THE COGNITIVE SEMIOTICS OF POETRY AND DANCE: EMOTIVE EMBODIMENT OF
ECSTATIC SENSORIAL COGNITION IN MODERN REPRESENTATIONS
by
YARDENA DAON
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of Master of Arts
Department of Cognitive Science
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
May, 2010
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of
YARDENA DAON candidate for the Master of Arts degree *.
Per Aage Bradnt (chair of the committee)
Ron Wilson
Florin Berindeanu
(date of thesis defense) March 24, 2010
*We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein.
Dedicated to my family For their Inspiration, motivation, support And everlasting love
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Table of contents
Acknowledgements 6
Abstract 7
1. Introduction 8
2.1. The structure of the song: questions and repetition 10
2.2. Echad Mi Yodea through semiotic references 13
3. A cognitive analysis of the poem Echad Mi Yodea 21
3.1. The uniqueness of the first answer 22
3.2. The use of Aramaic 23
3.3. Let the meaning define the poem 26
4. „Minus 17‟ (Batsheva Dance Company: DECA Dance) 29
4.1. „Minus 17‟: choreography and personal interpretation 31
4.2. „Minus 17‟: elements of the live performance 40
4.2.1. The Incantation Structure 42
4.2.2. Intense Intentionality 48
5. Overview: the cognitive essence of poetry and dance 53
5.1. The manner of performance of the poem 54
5.2. Sound patterns and their expressiveness: emotive and ecstatic states 60
5.3. Emotive sensorial cognition 67
6. Conclusion 71
Appendix 74 References 75 Bibliography 77 2
List of figures
Figure 1: A metonymic semiotic blend 18
Figure 2: Incantation Structure 43
Figure 3: Contraction of Linked Categories Creating the Intense Intentionality 49
Figure 4: The tempo (pitch pattern) of a stanza 59
Figure 5: Progression of emotive levels 63
Figure 6: Ma’alot: the outburst of emotive forces 65
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of all those without whose advice and help the development of this thesis would not have been possible.
First, I would like to express my profound thanks to my advisor and mentor, Professor
Per Aage Brandt of the Department of Cognitive Science at Case Western Reserve
University for his invaluable advice and guidance throughout the development of this thesis. I owe my deepest gratitude to Professor Florin Berindeanu of the Classics
Department at Case Western Reserve University for his spirit of adventure in regard to research and scholarship and endless fruitful discussions. I am heartily thankful to
Professor Ron Wilson, Chair of the Department of Theater and Dance and Karen Potter,
Director of the Dance Program at Case Western Reserve University for permitting the inclusion of dance in my multidisciplinary graduate program. I owe heartfelt thanks to
Kelli Sanford of the Dance Program at Case Western Reserve University for inspiring my inner creativity. I would also like to thank Sheila Pedigo and Gary Pillar of Case
Western Reserve University for being instrumental in the funding of grants which helped me pursue my research ambitions. Last but not least, I am most honored to extend my humble appreciation to Professor Emeritus Reuven Tsur of Tel Aviv University for his time and effort dedicated to helping me develop and research this thesis. His encouraging, frequent and ongoing communication created the energy that shaped this thesis.
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The Cognitive Semiotics of Poetry and Dance: Emotive Embodiment of Ecstatic Sensorial Cognition in Modern Representations
ABSTRACT
By
YARDENA DAON
This thesis studies cognitive semiotics of poetry and dance by examining emotive embodiment of ecstatic sensorial cognition in modern representations. The research investigates the existence, cause and process of „bursting emotions‟ leading to an ecstatic sensorial emotive state, through the singing and dancing elements of the choreography
„Minus 17‟ of the Hebrew liturgical poem Echad Mi Yodea performed by Batsheva
Dance Company. The writer attended a rehearsal and performance of „Minus 17,‟ and conducted personal discussions with the Company. For the advancement of this research the writer participated in an individual workshop with the founder of Cognitive Poetics,
Professor Reuven Tsur in Jerusalem, Israel. The thesis concludes that both song and dance create an emotive sensorial cognitive level, a form of energy, which generates a wild though controlled sense of pleasure, ending the performance, for both the performers and audience, in the most ecstatic state of emotion.
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1. Introduction
The cognitive and semiotic manifestation of poetry and dance arouses ecstatic sensorial qualities that create emotive patterns resulting from cognitive affinity between rational and irrational emotions.
My interest is in the cognitive semiotics of poetry and dance, so I selected for my research the traditional liturgical poem Echad Mi Yodea (Hebrew for Who Knows One), which is sung towards the end of the reading of the Haggadah1 during the Passover
Seder2 by all family members, and has also been performed under the title “Minus 17” by the Batsheva Dance Company.
Echad Mi Yodea is one of the latest poems to have been added to the Haggadah
(it was first printed in the Prague Haggadah of 1527), the common belief being that the poem„s earliest known version was inscribed on a leaf of parchment in 1406 (poet unknown) that was discovered in Germany, and subsequently called the Western version of the poem. Bar-Ilan University‟s Shimon Sharvit (2000) mentions the scholar and researcher Daniel Goldschmidt who included in his 1938 Berlin Haggadah (in German) references confirming that the poem Echad Mi Yodea was one of many wedding songs of early Cochin Jewry (today‟s Kochi, located on the southwest coast of India), with variations as compared to 16th century and later Western versions of the poem. Sharvit points to this and other Eastern versions of the poem, and states:
1 Haggadah - a “Telling.” A Jewish religious text that sets the order (Hebrew: Seder) of the Passover ritual. It is a celebration of history – the past and the future, and a prayer for freedom. (Scherman and Zlotowitz, 2008)
2 Passover Seder (Hebrew for order) – the order of the ritual of the Passover celebration as specified in the Haggadah; includes readings, prayers and singing from the Haggadah, and eating and drinking of specific foods and wine. (Ariel, 1978:248-253 personal translation from Hebrew) 6
“… In 1971 I found two separate parchments inscribed with the poem in two different locations within the Cairo Genizah3 archives at the University Library in Cambridge, also with variations as compared to today‟s accepted version, however, having commonalities with the Cochin version. There is no doubt in my mind that the Eastern version is independent of, and earlier than the Western version. Furthermore, it seems to me that the poem did not originate in Europe, nor was it originally written for the Haggadah.” (Sharvit, 2000 personal translation from Hebrew)
I will examine the liturgical poem Echad Mi Yodea through poetic and structural analysis of its literal and symbolic representation, the anthropological symbols in the poem, and the rhetoric structure and connection between the insights of the poem and the different symbolic representations.
Visual representation will be examined using Batsheva Dance Company‟s choreography for the song Echad Mi Yodea, “Minus 17.” I will analyze the poetic elements, the relationship between the words, the meaning and the gestures within the dance, and the symbolic elements of both choreography and poetry.
During the writing of this thesis, I have had the honor of participating in a one on one workshop with professor Reuven Tsur, who is considered the founding father of
Cognitive Poetics. The last chapter of this thesis is based on the knowledge and
3 Genizah (Hebrew for ‘hiding place’) is a depository for sacred Hebrew books that are no longer usable, and which cannot be thrown out because they contain God's name. The Cairo Genizah is located in the Ezra Synagogue in Fostat (Old Cairo, Egypt), built in 882 AD. The discovery of the documents in the Cairo Genizah (in the 18th and 19th centuries) has been likened to the 20th century discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls; no other library in the world possessed such an array of religious and private documents from the 10th to 13th centuries. The genizah revealed a wealth of information from this period, an era previously not well-known in Jewish history. Many genizah documents have become a unique historical source for the Middle East, providing important information for Muslim and Christian scholars in addition to Jewish ones. Today, a large portion of the Cairo Genizah's documents are available at the University Library in Cambridge, where documents are under glass, bound in albums or placed loosely in boxes. Smaller collections are spread out across the world, in libraries in London, Oxford, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, Budapest, Leningrad and Philadelphia. (Oreck, 2010) 7
understanding of poetry from a pure cognitive perspective influenced by Tsur and his methodology.
2.1. The structure of the song: questions and repetition
Echad Mi Yodea is an ordinal/reverse-numerical cumulative poem from number one to thirteen. Each verse starts with a number (1-13), and then the previous numbers/verses are repeated in reverse order (a pyramid structure). The poem is structured as a “call and response”; each verse/stanza opens with a “call” - the question “who knows „x‟?” („x‟ represents the numbers), which is repeated from 1 to 13, each time followed by the
“response” (answer) “I know „x‟! ...” and includes an explanation of that specific number.
The song goes through this question and answer sequence for a total of 13 times, each verse repeating the answers given for all previous numbers in a reversed order, but not repeating the previous questions. For example, when asking the question “who knows
5,” the answer to what number 5 is will be given, followed by the answers regarding numbers 4, 3, 2, and 1 as well. Thus, the thirteenth verse is the longest, and includes all of the previous verses in the order of 13th to 1st.4
The structure of the Echad Mi Yodea (a repetitive call and response) is functional for ease of memorization. The song is a traditional liturgical poem that is sung towards the end of the reading of the Haggadah during the Passover Seder by all family members, including very young children who chant it from memory. First, it is easy to remember the order of the verses/stanzas since they are chanted in numerical sequence; once going
4 The entire poem’s structure in Hebrew, its English translation and a transliteration of the Hebrew is presented later in the thesis. 8
up and then reversed, from the largest to the smallest number. Since each number is directly related to a specific, well known answer, and not just to the formality of its mathematical structure, it allows the reader/singer to easily remember the lyrics and the verse-sequence. Second, the information given in the answer for each number is logical and recognizable to those singing it, since it consists of basic facts from the Hebrew Bible and basic religious tradition (i.e. the two Tablets of the Commandments, the five books of
Moses, the ten Commandments, etc.), as well as generally known facts (for example, the seven days of the week, the nine months before birth, etc.).
From the cognitive psychological point of view the structure of the song forms an encoding5 method used by the poet in order to allow for faster memorization of information by the reader. In addition, Echad Mi Yodea also represents encoding specificity;6 the song will be retrieved a year later to be sung again (as per the compulsory inscription of singing in the religious calendar), in the same manner in which it was stored: a sequence of numbers and their relevant meaning. This mechanism has a communitary value, more important than simple memorization – the rhythm of the calendar time connects to the rhythm of the song as an embodied inscription of the individual in the religious (militant) group;7 also, my argument is that the repetition of the verses (13 times) allows for both the encoding of the words and the meaning of each
5 Encoding: the “process by which a physical, sensory input is transformed into a representation that can be stored in memory.” (Sternberg 1999: 512)
6 Encoding Specificity: “hypothesized phenomenon of memory in which the specific way of representing information as it is placed into memory affects the specific way in which the information may be retrieved later.” (Sternberg 1999:512)
7 Personal communication with Per Aage Bradt. 9
verse/stanza. This describes what cognitive psychologists call a „rehearsal‟.8
Furthermore, Echad Mi Yodea is an easy song to remember since its encoding specificity is meaningful to the reader who is then engaged in elaborative rehearsal.9 An examination of the specific meaning of each number elucidates how easy it is to remember communitary meaning. The verses/stanzas are easily encoded because those singing it have previous familiarity with the information regarding each number, having been exposed to the facts in other instances.
The repetitious sequencing of the verses of the song from the smallest to a larger number and then backwards, from the same large number to the smallest one, each time increasing the larger number by one, creates small units of integrated information which eventually combine to form a larger, composite unit of integration; once the entire song is sung, comprehended and processed. Additionally, the small units of integrated information are clearly defined by a specific repetitive element; each verse/stanza starts by repeating a particular number three times before any information is presented to the singer: in the question “who knows „x‟?”, in the statement “I know „x‟!”, and at the start of the details “‟x‟ is …”. Although the song is sung only once a year, the formation and structure of each stanza and of the entire song permit one to comprehend it and store it in both the short and the long term memory.
