"It is difficult to see the great dance effects as they happen, to see them accurately, catch them fast in memory." -Martha Graham
Everyday
dancers enter studios, watch a demonstration of an exercise or combination, are
asked to learn it, and then must perform it in a matter of minutes. Some dancers learn the combinations quickly
and are able to execute them almost immediately, while others struggle to
remember what comes next. It may be
helpful for dancers and dance educators to understand what is happening in the
brain and how memory is developed, and then use this knowledge to improve upon
this necessary skill.
There are
three steps that occur in the brain when something is being “remembered”. First, sensory information is gathered
through sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. For dancers, combinations are seen,
directions and counts are heard, and the movements are kinesthetically felt
through touch sensors as the exercise is performed. These sensory messages are sent along nerve
pathways by neurotransmitters to the hippocampus, which is the part of the
brain that is responsible for organizing and storing memories. The hippocampus connects and consolidates all
of the sensory input into a single experience so that a dancer can watch a plié
being done, hear the word plié, feel what it is like to perform a plié and know
that all of these sensory experiences relate to the same thing.
After this
connection is made, this experience becomes part of the short-term memory. The short-term memory can only hold about 7
items at a time and can only store them for about 30 seconds. However, each time a new experience is
repeated, the 30-second time clock is reset, which is why repeating something
to yourself over and over again is valuable.
The short-term memory is also capable of grouping several items into a
chunk of information – a relevé can be simply registered as one item and not as
a plié, a rise, and a plié, which would account for three different items to be
remembered. The short-term memory also
makes connections between the new input and past memories, which is why a
repeated dance step is recalled more easily, even if it is being performed in a
different context.
After
several repetitions, the neural pathway (the route the brain uses to
communicate with the body) that is formed when a new exercise is learned
becomes a well-travelled route, and this exercise is sent to the long-term
memory. Long-term memory has an
unlimited capacity and can hold a memory forever as long as it is accessed from
time to time. If a memory is not
recalled, the neural pathway weakens over time, and the exercise may have to be
reviewed. The review would serve to
reactivate the established pathway and would not take as long as the original
learning process.
It is
important to remember that how a dancer pays attention when seeing a
combination for the first time will influence what he or she is able to
remember. Unless a dancer is focused,
the brain treats the demonstration as merely another thing happening around it
that has little importance.
It is also
important to understand that trying to absorb too much sensory information at
once can overload the brain and impair the memory process. A dancer might try simply watching the
combination the first time it is demonstrated, marking it while watching it the
second time, and repeating some type of auditory clues such as step names or
counts to him or herself while watching and doing it another time.
Repetition
will help to reinforce the neural pathway and cement the memory. Dancers should also know that merely watching
others perform the combination or envisioning themselves performing it after
they have learned it will also strengthen the pathway as is discussed in my
posts
Remembering
combinations in class will always be easier for some than others, but
understanding the process may help those who struggle with this skill to find
ways to improve upon it.
