Main Elements of the Theory of Dance Expression in A.Y. Levinson’s Works

The article deals with some aspects of evolution of choreographical study at the turn of the 20th century. The analysis is based on the works by A. Levinson and A. Volynsky, which are largely similar to the conceptions of S. Mallarme and P. Valery. Positions of the both Russian critics are very much alike as for the system of dance expression and the dance language nature. Levinson and Volynsky turned away from the traditional view on dance system and rendered their analysis on an abstract phenomenological level. According to their theory, expressing the internal through the exterior form is achieved by dematerializing the dancer’s body, by getting rid of tooling. Spontaneous expression becomes a way to visualize the internal movement and rhythm on the internal chrono-spacial level where an abstract form is born. Due to such an approach, the dance is considered as a phenomenon conforming to its own special rules, having its own rhythm, and dealing in the internal space. Such statements determined not only Levinson and Volynsky’s critical position towards the pioneering trends in choreography at the turn of the 20th century (I. Duncan, M. Fokin) but also the basic elements of the theory of dance expression of a number of later choreography researchers. This position explains the fierce disputes between Levinson and his contemporary reviewer V. Svetlov, as well as his critics towards the adherents of the Dalcroze system.

modernism, symbolism, metaphysics, expression, choreography, abstraction, apperception, spontaneity

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