8 Rehearsal: “strategy for keeping information in short- term memory or for moving information into long – term memory by repeating the information over and over, usually by elaborating the information in some way.” (from Sternberg 1999:520)
9 Elaborative rehearsal: “the person somehow elaborates the items to be remembered in a way that makes the items either more meaningfully integrated into what the person already knows or more meaningfully connected to one another and therefore more memorable.” (from Sternberg 1999:520) 10
2.2. Echad Mi Yodea through semiotic references
This section will provide a close investigation of the poem Echad Mi Yodea using tools of cognitive science through the interdisciplinary approach to the study of literature.
Reuven Tsur, the founder of Cognitive Poetics, explains in Towards a Theory of
Cognitive Poetics what the study of literature from a cognitive approach means:
“Cognitive Poetics explores the possible contributions of cognitive science to Poetics… The present approach proposes to use cognitive theories to illuminate literature rather than use works of literature to illustrate cognitive theories… Such an approach requires the combination of the tools of cognitive science with those of the more traditional disciplines of literary criticism, literary history, linguistics, and aesthetics. An important task of cognitive poetics is to explore the possibilities and limitations of such combinations.” (Tsur, 2008: 1-2)
Below is the full version of the poem Echad Mi Yodea as presented in the Haggadah:10
אֶחָד מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 1? Echad mi yode'a
אֶחָד - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 1. Echad ani yode'a אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
שְׁ נַיִם מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 2? Shnaim mi yode'a
שְׁנַיִם - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 2. Shnaim ani yode'a שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
שְֹׁלשָ ה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 3? Shlosha yode'a
שְֹׁלשָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 3. Shlosha ani yode'a שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs,11 Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
10 Western version of Hebrew and English translation (Scherman and Zlotowitz, 2008), personal transliteration of Hebrew.
11 Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 11
ַארְׁ בַעָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 4? Arba’a mi yode'a
ַארְׁ בַעָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 4. Arba’a ani yode'a ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs,12 Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
חֲמִשָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 5? Chamisha mi yode'a
חֲמִשָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 5. Chamisha ani yode'a חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָה ָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
שִשָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 6? Shisha mi yode'a
שִשָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 6. Shisha ani yode'a שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah,13 Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
שִ בְׁעָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 7? Shiv’ah mi yode'a
שִבְׁעָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 7. Shiv’ah ani yode’a שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
12 Matriarchs: Sarah, Rivkah, Leah and Rachel.
13 The Mishnah is the first major written organization and classification of Jewish oral laws and traditions attributed to Rabbi Judah Ha-Nassi c. 200 AD. It is thus named for being the one written authority (codex) secondary only to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) as basis for the passing of judgment, and a source and a tool for creating laws. The Mishnah is divided to six Sedarim (Hebrew for Orders), each dealing with a range of related subjects, which are further divided into tractates, chapter and sub-chapters dealing with the practical application of Jewish written and oral laws, guidelines and opinions in all aspects of human life, both corporeal and spiritual. (Steinsaltz, 1976:33-39) 12
שְׁ מנָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 8? Shmonah mi yode'a
שְׁמֹונָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 8. Shmonah ani yode'a שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah,14 Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו ם שְׁבַשָמַיִּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
תִשְׁ עָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 9? Tish’ah mi yode'a
ּתִשְׁעָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 9. Tish’ah ani yode'a ּתִשְׁעָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה, ,are the months before birth, Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah, Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
עֲשָרָ ה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 10? Asara mi yode'a
עֲשָרָ ה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 10. Asara ani yode'a עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10 ּתִשְׁעָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה, ,are the months before birth, Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah, Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
ַאחַד עָשָר מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 11? Achad-asar mi yode'a
ַאחַד עָשָר - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 11. Achad-asar ani yode'a ַאחַד עָשָר ּכֹוכְׁבַיָא, ,are the stars in Joseph's dream, Achad-asar kochvaya 11 עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10 ּתִשְׁעָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה, ,are the months before birth, Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah, Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6
14 Brit milah – the Covenant (Hebrew: brit) between God and the Hebrews, as sealed by the act of circumcision (Hebrew: milah). (Genesis 17:4-14) 13
חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
שְׁ נֵים עָשָר מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 12? Shneim-asar mi yode'a
שְׁנֵים עָשָר - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 12. Shneim-asar ani yode'a שְׁנֵים עָשָר שִבְׁטַיָא, ,are the Tribes of Israel, Shneim-asar shivtaya 12 ַאחַד עָשָר ּכֹוכְׁבַיָא, ,are the stars in Joseph's dream, Achad-asar kochvaya 11 עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10 ּתִשְׁעָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה, ,are the months before birth, Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah, Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
שְֹׁלשָ ה עָשָר מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 13? Shlosha-asar mi yode'a
שְֹׁלשָה עָשָר - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 13. Shlosha-asar ani yode'a שְֹׁלשָה עָשָר מִדַיָא, ,are the attributes of God,15 Shlosha-asar midaya 13 שְׁנֵים עָשָר שִבְׁטַיָא, ,are the Tribes of Israel, Shneim-asar shivtaya 12 ַאחַד עָשָר ּכֹוכְׁבַיָא, ,are the stars in Joseph's dream, Achad-asar kochvaya 11 עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10 ּתִשְׁעָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה, ,are the months before birth, Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah, Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁ נֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and on earth. Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 uva'aretz.
The repetitious structure of the poem is best studied through an examination of its anaphoric16 structural content. The anaphora strengthens and articulates the explanations
15 Exodus 34:6-7
16 Anaphora - “The relation between a pronoun and another element, in the same or in an earlier sentence that supplies its referent.” (Oxford concise Dictionary of Linguistics, 2005) 14
provided for the numbers 1 to 13, also, it fortifies the grounding of the repeated question/answer routine of “who knows „x‟? / I know „x‟.”
In addition, the anaphoric question/answer part of the poem ties the relevance of the verses/stanzas of the poem together as a series of clauses: ordinate and subordinate
(Tsur, 2008: 127). The ordinate clauses are the answers given to each question; providing a semiotic representation to the meaning of each number. Figure 1 is an example of a metonymic semiotic blend of the second stanza of the poem, providing the answer to the question „who knows 2?‟
15
Figure 1: A metonymic semiotic blend17
Figure 1 shows the symbolic relation of a number (in this example: 2) and its representation. The „code‟ in the Argumentational Relevance defines the cognitive process which allows an understanding of the symbolic value. The symbolic action is
„coded‟ by the arbitrary and conventional method of the representation of the number it holds. Figure 1 is used to represent the term „symbolic‟ in this chapter.
17 Yardena Daon and Per Aage Brandt personal communication. 16
According to Tsur, the aforementioned subordinates are the actual anaphoric questions that section the song by separating the new number presented and the former given numbers and their ordinate clauses. The difference between the ordinate and the subordinate are thus provided because of the relevance of the questions compared to the actual semiotic meaning of each number. Regardless of the meaning, quantitatively the answers are those repeated in the reappearance of the numbers after the new number is introduced. From this I construed the difference between the ordinate (the meaning of each number, e.g. “2 are the tablets of the commandments”) and the subordinate (the question and intro to the answer, but not the meaning of the number, e.g. “Who knows 2?
/ I know 2”). The short and repetitive subordinates divide the poem into 13 sections; cutting the main flow of the poem each time it reaches number one and introduces the next higher number, for example:
אֶחָד מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 1? Echad mi yode'a
אֶחָד - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 1. Echad ani yode'a אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 on earth. uva'aretz.
שְׁ נַיִם מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 2? Shnaim mi yode'a
שְׁ נַיִם - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 2. Shnaim ani yode'a שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 on earth. uva'aretz.
שְֹׁלשָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 3? Shlosha yode'a
שְֹׁלשָה - אֲנִי יֹודֵע. .I know 3. Shlosha ani yode'a שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 on earth. uva'aretz.
ַארְׁ בַעָה מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 4? Arba’a mi yode'a
ַארְׁ בַעָה - יאֲנִ יֹודֵע. .I know 4. Arba’a ani yode'a ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 17
אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God who is in the heavens and Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 on earth. uva'aretz.
In each verse/stanza, two short subordinate lines at the beginning of each new introduction of a number delay both the meaning of the number (Tsur, 2008:127) and the ordinate line of the main number, the number one. The delay of the most important ordinate (number one) increases the vigor of the meaning and its semiotic reason.
Without considering its semiotic meaning, the reason that number one is the main ordinate and the most important number is the fact that it is the number which is repeated the most amount of times, also, it begins and ends the poem. Thus it is obvious that number one is the highest number in the hierarchic formation of the poem; from both a logical mathematical viewpoint and from a semiotic and meaningful perspective as well.
From a cognitive semiotic point of view, number one is obviously the most important number since it represents God. The explanation in the poem to number one is also empowered because of the second part of the answer following the term „our God‟:
1 is our God who is in the Echad elokeinu shebashamaim אֶחָדאֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁ בַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: heavens and on earth.18 uva'aretz.
“… in the heavens and on earth” is a reference to the first verse in Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible:
“א בְׁרֵ אשִית, אבָרָ אֱֹלהִים, אֵת הַשָמַיִם, וְׁאֵת In the beginning God created the heaven and the 1“ הָָארֶ ץ.” ”earth
18 Genesis 1:1 declares the first act of creation; “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Thus, at that point in time, ‘heaven and earth’ is an all-inclusive term, which literally means ‘everywhere,’ as the ‘sky’ was created on the second day, and the ‘dry land’ was created on the third day (Genesis 1:6- 10). 18
Both are symbolically connected since they both discuss the power of God. The poem relates to the principle of creation by using “in the heavens and on earth” and by stating that it is “our God,” which also suggests an approach in which the reader belongs to a group whose members support the ideas that follow in the rest of the poem.
The parallelism of the two verses, from Genesis and from Echad Mi Yodea, and the numerous repetitions of the number one in the poem are also perceived as a hypnotic reiteration that displays fast alternation of approximately the same verse. This kind of structure is mentioned in Tsur‟s On the Shore of Nothingness, explaining how the parallelism and reiteration (of number one) underlies the poem as joyful, enthusiastic or ecstatic (Tsur, 2003:251). The repetitive process causes a hypnotic reiteration of the lines that follow in order to complete the poem. However, the most important number remains one because it is the opening verse and the last line of the poem, and is repeated throughout the entire poem. Cognitively, the anaphora of the poem and its consistency creates a psychologically stable secured manner (Tsur, 2003:109) for the reader/singer who, by the end of each verse/stanza, goes back to a familiar orientation consisting of the explanation given for number one.
3. A cognitive analysis of the poem Echad Mi Yodea
This section will discuss the 13 answers as stated in the poem Echad Mi Yodea. The verses of the poem have sequential numerical attributes (1–13), however, specific verses will be discussed together when relevant, not necessarily sequentially, while a comparison of some of the verses will be done later on in this chapter. 19
The discussion of each verse and its interpretation will be done by examining both their abstract and tangible qualities; then comparing the two by taking into account their meaning in the poem. Cognitive poetic and cognitive linguistic approaches will be used in the analyses of Echad Mi Yodea, consequently a comparison of the different possibilities and suitable assumptions will be presented. Thus, combining the structure, interpretation, grouping and comparison of the verses will support in understanding the direct overall meaning and perception of the poem and its purpose.
