"Dance and movement have long depended upon an "oral tradition" for the
transmission and preservation of skills and knowledge. For most of human
history, one could only learn a movement skill directly, through personal
contact with another being possessing that bodily skill. Similarly, one
could only preserve personal knowledge of movement by passing it on to
another mover.
Today, notation, photography, videography and computer
technology offer new ways to preserve and transmit movement skills and
knowledge. Body knowledge that was once only immediate, personal and
palpable can now be recorded, generalized and transmitted along the
information highway. Almost overnight, dance and movement have been
transformed from marginal fields with few lasting "artifacts" to
disciplines with history, text and a place to stand - increasingly one
located in virtual reality.
This Roundtable on Professional Issues offers participants the chance to
step "Beyond the Oral Tradition," to experience how technology is affecting
our field, and to comtemplate what this means to our individual
professional practices. While many uniformly view all the
technology-driven changes as utopian, Motus Humanus wishes to provide a
forum for reflecting upon what we may gain, as well as what we may possibly
lose, by moving beyond the oral tradition."
For info on Beyond the Oral Tradition and Motus Humanus:
Motus Humanus
P.O. Box 11036
Denver, CO 80211
or email Susan Bauer: bauers@stolaf.edu