Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35-2355

Title: Music, Dance and Translation
Publication Year: 2023

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/
Book URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/music-dance-and-translation-9781350175730/

Editor(s): Helen Julia Minors

Reviewer: Laura Dubcovsky

SUMMARY

Music, Dance and Translation edited by Helen Minors addresses the long relationship between sound and movement, adding language communication to the complex transfer between different modes of expression. The overall aim of the book is to explore the interwoven layers within and beyond words in the translation process. Minors organizes the chapters in four sections. Part one- “Translation and Dance”- offers a general introduction (Chapter 1) about the “Translation in music and dance discourse”. The author foregrounds notions of translation, transformation, and transmutation that will be fully developed in following chapters. She offers an outline that facilitates the reading of the entire book, while proposing three possible lenses to analyze the complex translation of visual, musical, gestural, and corporal languages. From a linguistic perspective, Minors follows relevant aspects of interlingual, intralingual, and intersemiotic concepts (Jakobson, 2024). She also follows most scholars’ perspective on the role of senses to facilitate coherence in the transmediatic experience. Finally, the author emphasizes a cultural perspective that enables artists, performers, and translators to incorporate elements from specific modalities as well as intercultural exchanges among them (Kress, 2010).

As a follow-up, Chapter 2 presents a structured conversation on “The role of translation in the practice of dance reconstruction.” Minors develops some key areas of discussion, such as the reconstruction or recreation in multimedia translations, possible gains and losses during the transferring processes, and the vast range of sources and materials that complement the task of moving from one language into another, including nonverbal communication. The author uses photographs capturing original gestures, personal letters relating vivid memories and experiences, and fashion magazines exposing the costumes, hairdos, and postures of a specific era, as strong and reliable evidence of the creative process.

Part Two focuses on “Gestures between music and dance.” The three chapters point out similar connections between the artistic modalities, although each one analyzes different dimensions. Thus, Zbikowski searches for “Points of contact [as the] bases for translations between music and dance” in Chapter 3. He focuses on the capacity for analogies and symbolic language, closely related to humans’ high levels of cognitive development in social interactions. However, the author stresses how the powerful tool for creating analogies exceeds verbal communications and also engages non verbal expressions, as in the translation of musical and choreographic compositions. Conversely, playwrights may also translate nonverbal musical and dancing expressions into written (verbal) texts. Therefore, Zbikowski claims that translation is a bidirectional process that may move from original linguistic sources to nonlinguistic target forms, or from nonverbal modalities into verbal expressions (Gentner, 1983).

Chapter 4 addresses a cultural dimension of the “Interactions and correspondences between music/sound and dance/movement [highlighting] a permanent negotiation of translation processes.” To do so Schroedter contextualizes the original conditions of production as well as the given situation for contemporary audiences (Munday, 2016). The author sheds light on a third space created by the gap between the “what” of any artistic event and the “how” that takes place later and is distanced from the original conception of the artistic. As a matter of fact, the complex creative process involves past and present agents with movable roles and perceptions, traversed by cultural aspects within and across disciplines. Therefore, an acceptable translation is only possible when the different agents’ needs are met through the interplay of negotiations. As in previous chapters, Schroedter considers nonverbal, sensorial, and intuitive modalities. She also contrasts notions of faithful transparency, rooted in traditional conceptualizations of translation, with modern dynamic and expanding notions of the transferring process, open to clashes and ruptures between the original and the target text, including transcri[tion, rewriting, overwriting and re-mantization of the original form, (Jager & Stanitzek, 2002).

Chapter 5 completes the connection between the different artistic languages, illustrating “Collaborative ballet dialogues in translation and creating “La Parade.” Minors describes the exemplary experience of 1917, based on the joint effort of the talented creators who produced the legendary ballet; these included the playwright Cocteau, the choreographer Massine, the painter Picasso, and the composer Satie, who together with the impresario Diaghilev. The author examines letters, memories, critiques and further material to testify not only to the intense collaboration and overall agreement among the different participants, but also to some tensions and disagreements caused by their different perspectives and expectations around the shared creation. Drawing from their fields of expertise, the artists did not hide their struggles to understand each other and communicate their own ideas. “La Parade” results in a novel experience that marked a significant leap into modernity. The different creators were rehearsing new procedures to move across languages and genres, try different materials, and adapt aspects of the work which fell between modalities. Consequently, these new forms helped to build a hybrid and more fluid type of translation, departing from static oppositions between symbolic and analogic representations, as well as from exclusively verbal equivalences. In contrast, they proposed new types of inclusive and heterogeneous collaborations to produce literate, visual, gestural, corporal, and musical interpretations.

In the third part the authors exemplify three cases of “Translation through music dance performance.” In Chapter 6 Loesch focuses on “Maurice Béjart’s variations on Wilde’s Salome, and kinetic translation of words and music in La Morte Subite (1991) and Boléro (1960).” The author illustrates how these choreographies challenge the traditional conceptualization of linear and hierarchical transference between languages, through a complex net of layered translations that comprise dance movements, staging effects, and musical composition.The intersemiotic passage from verbal to nonverbal sign systems does not any longer fully explain the contemporary “creative turn” that traverses multimedia, multilingual societies and multicultural contexts (Holman & Boase-Beier, 1999; Bassnett, 2014). After analyzing relevant elements of the famous ballets, such as melodic sequences, rhythm and body positions, Loesch concludes that dancers take up a mediating role between written texts, musical compositions and corporal expressions. Thus, they can use their bodies as powerful instruments that not only interweave visual, auditory and literate languages but also create a polyphony of voices (Dimova, 2013).

