Utopian Letters
Through the exploration of languages both verbal and non-verbal, I decided to focus around the language of dance and movement to develop a writing system for this subculture. Dance has been an integral component in almost every culture since the beginning of time and is used as a form of personal, traditional, and interpretive expression. It has transcended through time as a result of the society's ability to imitate and teach these movements to each other. Therefore, I
decided to develop a writing system to improve the process of documenting and teaching routines to future dancers. During performance and practice, the individual will obviously be in motion and thus the writing system is required to be simplistic and easily perceptible so they can find their next position in the middle of a routine. As we progress as a society, new forms of dance are born each day. This requires the writing system to be broad yet specific on certain
moves. Thus I focused on the core dance moves that are integral to each style whether it is ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary or more. I focused around the movement of each foundational step and produced 6 active symbols that can be pieced together to form a routine. Each symbol imitates the live action of a specific movement, where the thick lines represent the beginning of the movement so the individual would follow the same action with their arm or leg
with as much momentum as the symbol indicates through the flick of the line. Square dot forms in the symbols are used to represent jumps or pauses where the dancer is stationary. It can be combined with high or low swings as to produce new moves such as running jumps or developed into complex sequences like low drop rolls. Each symbol will be interpreted through each sub style of dance. For example, the third symbol in my series depicts a bend with an arm swing involving a jump. In ballet, this can be performed as a plie followed by a high reach sus-souss (dancer goes on their toes), while in hip hop, the dancer might perform this through slouching down and scooping their arm up and around them with their legs bent the entire time. Performance routines are usually timed through counts of 8. This can optionally be included in the writing system sequences by using a formation of dots similar to a 'dice' format beneath the character.
decided to develop a writing system to improve the process of documenting and teaching routines to future dancers. During performance and practice, the individual will obviously be in motion and thus the writing system is required to be simplistic and easily perceptible so they can find their next position in the middle of a routine. As we progress as a society, new forms of dance are born each day. This requires the writing system to be broad yet specific on certain
moves. Thus I focused on the core dance moves that are integral to each style whether it is ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary or more. I focused around the movement of each foundational step and produced 6 active symbols that can be pieced together to form a routine. Each symbol imitates the live action of a specific movement, where the thick lines represent the beginning of the movement so the individual would follow the same action with their arm or leg
with as much momentum as the symbol indicates through the flick of the line. Square dot forms in the symbols are used to represent jumps or pauses where the dancer is stationary. It can be combined with high or low swings as to produce new moves such as running jumps or developed into complex sequences like low drop rolls. Each symbol will be interpreted through each sub style of dance. For example, the third symbol in my series depicts a bend with an arm swing involving a jump. In ballet, this can be performed as a plie followed by a high reach sus-souss (dancer goes on their toes), while in hip hop, the dancer might perform this through slouching down and scooping their arm up and around them with their legs bent the entire time. Performance routines are usually timed through counts of 8. This can optionally be included in the writing system sequences by using a formation of dots similar to a 'dice' format beneath the character.
The writing system addresses my dance society as it is quick and easy to interpret. Each character follows a form of movement where they are active notions rather than plain words with meaning, thus effectively communicating dance and performance routines. The choice of pictures reflect a snapshot of the movement in the characters I have designed. Each photo is taken in the middle of
the process of the movement. The choice of black clothes keeps the style of dance vague and anonymous to imply that the move can be applied to any style.
the process of the movement. The choice of black clothes keeps the style of dance vague and anonymous to imply that the move can be applied to any style.
