level.