Additionally, since this is a liturgical poem, religious aspects will be examined, however, these will be limited to the cognitive and literal references to God, which are woven like a golden thread connecting the religious, historical, cultural, linguistic and poetic elements of the poem.
3.1. The uniqueness of the first answer
The answer given in the first verse/stanza to the question “Who knows 1?” is the statement:
1 is our God who is in the Echad elokeinu אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: heavens and on earth. shebashamaim uva'aretz. In answer number one there are two distinct qualities that are not repeated in any of the other answers directly related to the numbers 2-13. The first is a possessive personal pronoun that attributes a sense of ownership, referring not only to an individual but to a group of people (in particular those singing the song); elokeinu (Hebrew for „our God‟).
The second distinct quality is a testimonial of dimensions; “…in the heavens and on earth.” This particular unique combination identifies this verse as the most important in the poem, in addition to earlier references made in the thesis regarding the relevance of 20
this verse to God and The Creation (referencing the book of Genesis 1:1). By using a possessive personal pronoun („our‟), there is a subjective19 individual insight which gives prominence to the information provided in the statement. Because of the expressionistic tendency of identifying a unique feature compared to the rest of the poem (Shavit,
1986:179), the statement associated with the number one is superior to the other 12 statements in the poem.
3.2. The use of Aramaic
Five of the statements in the poem use a single word in Aramaic20 to complete the
Hebrew (marked in bold below):
שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַ בַתָ א, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10 ַאחַד עָשָר ּככְׁבַיָא, ,are the stars in Joseph's dream, Achad-asar kochvaya 11 שְׁנֵים עָשָר שִ בְׁטַיָא, ,are the Tribes of Israel, Shneim-asar shivtaya 12 שְֹׁלשָה עָשָר מִדַיָא, ,are the attributes of God, Shlosha-asar midaya 13
19 A reference to an in – group, versus an out – group, we / they. This is built into the possessive pronoun; mine, not yours (personal communication with Per Aage Brandt).
20 Aramaic is part of the Northwest Semitic group of languages, which also includes Canaanite languages such as Hebrew and Phoenician. The Aramaic language has been around for over three thousand years, beginning in the 11th century BCE as the official language of the first Aramean states in Syria. Aramaic script is ancestral to both the Arabic and Hebrew alphabets. Of a later era, Jewish Neo-Aramaic texts have been written in a Hebrew alphabet, as in this poem and when used in the Scriptures or elsewhere. Aramaic is still used in religious Jewish texts and prayers, and writing liturgical poems in combined Jewish Neo-Aramaic and Hebrew has been a common and acceptable practice. (Jewish Language Research Website) 21
The structure of each line starts with a number which represents the numerical value,
followed by its meaning. The unique element in these lines is that by using the Aramaic
language other meanings can be identified in the statement.
Four of the five statements (10-13)21 provide an interesting linguistic frame. Each
Aramaic word is a combination of two nouns; a regular noun and a two letter suffix that
represents the word used for God. For example, the number 10:
עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10
,Dibar) דִבְׁר dibraya), consists of the word) דִבְׁרַ יָא ,The word Commandments in Aramaic
ya) – a two letter word that symbolically represents) יָא commandment), and the suffix
in Hebrew, pronounced the same). Thus, the Aramaic answers יָה) God in Hebrew
consist of two words unfolding an additional literal meaning for each answer/statement.
In the case of the number 10, this combination grants another dimension to the actual
meaning of the Ten Commandments; it empowers the statement as an act of the divine,
using the language of the written text to provide an underlying meaning to the simplistic
literal meaning; namely, the Ten Commandments are the Commandments of God.
Similar qualities occur with the meaning of the numbers 11, 12 and 13. Number
ּככְׁבַיָא represents the number of stars Joseph saw in his dream; in Aramaic, „stars‟ are 11
.ya) are the letters representing God) יָא kochav) is a star, and) ּככְׁב ,kochvaya) namely)
The added level here is that the stars, representing Joseph‟s brothers, are directly linked
Shivtaya), where) שִ בְׁטַיָא to God. Number 12 represents the Tribes of Israel, in Aramaic
ya) represents God, literally adding the meaning the Tribes) יָא shevet) is a tribe and) שִ בְׁט
21 The number seven will be examined last and separately, as it has unique manifestations as compared to the numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13. 22
מִדַיָא ,of God. Lastly, number 13, representing the 13 attributes of God; in Aramaic
ya) the letters representing) יָא mida) meaning attribute, and) מִדַה midaya) is divided into)
God; literally reinforcing the statement that 13 are the attributes of God in the statement.
ya) appear, they add a divine יָא) Each time the letters representing God perspective to the particular answer. It is important to note that the use of these letters could only have been accomplished by the use of Aramaic words (this linguistic format is not enabled for these particular nouns in Hebrew). This linguistic convenience provides a figurative language giving a personal touch of the divine to each Aramaic answer. Even though each answer concludes with a direct linguistic relation to God, each is presented in a unique sphere, having to do with totally different concepts that all together relate to
God,22 but again, in different ways. Also, this complex combination of words in Aramaic with their meaning in Hebrew, stands out and allows a noticeable change in the rhythm and texture of the poem, which eventually (for our purposes) highlights the contrast
(Scheindlin, 1991:117) between the elements presented in Aramaic to the elements literally perceived in Hebrew. In addition, the combination of letters representing God perceives these answers/statements to be more powerful than they would seem if the actual Hebrew words were used.
The number seven also presents an answer in Aramaic but, it is significant because it does not include the same direct linguistic reference to the divine. Number
22 The numerous uses of 'God’ imply a hysterical belief, and provides a foundation for the ecstatic emotional attributes explained later in the thesis. 23
shabatah)23, in Hebrew) שַ בַתָ א seven represents the number of days in a week, in Aramaic
alef), the first) א shabat). Linguistically, in the Aramaic word, it is the (extra) letter) שַ בַת
letter of the Hebrew alphabet that provides the connection to God. In Gematria the letter
alef is equal to the number one, and in the poem this is parallel to the statement
shabatah) and its Hebrew equivalent) שַ בַתָ א associated with number one24. The Aramaic
shabat), both mean the Sabbath, the seventh day when God rested after six days of) שַ בַת
Creation (as presented in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Genesis), a fact well known to
and accepted by the readers partaking in the Passover Sedder. It is the simplicity and
shabatah) that makes the number seven) שַ בַתָ א straightforwardness of the Aramaic word
so unique and powerful. It implies that the reader does not require an additional
reinforcement for God in the number representing the Sabbath, because of its obvious
importance to the reader.
3.3. Let the meaning define the poem
One may ask a simple question, what is the raison d'être for Echad Mi Yodea, why was it
written? As indicated earlier, one should “…use cognitive theories to illuminate
literature…,” (Tsur, 2008:2) thus, as long as the essence of the poem remains
undisturbed, reformatting the poem as part of such a search becomes relevant, and once
performed, it reveals the answer to „why‟ in all its glory, a literal revelation.
23 It is customary in Hebrew to specify the days of the week by counting them relative to the seventh day, ’,Thus, Sunday is ‘the first day of Sabbath,’ Monday ‘the second day of Sabbath .שַ בַתָ א :the Sabbath, here etc. Hence, in the poem, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah literally means ‘the seven days of Sabbath.’
24 The parallelism between numbers one and seven will be further expanded later on in the thesis, when reviewing additional cognitive poetic elements of the poem Echad Mi Yodea. 24
Once we focus on the meaning of the statements presented as answers rather than on their numerical sequencing, two major elements emerge: a descriptive parallelism exists in the poem, which has a normative implication for the content and meaning that each answer provides (namely, the statements can be grouped by meaning, mostly in pairs); also, the groups can be re-sequenced to reveal a story otherwise hidden, as follows:25
אֶחָד אֱֹלהֵינּו שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ is our God who is in the heavens and on Echad elokeinu shebashamaim 1 earth uva'aretz שְֹׁלשָה עָשָר מִדַיָא are the attributes of God Shlosha-asar midaya 13 שִבְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַבַתָא are the days of the week Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7
שְֹׁלשָהָאבֹות are the patriarchs Shlosha avot 3 ַארְׁ בַע אִמָהֹות are the matriarchs Arba imahot 4
ּתִשְׁעָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה are the months before birth Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁמֹונָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה are the days to the brit milah Shmonah yemei milah 8
ַאחַד עָשָר ּכֹוכְׁבַיָא are the stars in Joseph's dream Achad-asar kochvaya 11 שְׁנֵים עָשָר שִבְׁטַיָא are the Tribes of Israel Shneim-asar shivtaya 12
שְׁנֵי לּוחֹות הַבְׁרִ ית are the Tablets of the Commandments Shnei luchot habrit 2 עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא are the Commandments Asara dibraya 10
חֲמִשָה חּומְׁשֵיּתֹורָ ה are the books of Moses Chamisha chumshei torah 5 שִשָה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁנָה are the Orders of the Mishnah Shisha, sidre mishna 6
The triple parallelism of the statements in the answers for numbers 1, 7 and 13 has unique individual elements that provide them with a common factor: the divine. As discussed earlier, number 1 represents God, number 13 represents God‟s attributes, and number 7 represents the Creation, directly linked to God. Additionally, numbers 1 and
13 represent the cycle of the poem (1 to 13 then backwards 13 to 1, repeatedly, till all
25 Several descriptive parallelisms may be identified in the poem, which could lead to a variety of paired/triple groupings that can be re-sequenced for further analysis. I had chosen one of many in order to exemplify the analytic process. 25
verses have been read), while in Kabbalistic numerology, the number seven represents the natural cycle of the world. Also, in the Hebrew Bible, the number 7 is considered a topological number26 that represents perfection; God and the Creation. Lastly, all three are linked by the fact that as a group they represent some of the elements of the scriptures which the Mishnah forbids to expound and speculate upon in public; in this case ma’aseh bereshit27 (Dan, 2007:13).
The power of the triple parallelism of numbers 1, 7 and 13 is also in the meaning of their combined purpose, namely, the structure that holds the poem together. They both encompass and divide the poem: numbers 1 and 13 are its beginning and end, coming together to create a continuum once all the verses have been read, while number 7 is the median, the exact center of the poem. This framing structure creates an emphasis and achieves a focus of the divine being both „all around‟ and „within.‟ The different representation and the repetition of the framing emphasize the importance of the different aspects of the poem.
The paired parallelism of numbers 3 and 4 relate to the Hebrew people‟s ancient origin and ancestry, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Numbers 8 and 9 relate to the creation of life, pregnancy and birth. Numbers 11 and 12 actually discuss the same people, Joseph
26 Topological numbers are numbers that appear in the Bible again and again, and as such, it is their attributes that are important, not their actual mathematical value (common knowledge for Biblical studies in Israel).
27 Ma’aseh bereshit (Hebrew for ‘the work of genesis’), the chapters of the Book of Genesis describing the creation of the cosmos. Also forbidden is ma’aseh merkavah (Hebrew for ‘the work of the chariot’), the description of Ezekiel’s vision of the celestial chariot in Ezekiel 1 and 10 (Mishnah, Hagiga 2:1). 26
and his brothers (the number 11), who are also the 12 Tribes28. Numbers 2 and 10 link the Two Tablets with the Ten Commandments which were inscribed on them. Finally, numbers 5 and 6 encompass the written laws (the 5 the books of Moses) and oral laws
(the 6 Orders of the Mishnah) of Judaism.
