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UCLA
Anthropology Discourse Lab |
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Leelo Keevallik (CLIC Visiting Scholar; Uppsala University, Sweden) November 12, 2008, 5 PM. Haines Hall 332
Re-enactments in Dance Instruction |
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Abstract: Building on work on reported speech and multiple voices in discourse, this study looks at the incorporation of other bodies into the communicative projects by teachers of a partner dance, Lindy Hop. The teachers use their own bodies to quote others with the aim of making visible facets of students' performance, most often problematic ones. Body quotes regularly take the form of an exaggeration or downright caricature and are contrasted with correct performance, the differentiation between which necessitates verbal framing. The teachers simultaneously implement vocal effects, verbal clarifications, and bodily resources in order to achieve a corrective sequence during a dance class. While some functions are specific to either vocal or bodily devices, both are used for highlighting and stance-taking, as well as for creating the rhythm and sequentiality of the dance. The study is based on data in three languages, English, Swedish, and Estonian. |