Dance movement and its influence on musical composition for contemporary dance

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29105/de.v3i4.28

Keywords:

Music, contemporary dance, transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, choreomusicality

Abstract

The relationship between dance and music has a long and significant history. Their parallel and independent evolution over time, along with technological developments, has endowed each discipline with distinct characteristics and methodologies. This paper explores the elements that emerge from the collaboration between contemporary music and contemporary dance, drawing on the concepts proposed by Paul Hodgins (1991) and presenting a framework for categorizing components or eventualities that arise from the needs of choreographers and composers, with particular emphasis on different types of dances or stage movement.

This study analyzes interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary works primarily involving contemporary musical composition and contemporary dance, as well as the integration of new technologies within creative processes. Additionally, it reviews foundational literature by pioneering authors such as R. Murray Schafer (1993) and Michel Chion (1994), alongside the work of contemporary scholars specializing in this field of study, including Katherine Teck (2011), Juliet McMains and Ben Thomas (2013), and Lucile Desblache (2019). The objective of this paper is to clarify the convergences between choreographic composition and musical composition and to highlight the creative potential of consciously integrating these convergences within contemporary dance and music creative processes.

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Author Biographies

Arturo Charles, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Compositor, investigador y artista transdisciplinario mexicano originario de Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Su trabajo se ha definido por la interdisciplina con danza contemporánea, la música interactiva minimalista y la exploración sonora en medios audiovisuales e instalaciones. Comenzó sus estudios en la Facultad de Música de la UANL donde estudió un Técnico Medio en Música con acentuación en ejecución de piano y actualmente es egresado de la Licenciatura en Música y Tecnología Artística de la UNAM en la ENES Morelia. Ha sido acreedor de becas como FINANCIARTE 2020, Revisiones de Arte EAP 2022, PECDA Nuevo León 2022, entre otras. Su obra musical lo ha llevado a realizar distintas actividades académicas entre las que destacan una estancia de investigación artística en la Universitat Pompeu Fabra en Barcelona, así como a trabajar con distintos creadores escénicos y sonoros tanto en México como en Cataluña.

Rodrigo sigal, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Compositor y gestor cultural, así como profesor titular de tiempo completo en la Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Morelia de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, en donde es coordinador de la Licenciatura en Música y Tecnología Artística (enesmorelia.unam.mx). Está interesado en el trabajo con nuevas tecnologías especialmente en el ámbito de la música electroacústica. Desde 2006 es el director del Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras (www.cmmas.org) desde donde coordina diversas iniciativas de creación, educación, investigación y gestión cultural relacionadas con el sonido y la música. Obtuvo un doctorado en City University de Londres y un posdoctorado en la UNAM, así como un diploma en gestión cultural de la UAM-BID y ha continuado sus estudios y proyectos creativos con diversas becas y apoyo de instituciones como FONCA (miembro del SNCA 2011-18) y la Fundación DeVos de gestión cultural, entre otros. Es candidato a investigador del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores del Conacyt y desde hace más de 20 años es parte del proyecto Lumínico(www.luminico.org), director del festival Visiones Sonoras (www.visionessonoras.org) y editor de la revista Ideas Sónicas (www.sonicideas.org). Sus proyectos artísticos, discos compactos e información completa está disponible en (www.rodrigosigal.com)

References

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Desblache, L. (2019). Music and Translation: New Mediations in the Digital Age. Palgrave.

Hodgins, P. (1991) Making Sense of the Dance-Music Partnership: A Paradigm for Choreomusical Analysis. International Guild of Musicians in Dance Journal, 1, 38-41.

Horst, L. (2011). Music and Dance: The New Generation's Change in Methods. En K. Teck (Ed.), Making Music for Modern Dance: Collaboration in the Formative Years of a New American Art (p. 98). Oxford University Press.

Lippincott, G. (2011) A Quiet Genius Himself: A Dance Teacher’s Tribute to Louis Horst. En K. Teck (Ed.), Making Music for Modern Dance: Collaboration in the Formative Years of a New American Art (p. 56). Oxford University Press.

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Lu, Y. (2022). Analysis of body and emotion in dance performance. Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Art and Design: Inheritance and Innovation (ADII 2021), 46–50. Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220205.008

Published

2026-01-30

How to Cite

Charles Valdez, A., & Sigal Sefchovich, J. R. (2026). Dance movement and its influence on musical composition for contemporary dance. Dialéctica Escénica, 3(4), 76–91. https://doi.org/10.29105/de.v3i4.28

Issue

Section

Artículos de reflexión