As hinted earlier, once the poem is reformatted, the reason for its existence is revealed: it is a short and condensed history of the Hebrews since the time of the
Creation. Follow the sequence of events; first there is „our God‟ (1, 13) then the Creation
(7), followed by the Hebrew‟s ancestors, Patriarchs (3) and Matriarchs (4), who give life
(9) to sons (8) who are brothers (11) and become the Tribes (12). Their offsprings receive the Tablets (2) with the Commandments (10), which are incorporated into the
Written Law (5) and the Oral Law (6). According to Tsur, "this particular poetic structure can be used as a source for a mystical quality, which is revealed in the reading of a poem that is a „weak‟ structure, dull, ambiguous or with blurry borders” (Tsur and
Einat-Nov, 1999:1 personal translation from Hebrew).
4. ‘Minus 17’ (Batsheva Dance Company: DECA Dance)
How deep is the meaning we ascribe to the choreography of a dance performance? Once the movements are combined with the music and the theme, the choreography results in much more than a dance; it becomes choreography of signs, symbols and semiotic
28 Jacob’s sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. 27
representations.29 This section of the thesis will focus on Batsheva‟s performance of
“Minus 17”, the choreography for the song Echad Mi Yodea as sung by the Israeli group,
The Tractor‟s Revenge.
Batsheva Dance Company, based in Tel Aviv, Israel has been performing this dance choreographed by Ohad Naharin, the company‟s director, all over the world for many years. This section will briefly outline the costumes, stage setup and props, and then analyze “Minus 17” by comparing the choreography to the verses and their meaning; it will unveil the symbolic representation of the movements, and examine their relationship to the significance of the verses. In addition, since the writer of this thesis attended a live performance of DECA Dance as part of the research for this thesis, the writer‟s personal reflections on the dance and choreography will be incorporated.
The atmosphere of a live performance adds another dimension to the analysis of choreography; it creates a live and unceasing sensation in the body and the mind, which one is unable to experience when viewing a recorded version. First hand personal experience of a show initiates a new cognitive perspective, which intensifies the performance and the perceptual understanding of the dance. These aspects of the performance will be cognitively analyzed and discussed from my personal experience of a live performance of „Minus 17.‟ I will argue that the areas of the cognitive events‟ spaces are linked in such a way that they evoke cognitive sensations that make the performance meaningful and better understood.
29 Semiotic representations are the signs that stand in or instead of something else in a particular [appearance of something to the mind or eye] (Chandler, 2002). 28
4.1. ‘Minus 17’: choreography and personal interpretation
The dance is performed by 25 dancers dressed in black suits and white buttoned down shirts who commence the dance sitting in chairs in a semi-circle. As the choreography develops the dancers perform specific movements for each verse of the song, which are repeated every time the same verse is sung. After the eighth verse and for the succeeding verses, the dancers remove parts of their clothing; each dancer randomly chooses how to remove a clothing item and tosses it towards the empty space at the center of the stage. During the last segment, when the dancers perform the numbers from thirteen to one, their clothes have been removed from their upper torsos, leaving the male dancers wearing black pants, and the female dancers wearing black leotards and black pants. The dancer at the end of the semi-circle (upstage left) keeps his clothes on during the entire choreography.
As the dance progresses, white smoke is blown onto the stage. This effect is sometimes used to bring the audience to a state of euphoria, but it also affects the dancers by assisting them to move to a deeper holistic level of the choreography. The white smoke also has a blurring effect; there is no visible floor, it creates a cloud, an uplifting of the dancers, as if they are dancing while floating in the sky, which enables them to feel lighter, move more gracefully and effortlessly, in harmony with the choreography.
Symbolically the clouds could represent God, as the song indicates that He (God) is in the sky and on the land, and clouds form naturally between the sky and land, also, clouds are everywhere as God is claimed to be.30 Alternatively, the clouds could represent a middle
30 Saying that God is in the heavens and on the land means he is everywhere, also see footnote 17. 29
ground, a common area for the divine and the human, or, at least, closeness to God beyond anything one can feel on land.
The opening of the dance commences with the dancers sitting on chairs leaning forward with their elbows on their knees, staring at the floor. The song begins with the question “Who knows one?”31 As the answer is sung for the first number, number one,
“Our God who is in the heavens and on earth,” the dancers form a wave (a canon) starting with the dancer on upstage right; the dancers literally burst upwards, throwing their arms toward the sky (the heavens) once, and then sit slowly back down while waiting for the rest of the wave to be completed. The last dancer of the wave (upstage left), is the only one who does not return to his seat after the wave, but throws himself onto the floor.
Next, the rest of the dancers stand up in unison and sing the phrase just heard in the song
“In the heavens and in the land” in Hebrew (Hebrew: Sh’BaShama’im U-va-Aretz). Then they slowly return to their seats, and by this time the dancer that had slumped onto the floor is also seated.32
The number two in the song signifies the two stone Tablets of the Covenant on which the Ten Commandments were engraved on Mount Sinai. Actually, the Bible tells of two sets, the first having been shattered by Moses because of the golden calf.33 The choreography involves movements performed while the dancers remain seated; the
31 In the entire choreography, when the question “who knows ‘x’?” is sung, the dancers sit in their chairs waiting for the answer to be given, which is their cue to begin the next part of the choreography.
32 Each number/verse segment of the song will be illustrated sequentially. Later on in the thesis, when that number is mentioned, it will be understood that the number represents the choreography previously explained for that particular segment.
33 Exodus 32:19. 30
dancers hold their own hands together, then take their right elbows back and toss their hands from the right to the sides of their bodies continuing this motion by throwing their bodies from right to left. Immediately after the gesticulation the dancers throw their arms and bodies upward, as they did for the number one. The throwing of the dancers‟ arms from one side of the body to the other is an icon for Moses throwing the first set of tablets onto the ground, while the upward movement of the arms and body is the same as when the number One is mentioned, meaning that the two Tablets with the Ten
Commandments are directly related to God. The upward movement of the body and arms is also symbolic34 of Moses‟ frustration, the gestures suggests he might give it all up. Spatial orientation of each dancer should also be taken into account; the right side of the body represents a positive side, where Moses was holding the Tablets, but then he is thrown to the left side, the negative side. Once Moses (who is represented by the dancers) goes from the right (positive) to the left (negative) he is thrown back to „reality‟ by bursting toward the heavens, symbolically God would be his savior and will provide an answer or assist him. The return of Moses to God creates a balance and a sequence in the choreography that shapes a continuous circle between the movements of the piece.
The number three in the song represents the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. The movement also begins with the dancers slouched down in their seats, and then they lean forward in a curve from their right to the left, while nodding their heads.
When they reach the left side of their bodies, they move their left arms up in an arch to point toward the sky (the heavens), while their right arms move down to the chairs
34 Throughout the thesis, interpretations as to the dancers’ movements and posture are my own as relevant to my analysis of the choreography and lyrics. 31
between their legs. Then they lean forward and lift their bodies up from their seats, shifting their weight to their right arms (by now they are on their feet, with only the right hands touching the chairs). The toss of the left arm to the sky while the right arm points down and touches the chair connects the sky, the heavens, to the land, the Patriarchs, the offsprings, and the audience. The right arm that the dancers are leaning on represents
God‟s “strong right arm” a common Biblical expression,35 which connects the divine with the human; the superior, omnipotent right hand that can hold it all together; the heavens, the land and the people. The nod of the head, which is now facing the audience, reflects a notion that the forefathers are the base, the foreground of the audience, of the viewers, of the world. The nod aimed at the audience harmonizes between the lyrics and the meaning, indicating that the audience is the modern representation of the forefathers as well as their descendants.
The number four in the song represents the four Matriarchs (Sarah, Rivka, Leah and Rachel. The movement in the choreography combines the physical with the spiritual, as presented throughout the entire song: the bursting movements towards heaven (the spiritual) and the down to earth, towards the audience and the floor (the physical). The choreography calls for the dancers to remain seated, throw their arms up (the right then the left) above their heads, to the heavens, then grab their right arms with their left arms and bring them both down to their bodies – towards the lower abdomen that is parallel to the area of the female womb – then immediately follow with yet another bursting movement up toward the sky. This sequence symbolizes the divine, how it had all begun,
35 For example, in “The Song of the Sea” Exodus 15:6: “Thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Thy right hand, O LORD, dasheth in pieces the enemy” (Mechon-Mamre 2009). 32
a reference to who is in control of the creation, yet linking it directly to motherhood and fertility. The reference to a woman‟s womb as part of the divine creation indicates the relationship to Biblical prophecies; the Divine is the power of the creation, particularly human creation, the prophecy of a strong long future of the Hebrews because of the support from the “heavens and the land”. The choreography presents this connection by the curved sweep of the gesture, which symbolizes the encirclement of God and humans, and the continuity of human generations. Earlier I stated that the arms have a major symbolic role, as they do here; both arms come into the womb from above, heavens, a symbolic reference to the need of both a male and female to procreate and perpetuate the
Hebrew‟s generation (or any other), and the female‟s womb to carry the offspring, yet again the bursting movement states the connection to the Omnipotent, who is at all times in the background of the story.
The number five represents the five books of the Torah36 (Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The five books tell the story of the creation, the birth of the Hebrews and their early history, and end with the death of Moses as the
Hebrews are about to enter the Promised Land. The choreography starts as the dancers are sitting in their seats, then turning their shoulders to the right as they lunge their bodies forward and down into a sitting position on the floor so that their backs are to the audience, and finally they look at the audience over their left shoulders. The figurative representations I have selected for the choreography of this verse is the human cycle, the beginning and the end of a time-period; from the beginning of creation to the death of
36 The Torah, Hebrew for the Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch (Hebrew: Khumash), the first part (of three) of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). 33
Moses, which is represented by the transition from sitting in the chair, then turning and sitting on the floor; symbolizing the ground where man is buried. The additional movement of the head, looking at the audience over the left shoulder, bonds the audience to the dance; it also creates a familiar space for the audience by linking the symbolism of the choreography with the physical world of the audience. The verse of the number five ends with the dancers sitting back in their seats, indicating another closure of the continuum of the human physical cycle, the cycle of life and death.
The number six represents the Six Orders of the Mishnah. Here the dancers - except for one - stand while bending down at the knees, their faces directed toward the floor. One dancer at upstage right, closer to the center of the semi-circle, jumps up to a standing position on his chair, thus being taller than the rest, and the only dancer directly looking at the audience. The verse ends when all the dancers return to a sitting position on their chairs.
The number seven represents the seven days of the week and the seventh day which is the Sabbath, the day of rest in the Jewish religion. The choreography corresponds to my given meaning; the dancers are seated and turn their whole bodies to the right leaning on the chairs with their right shoulders as they move their heads so that their right cheeks are toward the floor; a movement that implies sleeping on one‟s side, therefore resting. The return to the seat is done from the left shoulders, thus completing a circle. The figurative circle completed by the dancers shows the continuity of the week and the calendar, there is a cycle that every week follows another week, starting with
Sunday and ending with the Sabbath, the day of rest. 34
The number eight represents the numbers of days to a new-born Jewish male‟s ceremony of Brit Milah. The dancers are seated with their hands covering their eyes, then immediately they remove their hands from their eyes, and move their arms parallel to the floor palms down back and forth at a fast pace. The choreography corresponds to the meaning: the baby cannot see the world until the hands uncover the eyes, while the movement of the arms creates the semblance of being pushed into the world.
Numbers nine and ten are both danced as one extended verse and so are grouped in the analysis. Number nine is the number of months a woman is pregnant, and ten is the number of commandments. In this part of the choreography the dancers remove part of their clothing and throw them onto the center of the stage. The grouping of nine and ten characterizes the birth of a child (nine), and the rules that a growing child lives by
(ten), while the element of taking off the clothes connects the naked human to his/her birth. Throwing their clothes into the same area in the middle of the stage indicates the equality of the dancers, who represent humankind; all are members of a community that should be living by the same basic and simple rules, signified by the Ten
Commandments.
