Chapter 13
Dance and Aesthetic Perception
Anastasia-Erasmia Peponi,
Anastasia-Erasmia Peponi
Search for more papers by this authorAnastasia-Erasmia Peponi,
Anastasia-Erasmia Peponi
Search for more papers by this authorBook Editor(s):Pierre Destrée,
Penelope Murray,
Pierre Destrée
Search for more papers by this authorPenelope Murray
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
The chapter argues that the examination of the aesthetics of dance in antiquity depends on one's approach to the aesthetic as a whole, which is here defined as the body of discourses generated in a given culture concerning the perception, the judgment, and the impact of the beautiful and kindred concepts. Diverse discourses developed in the Greek and Greco-Roman worlds about patterned human movement are discussed and emphasis is put on the pervasiveness of the notion and practice of spectatorship in these cultures. A central question raised is the interrelation between cognitive and sensual enjoyment of dance. A threefold approach to ancient orchestics as mimetic, non-mimetic, and meta-mimetic further illuminates implicit and explicit aesthetic viewpoints in antiquity.
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Further Reading
- Aesthetic approaches to ancient dance are still limited. For an overview of theoretical problems relevant to dance, see the excellent collective volume edited by Copeland and Cohen (1983), which includes, among other contributions, pieces by influential theoreticians of dance such as Susanne Langer, Francis Sparshott, André Levinson, and David Levin.
- For an overview of Greek dance and of theoretical issues attached to it (but without a focus on questions relevant to aesthetics) Naerebout's book (1997) is a very helpful tool, as it also provides a detailed thematic bibliography (including the numerous published pieces by Lillian Lawler, a pioneer in the study of Greek dance) and glossary of ancient dance vocabulary.
- The last decade has seen an explosion of excellent work on pantomime dancing. Garelli's book (2007) provides an extensive and very useful overview of the genre. Lada-Richards (2007) and Webb (2008) offer fine and complementary approaches, principally focusing on the social status of the genre and the ideological and political debates around it in late antiquity. The volume edited by Hall and Wyles (2008) further illuminates several aspects of pantomime dancing and its performance.
- For Greek dance in its ritual context, see the pioneering work by Calame (1997; French original 1977), which focuses especially on women's choruses. Lonsdale's work (1993) is a remarkable contribution to this area, as is Kowalzig's more recent book (2007). Two excellent volumes on the ritual dance in armor (pyrrhiche) are by Ceccarelli (1998) and Spaltro (2011).
- The collective volume on Plato's Laws (Peponi 2013) includes several papers that engage with the exceptionally prominent position of choral dance in this work and raise issues relevant to both the politics and the aesthetics of dance in Greece. Finally, Macintosh's edited volume (2010) is an excellent guide to the many facets of the reception of ancient dance in modern times, a topic also covered by Billings, Budelmann, and Macintosh (2013), whose volume focuses on the chorus in ancient and modern times.