Numbers eleven and twelve are symbolically related, and will be examined as an extended verse, as well as separately as independent verses. The number eleven represents the eleven stars Joseph sees in his dream (Genesis 37). Joseph dreams of 11 stars in the sky representing his brothers (which, including himself, are the 12 decedents 35
of Jacob who fathered the 12 tribes of the Hebrews37), and of the sun and the moon representing his father (Jacob, of the three Patriarchs) and his mother (Rachel, of the four
Matriarchs). Number twelve represents the twelve tribes of the Hebrews.
The gestures of numbers twelve and eleven are a combination of new movements with the movement of number four (the four Matriarchs).38 In verse twelve, the dancers throw both arms behind their backs, and then they lift their arms toward the sky and grab both their arms. Following this movement is a repetition of the movement of number four‟s choreography; having thrown both arms together to the sky (Heavens), they hold their hands together in a fist, and bring the fist down towards the lower part of the abdomen (parallel to where a female‟s womb is). The choreography‟s relation to the song is the symbolic reference to the womb, and the fact that Joseph and his 11 brothers are the direct descendents of the four Matriarchs (two mothers, a paternal grandmother, and a paternal great-grandmother), as demonstrated in the same movement in the choreography for number four. Throwing the arms to either side of the body and then holding the arms up and together symbolizes the differences amongst the Hebrews, who are nevertheless one People with one God. Joseph‟s dream provides the immediate connection between the verses of number twelve and number eleven in the familial relationship of the twelve tribes, and the direct link to the ancestral Matriarchs and
Patriarchs.
37 Jacob’s sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. The house of Joseph was divided into two tribes, Ephraim and Menashe, his sons. The Levi tribe, as priests, was not given a share in the apportionment of the Promised Land.
38 Since the dance as a whole descends from a larger number to a smaller number, number twelve is analyzed before eleven. 36
Following this movement into the verse of number eleven, the dancers lean back facing the Heavens, and arch their backs circling clockwise in their seats while their arms stay between their legs. The dancers lean back and look up at the sky as someone would when gazing at the stars, as Joseph did in his dream. The relation between the stars (the brothers) and the mothers is emphasized by the dancers keeping their hands between their legs close to the pelvic area and womb in a female‟s body.
Number thirteen represents the thirteen attributes of God as listed by Moses in the book of Exodus chapter 34. The representational movement of verse 13 is the emphasis on God and nothing else. At this point the dancers are leaning forward in their seats, elbows on their knees, and only their heads are raised facing straight forward. This simple head movement adds more authority to the words and their meaning. Up to this point the choreography called for extreme, full body and limbs, fast movements (the pace of the choreography is fast), whereas now the dancers only make a simple head movement, which allows the words to capture and dominate the dance. Thus, the 13 attributes of God are more powerful than the dance; somehow the lifting of the head emphasizes the awareness of the words and their meaning. This quiet part of the choreography shows the ways God is being characterized; at first He is a burst of energy, emerging from the dancers, then He is represented by a quiet movement of the head alone. These two movements create two extremes signifying the power and omnipotence of God in reality. The burst of energy indicates the power and force of the Divine on the human individual and collective body, and the quiet nod is the cognitive effect, the attention to muse and focus. 37
A remarkable aspect of the choreography opens and closes the piece. For verse
One the entire company is used in order to „produce‟ a movement to represent God, and it might just be that for verse Thirteen, it is beyond the capabilities of a human being to create a single movement that will encompass and represent God‟s 13 attributes. By going in the opposite direction, a simple lift of the head sends a message that God‟s attributes can only be mentally perceived in the choreography. The return of God or his representation from the beginning of the piece to its end is a thread that runs throughout the dance. The dance starts with the number one, continues to number thirteen, then goes back down to one (a pyramid structure). Symbolically however, since both numbers (1 and 13) deal directly and only with God, verse 13 can be linked directly to verse 1 to create a continuum that can also be applied to the choreography; the nod of the head (of number 13) flows into the upward burst, the wave (of number 1), thereby creating a circle, a continuous loop, an infinity that exists both in the movements and in their representation.
4.2. ‘Minus 17’: elements of the live performance
In order to advance from the my theoretical study of “Minus 17” to the analysis of its cognitive perspectives and the composite aspects of the performance-choreography combination, one must be present at a live performance; this is where the full auditory and visual effects create an atmosphere that moves a euphoric audience to the edge of their seats, causing an exceptional experience that elevates the performance to a higher plateau. The writer‟s personal understanding, interpretations and insights stemmed from a live performance of „Minus 17‟ that has provided concrete examples for the ideas and 38
arguments made in this thesis. My analysis includes the performance as a whole and how properties of the entire show came together, with specific features regarding choreography, dancers, stage, audience, and aroused emotions.39 The performance will be examined by testing the choreography‟s relevance to all aspects of both broad and specific attributes.
Dance performances are usually reviewed by looking at the choreography (music, movements), the dancers (technique, attire), and the stage (lighting, props). For example,
McCarren in his book Dance Pathologies: Performance, Poetics, Medicine (1998) focuses on how much more difficult it is for dancers to convey the meaning of a dance, than actors trying to communicate the meaning of a text. Although he looked at a broad aspect of a dance performance, McCarren did not include the audience, the atmosphere, the dialogue between dancers and audience, and so on. These aspects will be included in the analysis presented in this thesis.
Unlike other dance performances attended by the writer, a dancer by her own right, the Batsheva Dance Company develops a sensation in the body that stimulates bodily and mental experiences during and after the show. For example, in addition to the effect the dancers on the stage have on the audience, the sensation caused by the lighting; the extreme sharp and drastic change of colors, strike the audience and call for focus and uninterrupted interest. The same sensation happens with the music; it is loud enough that one can feel the beat and vibrations within his/her own body. The combined effect of
39 As part of her research, the writer of this thesis attended the Batsheva Dance Company’s performance of DECA Dance at the Ziff Ballet Opera House in the Arsht Center, Miami, Florida, on December 5th, 2009. The writer’s seat was in the balcony’s first row, which allowed the writer to view an entire section of the audience below, as well as be a spectator. This enabled the division of perspectives to first person (the writer as part of the audience) and third person (the writer viewing the audience). 39
these attributes (and others) awakens the body, making the audience want to jump out of their seats and join the dancers on the stage. The mere fact that the audience has to remain seated only heightens these sensations, and by the end of the show the audience is ready to emotionally erupt.40
4.2.1. The Incantation Structure
The writer‟s view of a dance performance is illustrated in Figure 2 below. It looks at the performance and the choreography from its broadest possible perspective; the performance as a whole, with categories of the production divided into „body‟ properties
(music, rhythm, dance/song, text and acting) and „mind‟ properties (imaginary, intense intentionality,41 dialogue and story). Figure 2 illustrates the happenings during a show as seen from the audience‟s viewpoint. The incantation structure formed in Figure 2 has been built to explore the idea behind each category in a performance, and will be explained using the Batsheva Dance Company as an example.
Figure 2 is based on Barthes‟s methodology of signified and signifier, relating to the „semiology postulate of relation‟ between these two terms: “This relation concerns objects which belong to different categories, and this is why it is not one of equality but one of equivalence…” (Barthes, 1957:112). This enables me to incorporate Barthes‟s idea of different categories in my argument of „mind‟ and „body‟ which are not equal but
40 Other members of the audience confirmed this sensation both during the intermission and after the show. A further study of the emotional burst is analyzed later in the thesis.
41 ‘Intense intentionality’ is the sum of the viewers’ emotions, visual perception, audio perception and other factors that are part of the individual viewer during the performance. See section 4.2.2 Intense Intentionality, ahead. 40
equivalent. Barthes states that “there is, indeed, a signifier, but this signifier itself is formed by a sum of signs, it is in itself a first semiological system… Thereafter, the formal pattern is correctly unfolded: there is a signified… and there is a global signification, which is none other than the correlation of the signifier and the signified…”
(Barthes, 1957:116).
Figure 2: Incantation Structure42
Music Imaginary Mind Rhythm
Intense Intentionality Dance / Song Body (physical world)
Text Dialogue
Acting Story
42 Yardena Daon and Per Aage Brandt personal communication. 41
Figure 2 stresses the experience one goes through when viewing a live dance performance. The diagram is divided into two main components, the „Body (physical world)‟ and the „Mind.‟ The „Body (physical world)‟ describes the music (which represents rhythm), dance/song, text and acting. The „Mind‟ describes the imaginary, intense intentionality, dialogue and story. The arrows indicate the links between the properties presented in the figure. These links connect between the broad and specific attributes of the show. The body and mind relate in a way to what we see and what me make of it. The structure also represents the timing in which the process happens (the process of thought while watching a live performance). In addition, the figure demonstrates the contribution of the senses to the process of the audience becoming part of the show.
The first step is the sense of hearing described in the performance as „music.‟ The music in the performance controls the beat and rhythm of the dancers. In Batsheva‟s performance the music is extremely loud and in a varied beat corresponding to the choreography, thus determining the pace and tempo of the movements. The rhythm that is derived from the song (Echad Mi Yodea sung by The Tractor‟s Revenge) has a very determined percussion beat in the background. As the song develops the beat becomes faster, the lyrics are sung more rapidly, and the percussions‟ volume increase. In addition to the actual music, in DECA Dance43 the dancers sing one verse, creating a forceful link between the „music‟ and the „dance/song‟. The „dance/song‟ represents the choreography of the movements however it includes the singing of the dancers that has been built into
43 ‘DECA Dance’ is Ohad Naharin’s selection of the last decade’s (hence DECA) choreographies (based on personal communication with Batsheva dancers). 42
the choreography. The dance provides a visual stimulation of the „music‟ through the link of rhythm, which elevates the choreography for the audience.
„Music‟ and „dance/song‟ relate to „imaginary‟ (from the „Mind‟ section), which stimulates the auditory and visual senses to an image that evolves in each viewer‟s mind.
Before one can comprehend the inter-relationships of these events happening simultaneously, the perceptual events overlap and are divided into subgroups (as Figure 2 demonstrates), in order to fixate the whole picture as one, and have all the pieces come together to create one (Donald 2001:22). The „dance/song‟ is the first to trigger the viewers‟ imagination with an abundance of perceptual messages; consequently the viewer connects the beat of the music and the rhythm created by it to the dancer‟s movements.
The „imaginary‟ category belongs to the short term memory span of knowledge allowing one to store the type of music, structure of movements and these intricacies in order to comprehend the entire puzzle (namely, the whole performance) as it is. The brain has different perspectives of different senses (Donald 2001:23) and the perceptions of those senses combine next into the „imaginary‟ category.
In Figure 2 „Imaginary‟ is led by the „music‟ and the „dance/song‟ back to the
„Mind‟s‟ second category of „intense intentionality.‟ In broad terms, „intense intentionality‟ is the sum of the viewers‟ emotions, visual perception, audio perception and other factors that are part of the individual viewer during the performance. This category unites specific aspects of theater in a different cognitive approach to a perceptual overlapping experience that a viewer holds during a performance. The theatre aspects that are represented in the „intense intentionality‟ are separated into spaces and the interaction of those spaces creates the relevant space of the incantation structure, the 43
„intense intentionality‟ (see Figure 3 later in the thesis). Thus, „intense intentionality‟ is developed by the perceptual understanding of the viewer, of the dance and music, and the shape it forms through the „imaginary‟ character.
Once the „intense intentionality‟ is considered by the viewer, the „text‟ (namely the text/lyrics of the song and the specific movements of the choreography) is taken into account. The „text‟ begins to give meaning and interpretation to the „dance/song‟ and
„music‟ put together. The link to the „Mind‟ occurs once the viewer makes sense of the
„music,‟ „dance/song,‟ „text‟ and „imaginary,‟ „intense intentionality‟ and „dialogue.‟ The
„text‟ combines the actual steps or movements of the choreography with the lyrics of the song from „music,‟ which allows the viewer to realize his own perception of the categories of Incantation Structure. Since lyrics in DECA Dance are specific and originate from a Jewish tradition and custom, the text should be more meaningful to those viewers who understand the significance of the songs and lyrics, and who might differently shape their construction or, building of the categories of Incantation Structure differently. The „text‟ also represents specific words that are spoken in DECA Dance in
Hebrew, allowing only those who know the language to form more specific bonds between the lyrics and the corresponding movements creating a feeling of being special44.
The „text‟ and „intense intentionality‟ link directly to the „dialogue,‟ which could be one of two cognitive possibilities. First, a dialogue between the „text‟ and the choreography, as has been described in “Minus 17” of DECA Dance, and second, the dialogue between the viewer and his interpretation of all his perceptual input up to this point. In other words, during the show the viewer absorbs the information and responds
44 Personal communication with Per Aage Brandt. 44
to the development of events on stage; this creates a virtual dialogue in the viewer‟s
„mind‟ and thus the „intense intentionality‟ is enforced by the other categories. The dialogue created between the choreography of the movements and the „text‟ is designed by the choreographer who works with the lyrics, using the dialogue to structure a piece or, an entire choreography. Once the „dialogue‟ is clear to the viewer the „acting‟ category takes place.
„Acting‟ allows each spectator to view the dancers as different characters, symbols of their own interpretation by taking into account all of the categories: „music,‟
„dance/song,‟ „imaginary,‟ „intense intentionality,‟ „text,‟ „dialogue‟ and now „acting.‟
The most significant part of the interpretation is during a performance, when the short term memory allows the different aspects of the perceptual conceptions to blend together to develop the role that each dancer plays, or the collective role that all dancers on stage portray (the matter of memory was discussed in a more specific manner in an earlier section).
The highlight of Figure 2 is the „story‟ category, which completes this diagram in its entirety. „Story‟ represents the whole performance as interpreted by the spectator.
The entire perceptual concept that the viewer is given during a show, culminates in his structuring of a story that makes it comprehensible and reasonable in his eyes. The
„story‟ category helps an individual to make sure that he has all the information necessary in order to move this performance and its specific details from the short term memory to the long term memory. By shaping this „story‟ as it suits each individual, the interests and creativity assist the memory to better store the information in such a way that the long term memory will now include this performance (Donald 2001:73) through the 45
inclusion of the different categories which were aroused during the performance structure of this „story‟.
4.2.2. Intense Intentionality
As demonstrated, Figure 2 (Incantation Structure) shows the different categories of an individual‟s cognitive perception of a performance. Some perceptions could make the cognitive awareness so intense and forceful that the category of „intense intentionality‟ becomes dominant, and develops a heightened level of cognitive sensitivity. The question comes to mind what exactly interacts within that category, and what its components are. Figure 3: Contraction of Linked Categories Creating the Intense
Intentionality represents the development and perceptual spaces of a performance that create the space of the category „intense intentionality‟ in Figure 2.
46
Figure 3: Contraction of Linked Categories Creating the Intense Intentionality45
Dancers
Category
Staging Connecting Intense Intentionality Category Category
Audience
Category
Figure 3 describes the existence of four different categories (dancers, audience connecting and staging) that create a contracting network.46 The four categories in the network contain their own individualized properties but they also mutually influence one another. Since the figure is two-dimensional, it shows only three connections at a time, however, being three-dimensional in reality, the networks are linked in such a way that the projection moves on from one category to another, attaching all four categories at
45 Created by Yardena Daon.
46 The network proposed includes a “Simplex Network” (Fauconnier and Turner, 2002), and a new form of contraction of the categories of the space, creating a new category that is a blend of all four categories but also a compound of their new aspect and relation. 47
some point. Each category is independently significant but also important and valuable to the existence of the network; without one of the categories the network will not form; the „intense intentionality‟ will not evolve. Described below are the categories and their individual contribution to the network as a whole.
The Dancers category is comprised of the actual dancers that are performing, the movements that they are producing, the emotions that they input into the dance and which shape their movements, and the reflection of the movements on the audience. For
Batsheva Dance Company, this category is extremely important since one recognizes each dancer‟s personality and his/her own interpretation of the movements. Later in the thesis this aspect of the dancers‟ individual performance will be analyzed and introduced as an interaction of categories of one space. For now, the dancers are characters on stage providing this space with a physical and visual content that stimulates the rest of the network by focusing on the real movement happening in this category. Dancers are influenced by the network in different ways that will be explained in each category independently.
The Audience category includes the audience, and where they are physically situated relative to the dancers. This category contains the emotions and views of the performance from the audiences‟ perspective (whatever it might be). This perspective of the performance takes us back to the audience‟s perception from Figure 2. The Audience category is also inclusive of energy and communication with the performers; cheering, clapping hands, shouting (all positive attributes), or leaving in the middle of the performance, cell phones ringing and so on (all negative attributes). 48
The Staging category includes the physical landscape that the dancers are dancing in (in our case, the company is on a large stage inside an auditorium). In addition, this category includes the stage set, if there is any, the lighting and other objects inside the landscape that the dancers are dancing in. The Connecting category is the physical space between the Staging Category and the Audience Category, an imaginary area that differentiates a performer from a member of the audience.
Conceptually, in a three-dimensional reality, one can see the Dancers Category and the Audience Category as facing one another, with the Staging Category underneath and between both, the Connecting Category over and between both, with all of the categories‟ shapes and volume continually changing. Thus, in reality, the four categories are linked, thereby creating the „intense intentionality‟ area, which completes a structure that is dynamic, inter-related, and varies from one viewer to another. Maximum „intense intentionality‟ is created when the dancers intermingle with the audience, and dance in their midst, and when the dancers bring members of the audience onto the stage to dance with them. In DECA Dance, the Batsheva Dance Company does both, thereby maximizing the energy and ecstasy of both audience and dancers (every dance performance has this theatrical structure, however, in later sections I will argue that in this particular choreography it is super imposed).
The following relates the links and interactions of the four spaces in the network, which render the contraction of the network that in turn causes the „intense intentionality‟ space to occur.
Dancers Category – Audience Category: the dancers influence the audience by the high degree of their performance. The effort and attitude of the choreography changes 49
the perspective of each viewer. The way each viewer feels or responds to the dance
(cheering, clapping) evokes the dancer and contributes to their volume and energy.47
This mutual feedback of the two categories occurs during the entire performance, and shapes both the audience‟s view of the performance as a whole and the dancers‟ experience as performers.
Dancers Category – Staging Category: the dancers correspond to the physical landscape that they are provided with. In dance, the choreography establishes the stage category and allows full or partial usage of the stage. In „Minus 17‟ the dancers form a semi circle creating an empty space in the middle of the stage and blocking the view of the empty space behind them. The Dancers and Staging categories blend when the dancers throw their clothes onto the middle of the stage, using objects from the Dancers
Category that are now in the Staging Category as pieces of the set.
Dancers Category – Connecting Category: these are separate parts however the
Connecting Category defines the borders of the dancers‟ landscape, thereby bringing the
Staging Category – Connecting Category link into the network. In addition, it provides the necessary link between the dancers and the audience.
Audience Category – Connecting Category: the audience is limited physically to their seats, so the Connecting Category guarantees that they will not cross into the
Staging Category, while providing a link to the Dancers Category and creating an
Audience Category – Staging Category link.
47 Michael Flatley in ”Celtic Tiger: Tiger Feet” 50
Audience Category – Staging Category: these spaces distinguish between performers and viewers. They have no direct connection between them, nor can they directly blend. They are separated and have different purposes. As stated, they are linked through the Connecting Category.
Staging Category – Connecting Category: these are two physical spaces which shape the layout of the actual area where the performance takes place. It is an unwritten rule that the audience cannot enter the dancers‟ performance area (the Staging Category), unless brought there by the dancers. The dancers however, can go wherever they wish.
Thus, the dancers are in total control of the shape and volume of all four categories, and so they are also in control of the „intense intentionality‟ area.
The linking of these four categories creates the blended but individually significant area of „intense intentionality‟. The structure of the four categories brings about the abstract force and relationships between the categories, from physical to abstract understanding of the performance (and its different attributes). Thus the word „intense‟ is used to describe the formation of this intentionality of the production as a whole. The audience‟s interaction and emotive state during the performance of the choreography is a subject for a new research.48
5. Overview: the cognitive essence of poetry and dance
The following chapter is based on my work and research with Professor Reuven Tsur (as mentioned and explained in the introduction to this thesis). Tsur‟s research in Cognitive
Poetics explores how, despite the fact that human language is conceptual and logical, it
48 As per personal discussion of this topic with Reuven Tsur. 51
sometimes conveys such illogical and non-conceptual experiences as emotions or mystic insights. Tsur explains that poems that convey emotional or mystic content may also create an impression of actual perception or experience of emotional or mystic qualities.49
This chapter of the thesis will use the pervious chapters and Tsur‟s methodology to support and argue the relation and parallel cognitive essence of poetry and dance. In addition to Tsur‟s theories, I will use Beardsley‟s Aesthetics, Problems in the Philosophy of Criticism (1958). Beardsley in particular discusses three general canons with reference to which one may justify evaluative statements: unity, complexity, and some intense human quality. He explains that the objective features of plays, poems, paintings, and musical compositions referred to in the three canons can usually be conditionally justified as standards because they are unifying, complexifying, or intensifying features of arts, in which they occur, either alone or in combination with other features (Beardsley,
1958:466). Incorporating Tsur and Beardsley‟s methodologies with my own theories, I will construct a statement regarding the ecstatic cognitive levels that arouse from the poem Echad Mi Yodea as sung during the Seder, and as a song and choreography performed by Batsheva dancers.
5.1. The manner of performance of the poem
As explained in previous sections, Echad Mi Yodea is an ordinal/reverse-numerical cumulative repetitive call and response poem, therefore the musical pattern will be discussed only for the last stanza since it includes all the numbers (from 13 to 1), while it is understood that the rest of the poem (stanzas 1-12) follows the same format. Following
49 Personal communication with Reuven Tsur. 52
is a sample music score for the first two stanzas (for numbers one and two) of the song
Echad Mi Yodea in its most common version, as sung during the Passover Seder, the version that has been adapted and performed by the Israeli group, The Tractor‟s Revenge, and used in the choreography of Batsheva‟s performance of “Minus 17.” For numbers 3-
13, a simple extension of the score is required for each number (by duplication from/including the last note of the third line).
53
Echad Mi Yodea50
In each stanza, both the question and the first line of the answer are always sung at moderate, constant tempo and volume; for example, in number 13:
50 Courtesy of Tavim.net - the Hebrew Music Scores site; composer unknown. 54
שְֹׁלשָ ה עָשָר מִי ידֵע? ? Who knows 13? Shlosha-asar mi yode'a שְֹׁלשָ ה עָשָ ר - אֲנִי ידֵע. .I know 13. Shlosha-asar ani yode'a
Once the detailed answer is sung (i.e. the specific representation of each number from 13 to 2 is given), both tempo and volume are amplified at an increasing rate; i.e. in number
13, the line for number 13 is sung louder and faster than the previous line („I know 13‟), and the line for number 2 is the loudest and fastest:
שְֹׁלשָ ה עָשָ ר מִדַיָא, ,are the attributes of God, Shlosha-asar midaya 13 שְׁ נֵים עָשָ ר שִ בְׁטַיָא, ,are the Tribes of Israel, Shneim-asar shivtaya 12 ַאחַד עָשָ ר ּככְׁבַיָא, ,are the stars in Joseph's dream, Achad-asar kochvaya 11 עֲשָרָ ה דִבְׁרַ יָא, ,are the Commandments, Asara dibraya 10 תִשְׁ עָה יַרְׁ חֵי לֵידָה, ,are the months before birth, Tish'ah chodshei leidah 9 שְׁ מנָה יְׁמֵי מִילָה, ,are the days to the brit milah, Shmonah yemei milah 8 שִ בְׁעָה יְׁמֵי שַ בַתָ א, ,are the days of the week, Shiv'ah yemei shabatah 7 שִשָ ה יסִדְׁרֵ מִשְׁ נָה, ,are the Orders of the Mishnah, Shisha, sidre mishna 6 חֲמִשָ החּומְׁשֵ י תרָ ה, ,are the books of Moses, Chamisha chumshei torah 5 ַארְׁ בַע אִ ָ הת, ,are the matriarchs, Arba imahot 4 השְֹׁלשָ ָאבת, ,are the patriarchs, Shlosha avot 3 שְׁ נֵי לּוחת הַבְׁרִ ית, ,are the Tablets of the Commandments, Shnei luchot habrit 2 אֶחָדאֱֹלהֵינּו, שְׁבַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: is our God, who is in the heavens and on Echad elokeinu, shebashamaim 1 earth. uva'aretz.
It is important to note that the question “who knows x” and the immediate answer “I know x” are separated musically from the rest of the numbered answers. There are several reasons for this separation: it is a marker for the singer to know that the poem is starting over again as it has introduced a new number, also, in the next part of the stanza the numbers are sung as one piece without a break (actually without stopping to inhale).
This is a significant structure, for both the numbers and the questions.51 The second musical separation leads into the third part of the stanza, the detailed reference given for number one (shown below in bold, as it is actually repeated in the song, for all stanzas):
51 This is my assessment of the separation that will be further discussed in other sections. 55
אֶחָדאֱֹלהֵינּו, אֱֹלהֵינּו, ,is our God, our God, Echad elokeinu, elokeinu 1 אֱֹלהֵינּו, אֱֹלהֵינּו, אֱֹלהֵינּו, ,Our God, our God, our God, Elokeinu, elokeinu, elokeinu שְׁ בַשָמַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: .Who is in the heavens and on earth. shebashamaim uva'aretz
The details for number one are sung in an adagio tempo, and an even slower tempo in the last line “who is in the heavens and on earth.” The change in tempo in the details of number one shows the emphasis on the number and suggests that it should be elaborated upon more than the rest of the answers.
Figure 4, the tempo (pitch52 pattern) of a stanza, represents the three tempo levels
(indicated by the boxed numbers) within each stanza according to the musical separations defined above. The horizontal line is the neutral area of the song.
52 Pitch: “When the human ear picks up a sound of a certain frequency, the sound’s several hundreds or thousands of vibrations per second exceeds the ear’s capacity to resolve them; it fuses them into a unitary event categorized as sound of a certain pitch. Sounds of various pitches are easily differentiated, pitch (frequency) being an indispensable attribute of auditory perception. As we have seen, the most highly differentiated dimension of sound, frequency, is perceived within a structural template of the most highly differentiated dimension of spatial orientation. This spatial template increases the differentiation of the sound continuum.” (Tsur, 1992:105) 56
Figure 4: The tempo (pitch pattern) of a stanza53
3 2
1
12 13
Each stanza starts with tempo level 1 (the horizontal purple line), a moderate, constant tempo (the question and the answer‟s first line), then at once there is an increased and increasing tempo for level 2 (the rest of the answer from 12 to 2, 13 to 2, etc.), finally a slower and slowing tempo for level 3 (the statement associated with number1). The tempo gets faster as level 2 increases (green line), and the tempo is slower and slowing as level 3 decreases (red line). Level 3 is not evenly divided; its upper part, above the neutral-line, is smaller than its lower part, below the neutral-line; because as singing of the last verse of a stanza progresses, the higher its rate of deceleration and volume. The
53 Created by Yardena Daon. 57
vertical part of level 1 (purple line) is there to show the transition point from one stanza to the next.
5.2. Sound patterns and their expressiveness: emotive and ecstatic states
The change in tone and tempo during the singing of Echad Mi Yodea has led me to examine it through the cognitive poetic approach to sound patterns and their expressiveness according to the methods and theory of Reuven Tsur. Tsur explains the matter of sound patterns in poetry:
“... Traditional poetics has important things to say about how „tone, mood etc.‟ are abstracted from the meaning of the words. But how are they abstracted from the speech sounds? ... My argument relies on the assumption that sounds are bundles of features on the acoustic, phonetic, and phonological levels…” (Tsur 1992:2)
Bearing in mind that the sound patterns of the poem can be used for a more cognitive understanding54 of the emotional component of the poem without attending to the words, the next discussion will explore this idea of emotional content via the „emotive crescendo‟; an expansion or outburst of vital forces. The musical and prosodic tone patterns of Echad Mi Yodea are very clear and rational, and yet what I will claim next is that they make the song irrational and emotionally ecstatic.
54 “Music is at least a process, and certain things can be said of all processes, including physical changes, whether locomotion (change of position) or qualitative change. All processes have such kinetic qualities as pace, tension, momentum, climax, crescendo, dying away. And one process, say a musical one, can be similar to another in its kinetic pattern. Thus music can undoubtedly imitate to some extent the kinetic pattern. Thus music can undoubtedly imitate to some extent the kinetic aspects of physical motion: rushing, staggering, bounding…” (Beardsley, 1958: 324) 58
The repetitive pattern of the poem stays the same with small adjustments when executed; the increase in the emotive concept uplifts the emotive correlation every time the pattern is sung again. Tsur explains that in poetry something can be distinguished only when compared to something else, so two or more poetic elements create a differentiation between emotions. Tsur calls this pattern the “emotive crescendo – emotive, as the pattern frequently consists in two contrasting ends of an emotive scale”
(Tsur, 2008:485). It is a pattern in which the two states occur at the beginning and at the end of a relatively independent section of a poem, and when the „high‟ end of the pattern is perceived as an extremely intense peak.
This is precisely the case with Echad Mi Yodea; there are two ends to the poem that are separated and are emotionally driven by musical tone and pattern. As mentioned earlier, the poem begins with a common, comfortable and easy to follow tone, a low emotive pitch. As the singing progresses the pitch increases, which progressively leads to an intense emotive tone and state of mind at the end of the pattern, its „high‟ end.
Interestingly, Tsur claims we have a heightening effect between the two ends.
“The „emotive crescendo‟ is not an „objective fact‟ of the poem: it crucially depends on a certain kind of mental performance. When the critic states “This is an Emotive Crescendo”, one should understand such a statement as a crucial recommendation to perform the poem as an „emotive crescendo‟…other mental performances, too, may be conceivable. At most, the critic is describing the poem as affording or encouraging a performance that imposes an „emotive crescendo‟ on it.” (Tsur, 2008:485-486)
In Echad Mi Yodea the emotive crescendo pattern is created not only by the two extreme emotive states but also by its repetitive structure. The emotive pattern is repeated in each stanza and is gradually enhanced as the song progresses, reaching its highest peak at the 59
end of the song (the end of the 13th stanza). The obtrusive rhythm of this song implies a wild though controlled state of mind, which matches the emotive pattern and musical rhythm or structure. The low end of the scale is the low key emotive pitch that introduces the beginning of the song. As the song develops, the level gradually increases (as the numbers get higher and higher). In this case we have three pitches: the opening emotive pitch which is low key and controlled, the gradually increasing pitch, which is more powerful and notable than the first low emotive key, and lastly the third emotive key, the adagio (slow and stretched), which is the exact opposite of the second emotive pitch; it slows down but gradually increases the loudness as it approaches the last line of the sentence in number one.
The three emotive pitches progressively become extremely ecstatic when factored by the repetition. Figure 5 below represents the gradual increase of the emotive levels described above as a function of the progression of the song. To simplify the representation, one assumes a constant rate of increase to both pitch and volume – within each stanza, as well as from the start of the song to its end.
60
Figure 5: Progression of emotive levels55
Stanza: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
The repetition of the 13 stanzas is shown as a duplicated wave (based on Figure 4), which gets progressively larger, representing the increase in emotive level. The neutral area of the song is represented by the horizontal line; this is the first part of each stanza, which is associated with each question and the first line of the answer, and is the only factor that stays the same and is not affected by the repetitiveness of the song. The portion of the graph above the neutral (horizontal line) indicates faster tempo coupled with an increase in volume, and the portion below the neutral indicates slower tempo with higher rates of deceleration, coupled with an even higher increase in volume (volume is represented as
55 Created by Yardena Daon. 61
an absolute value on the graph). Thus, the absolute values of the lower half of the graph are larger than their equivalent points on the upper portion of the graph (also see the discussion of Figure 4). As the song progresses the loudness/volume corresponds to the increase in emotive level. Note that the cone-shaped envelope (red lines) that surrounds the waves is finite and linear; it starts with the first stanza, and ends with the termination of the 13th stanza (for a detailed description of each stanza see Figure 4).
Figure 5 is a representation of the actual song being performed and as such is bound by physical limitations such as how fast and how loud we can sing, therefore, the graph is a finite linear function (assuming a constant rate of increase in both pitch and amplitude). However, one is concerned with emotion, an abstract concept that is, by default, boundless. To accommodate emotive aspects such as the „emotive crescendo‟ or
„progressively ecstatic emotive pitches,‟ the graph must become an infinite exponential geometric function56 as presented in Figure 6. The same applies to the representation of emotive forces associated with the dancing of the choreography as discussed earlier in the thesis. Therefore, Figure 6 applies to both the singing and the dancing of the poem (even though the singing is utilized for the discussion of Figure 6).
56 A theory of mine subject to further development, however, not in this thesis. 62
Figure 6: Ma’alot57: the outburst of emotive forces58
Adir
Stanza: 1 13
Nisgav
As the singing progresses (from stanza 1 to 13, along the blue line), emotive forces increase exponentially (at an increasing rate), as indicated by the red lines, and reach an infinite/immeasurable value by the last verse of stanza 13 (shown as it is actually sung):
אֶחָדאֱֹלהֵינּו, ,One is our God, Echad elokeinu אֱֹלהֵינּו, אֱֹלהֵינּו, אֱֹלהֵינּו, אֱֹלהֵינּו, Our God, our God, our God, our God, Elokeinu, elokeinu, elokeinu, elokeinu שְׁבַשָ מַיִם ּובָָארֶ ץ: .Who is in the heavens and on earth. Shebashamaim uva'aretz
:(נשגב) Hebrew for mighty and powerful; Nisgav :(אדיר) Hebrew for Ascent; Adir :(מעלות) Ma’alot 57 Hebrew for exalted and supreme.
58 Created by Yardena Daon. 63
This specific verse is represented by two points on the graph; Adir, which corresponds to the singing of Echad (Hebrew for One), the first word of the verse, and Nisgav, which corresponds to the singing of uva’aretz (Hebrew for on earth), the last word of the song.
Adir is the point of realization of the ecstatic state, and Nisgav is well within the ecstatic.
As indicated by the discussion of Figures 4 and 5, Nisgav has a higher value than Adir;
Nisgav is actually the highest emotive point of the song. Hence the name I chose for this graphical representation, Ma’alot, Hebrew for „ascent‟; the singers‟ emotive levels ascend to the ecstatic. When the emotive forces are infinite they stay with the singer(s) even after the singing is done; well past the end of stanza 13. “This phenomenon of poetry is an emotional pattern that consists of the second stage of the archetype death – and – rebirth, an expansion or outburst of vital forces by the (sic) poem” (Tsur,
2008:485). As mentioned earlier all of the above also applies to the dancing; resulting in overall emotive forces and ecstatic states that are further enhanced (a subject to a separate further research).
Next I will argue that the pitch and the emotive crescendo capture an emotive and ecstatic value both in the singing of Echad Mi Yodea and in the choreography of its dance. The increasingly repetitive structure and the sense of a familiar tone is what I claim allows emotions to evolve and performers to be affected, despite Echad Mi Yodea’s simple poetic representation. When repeating the singing or the choreography, the iterative structure factors in an element of certainty that allows the emotions to take over.
The existence of this certainty is the key to the development of the next emotional uplift, the uncertainty manifested by the almost abrupt end of the song (i.e. after 13 stanzas there is nothing, the song has ended), thus causing the emotive crescendo to become an overall 64
overwhelming impact. According to Tsur “ecstasy is a state of extremely intense psychic experience” (Tsur, 2008:321). Beardsley argues that a musical passage is a process in which the singer interacts personally with the music, unconsciously and consciously, causing a sequence of ideas and feelings that pass through his mind (Beardsley,
1958:334). The suggested changes in tempo and repetitive structured tempo arouse mental life features described by Beardsley as the kinetic qualities of music.59 In his book, Music and Trance, a Theory of the Relations between Music and Possession,
Gilbert Rouget examines „essentially ecstatic‟ music performed in a state that could be one of trance (Rouget, 1985:95). His findings point to the simultaneous use of crescendo and accelerando, an increased tempo and volume of both drumming and chanting which contribute to inducing trance (Rouget, 1985:128).
5.3. Emotive sensorial cognition
In Echad Mi Yodea the common „every day‟ tone (Tsur, 2008:488) suggests a distorted state of consciousness which I claim to be the phase when the emotions and state of mind move up from the intellectual cognition level, towards the sensorial cognition level.60
Both levels have to do with personal and individual cognitive interactions in our mind as part of a regular and daily routine. The first level, the intellectual level,61 is the state of
59 Tempo, variations of intensity, impulsiveness, relaxation and tension, crescendo and diminuendo (Beardsley 1958:334)
60 Personal discussion with Florin Berindeanu regarding Apophatic Mysticism Methodology; “Apophatic mysticism (from the Greek, “apophasis,” meaning negation or “saying away”) ...put roughly, claims that nothing can be said of objects or states of affairs which the mystic experiences. These are absolutely indescribable, or ‘ineffable.’ ” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2010).
61 Ibid 65
consciousness and awareness; here we know our emotive condition and can make decisions based on it. Our perception of emotions at this stage is clear and we can easily identify what emotive state we are in. I suggest that the second level, the sensorial cognition, is a function of the methods and perspectives that I have presented throughout the thesis so far. At this level the emotive state is so powerful and overwhelming that it creates controlled, bursting ecstatic body reactions, in an emotive state that one is not aware of as it happens. Accordingly I will argue that the dance performance of Minus 17 by the Batsheva Dance Company coupled with the singing of Echad Mi Yodea by The
Tractor‟s Revenge support these stages of cognition, and that they both progress and peak emotionally at the cognitive sensorial level.
From personal dialogue with the dancers of Batsheva,62 I have learned how an emotive state can be stimulated by choreography, music and group effort while performing on stage. In The Expression Theory, Beardsley explains the use of the term
„arouses‟ emotions rather than „expresses‟ emotion: expressive emotions of the music are feelings about the music itself, on the same note, music is not emotional, but arouses the emotion (Beardsley, 1985:327). One of the dancers mentioned he cannot be emotionally connected to the choreography during rehearsals at the studio, but can only be connected during the stage performance. The dancer further explained that there are emotional expressions that cannot be aroused in the studio, but can and will burst only during a
62 In December 2009 I met with dancers of the Batsheva Dance Company (who had danced in Minus 17 several times) at the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater in Tel Aviv, Israel. In addition, I was a guest at a rehearsal and so was able to study their methodology of how to relate emotionally to the choreography’s movement and music so as to perform ecstatically during the actual performance. I will use this personal communication from the company as a reference for my methodology. 66
performance.63 For all practical purposes, the dancer‟s claim is that when the dancers are in the studio (during rehearsals) they process the choreography and the technical phases relating to the movement. However, when performing, the body moves automatically and allows the dancers to be free and wild with their movements, since the structure and technique have already been embedded. My argument is that the emotion that the dancers have during the performance is the ecstatic burst at the cognitive sensorial level.
Because the dancers are an integral part of the choreography during the stage performance, the emotive essence of the choreography explodes, creating an emotional state that is uncontrollable.64
My observation of the choreography65 indicates that this uncontrolled cognitive level of the intellect occurs because of several aspects. Sport psychology theories suggest that the social facilitation is based on the notion that the presence of an audience of one or more spectators can facilitate performance66 (Cox, 2002: 320). In addition, I propose the following understanding for the group psychology of performing dancers which also assists in reaching the ecstatic emotional level of sensorial cognition. When performing,
63 Practically all the dancers agreed with this notion and supported it.
64 The dancer who stated that he reaches that state with his mind and body only during the performance said “I don’t know how but it happens.”
65 As part of my research I attended a live performance of DECA Dance / Minus 17 by the Batsheva Ensemble in December 2009 in Miami, Florida where I had the opportunity to watch, study and analyze the choreography and its emotional effect on the dancers as portrayed by their movements, and also to be immersed in the emotive states of the audience.
66 “Research in the area of social facilitation was significantly influenced by the work of Robert Zajonc whose …model proposed that the presence of an audience has the effect of increasing arousal (drive) in performing subjects. Since increased arousal facilitates the elicitation of the dominant response, the presence of an audience will enhance the performance of a skilled individual…” (Cox, 2002:320) 67
each dancer individually performs his very best, using the rest of the company to help him improve and elevate not only his own performance but the group‟s as well.
Weinberg & Gould‟s Potential Productivity discusses the performance of individuals within a group, who perform at their very best (mentally and physically), showing that the individual ability of a performer is the most important component of a group performance (Weinberg & Gould, 2007: 171). Additionally, I suggest that dancers can perform at a very high level (particularly in the choreography of Minus 17) because of the sensory feedback the group members receive from the group when performing.
In one of my discussions with the dancers, they mentioned that this particular choreography is very emotionally charged and powerful in a way that other choreographies are not. One of the dancers explained how, because of the circular arrangement of the dancers, all dancers can see one another during the entire dance, which influences and motivates them during the performance. In other words, the group‟s quality of execution is a result of the multiplication of all of its individuals‟ fortitude, which in turn feeds on the group‟s total energy (the sum of the parts is greater than the whole). Each dancer is confident because of the visual feedback he receives from the rest of the dancers during the dance. The dancer is more comfortable, which emotionally allows him to perform better because he is not stressed (the rest of the group is with him and psychologically he is not alone). The ease the dancers feel with each other‟s presence during the live performance arouses the emotive burst the dancers mentioned. Having less pressure as a dancer elevates the performance of the individual by allowing him to „relax‟ and give in to the feeling and the sensation of performance that the dancers talked about during the rehearsal in Tel Aviv. 68
6. Conclusion
Echad Mi Yodea is a poem that is sung and danced with an emotional charge that creates high level performances by singers and dancers alike. Just like the dancers on stage, the singers of the poem during the Passover Seder are also intoxicated by the emotional charge of their (own) performance; the singers‟ audience is their own group. When singing the song at the Seder the same emotional states explode, for the same reasons stated for both the dance and the poem when sung, now performed by individuals as a group.
In the performance of the choreography, the performers are lifted emotionally by the pitch and repetition of the song, which increases the wildness and control as it recurs.
The control of the movement becomes so free and automatic that it seems wild as if it simply bursts out of the dancers. This power is provoked by the motivation of the group; working individually though together so as to mutually support all the dancers on stage, and by the structure of the choreography. The repetition allows a free movement and emotional conditioning every time it recurs.
Emotive sensorial cognitive levels are forms of energy, which exist in my methodology despite the fact that it is not possible to define the specific emotion that arouses the emotive level (energy) during the performance of a song or dance.67 In my opinion this is related to the properties of the gap between two extreme emotive levels, the „every day‟ tone at the beginning of the song, and Adir and Nisgav (see figure 6).
67 Personal communication with Reuven Tsur. 69
Also, as individuals, even when part of a group, each of us is affected differently by identical stimulation.
The emotional burst during the repetition of the song (when dancing or singing) allows a wild though controlled sense of pleasure. The uncontrolled wildness that bursts out of these performances is completely sensorial and the individuals that take part in it are unaware of it. Neither I nor the dancers seemed to be able to define which emotion is aroused,68 however, whichever one it is, it is very powerful and superimposed on the individual without him knowing it. This state of unawareness is turned on and off during the dance and the song allowing for a real contact by the performer with his „real‟ and
„normal‟ intellectual level. The repetition of the question gives the dancers and singers a chance for a break from the powerful and extreme emotive wave that engulfs them during the performance (dance or song), a chance to „reload‟ energy or emotional charges.
From my own experience singing this poem, I do know that as the song progresses and the numbers ascend, the questions are sung slower, allowing a rest in that part of the song. Even though the dancers do not slow down, the choreography does allow them to rest when the questions are asked in the song. These parallel ideas indicate the similarities in the poetry and its different execution in modern days. The emotional charge in both the dancing and singing are parallel in emotional terms, their ecstatic power is driven and enabled by semiotic symbols69 as suggested in this thesis, and by the different emotional pitches suggested by the rhythm of the song and parallel to it, in the dance.
68 Ibid.
69 See footnote 29. 70
Both song and dance end with the most ecstatic state of emotion because its emotive pattern changes between two levels. The end of the song is in an extended motion adagio, so the burst of the emotional state is extreme and concurring since it drastically changes the pitch and cuts the movement at its highest intensity. Even though the movement or the words and their pitch are familiar since this is the 13th repetition, it now comes to an abrupt end. Once there is no continuous line to keep the momentum of the song or dance, the slow and extended emotional status of either performance is even more ecstatic than the rest of the song or dance; ending the performance in such a sensorial arousal that at this point the line between intellectual and sensorial cognition levels is thin. Because it is a familiar step, since the number one is sung the most times during the song, the effect of the abrupt end and the immediate silence is invigorating.
Based on this thesis there are several areas that are suitable for further research; the interaction and exchange of energy between performers and audience; the concept of
„Intense Intentionality‟ (Figure 3) and the interaction of its categories; the graphical representation of the outburst of emotive forces as presented in Figure 6; a method to define emotions that are caused at the sensorial emotive state during the performance of a song or a dance; lastly, the multiplicity (or added value) of emotive levels caused by the combination of both music and dance. Perhaps the most challenging research would be the study of the developing addiction to emotional energy generated, which both audience and performers crave, as exemplified by the emotive outburst at the conclusion of the production.
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APPENDIX
Video of the choreography of „Minus 17‟ as permitted by Batsheva Dance Company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz6nUMwlSqY
Link to popular version of the song Echad Mi Yodea (Khedva Rokhel, Jerusalem 1973): http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/music/passover/wma/ISRAEL.asx
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