Chapter 7 claims that “the music has movement in it,” focusing on the narrow relationship between dance and sound during the staging of a ballet. To better explain the translation of the passage from one mode of expression into another, Main adheres to a more flexible concept of “transmutation,” which not only includes the literal and almost transparent transmission between modalities, but also expands the definition reaching dimensions of recreation, reimagination, revival, reinvention, and re-enactment (Minors, 2013). The author also draws on passages from famous ballets, such as “Passacaglia,” “Fugue 7,” and “With my Red Fires” to emphasize the interconnection between step sequences and musical phrases, as illustrated in Figures 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 (pp.104-105 and 109, respectively). The vivid experiences are also supported by the theoretical foundation, showing equitable contribution of the combining textual, musical, and interpretative components that add value to communicating the artwork.

Ponomareva focuses on paratextual elements that offer “at large the possibility of either stepping inside or turning back” in literary texts, such as temporal events that appear either before (“peritext”) or after (“epitext”) the specific episode (Genette, 1997, note 2, p. 129). Chapter 8 offers “Cranko’s reinvention of Pushkin’s text in his Ballet Onegin (1965)” to explore Saussure’s syntagmatic and paradigmatic frameworks (1983). Thus, Ponomareva explains possible syntagmatic changes in the translation, especially when elements are removed from the original source because they are considered untranslatable due to their cultural connotations. Likewise, paradigmatic alterations occur in translations when original elements are substituted or transformed in the target text. The author notices how multimodal translations transcend the mere transliteration, as the transferring process is supported by physical objects on stage (furniture, carpet, curtain, etc.), staging resources (light and darkness, background, sound effects, etc.) and methodological solutions that transform concrete elements into more abstract representations. For example, the use of mirrors during the performance enables the artists to symbolize philosophical matters, create multiple spaces, and bring a sense of symmetry and balance. Moreover, as if they were rhetorical devices (images, comparisons, metaphors), they may portray more sophisticated translations of projection and self- reflection (Nabokov, 1964).

The last part of the book refers to “Institutional representation: Notation, archives and the museum.” Chapter 9 comments on “Two National Estonian Ballet versions of Theodor Amadeus Hofmann’s Coppélia to Leo Délibes’ music by Mauro Bigonzetti (2002) and Ronald Hynd (2010).” The author contrasts traditional and modern conceptualizations of ballet, in terms of overall treatment, topics and content, as well as more specific movements, gender roles and values along different historical periods (Reardon, 2007). Einasto emphasizes that sensitive choreographers are aware of social, historical, and cultural changes, and therefore, they play a decisive role in translations that attune the original production to the expectations of modern audiences. Departing from neutral perspectives, the arduous process of translating ballets involves artistic, political and ideological activities, where every participant is seriously committed to transferring complex ideas embedded in specific temporal and spatial circumstances into bodily movements, gestures, music and scenography adapted to contemporary tastes and visions (Foster, 2008).

Chapter 10 adds another type of notation, when exploring “Fruitful intersemiotic transfers between music and choreography in the National Ballet of Canada’s Romeo and Juliet.” Merkle examines how the classical text and its famous dialogues were captured in narrative dances. She delves into the purpose of creating annotation systems that enable us to leave written records. Rooted in a fragile nature, dance was traditionally considered a second class artform that lacked verbal language (Hutchinson Guest, 1984). The evolution of the written representation helps preserve the ‘choreographical memory’ through a set of symbols that capture fading movements and patterns. More importantly, the written language enables not only the practice and repetition of body muscles, but also the free exercise of creating new versions and recreating old ones (Hebert, 2016). Finally, the written strokes accompany the construction of a ‘choreology’ or ballet text that represents movements, positions, and postures (Kando, 2020). Clearly, the archived data highlights the exchange between music and dance, establishing a dynamic dialogue that results in intersemiotic and nonlinear translation and interpretation (Cattrysse, 2014).

In closing, Chapter 11 offers “Dancing symbols and movement notations as a form of translation.” Wardle mentions Labanotation Notation (1928) and Benesh Movement Notation (1956) as two well-known systems used to facilitate access to old choreographies. The author underscores the historical struggle to find annotation symbols that represent different body actions (flexion, extension, rotation), dancing directions and levels, and shifts or absence of support and balance. The different attempts to annotate choreographic movements share the same goals of hierarchizing the art of dancing, departing from the stigma of lesser and ephemeral artform (Van Zile, 1985). Therefore, dance notations struggle to compensate for previous lack of tangible records and elevate the art to the same level of the other artistic representations. Moreover, current notations are complemented by an extended body of resources, from newspaper reviews to collaborators’ letters, and from choreographer’s drawings to stagers’ notebooks. In addition, the abundance of films and online recordings are now accessible to performers who can absorb past dancers’ gestures and expressions, and to directors who may identify authoritative voices in the artwork (Goodman, 1968). However, and despite the incremental use of written systems that favor the art’s continuation and robustness (Pouillaude, 2017), Wardle warns that dance notation should never subjugate or restrict movements, but rather convey emotions and allow open interpretations.

EVALUATION

Music, Dance and Translation is a valuable book that reunites experienced educators, musicians, choreographers, and dancers from different countries and trajectories. The authors offer not only their expertise, but also deep understanding of multimodal translation, transferring not only verbal but also cultural systems in artistic representations. The collected studies fulfill the overarching goal of exploring the interconnectedness between different means, expressive languages, and resources, and integrate notions of adaptation, transmutation, and reconfiguration under a comprehensive perspective on translation Different authors address interdisciplinary trends that examine the modalities of musical composition, choreographic performance and linguistic text, in light of their socio-cultural context, in order to render acceptable translations. The compilation is well supported by theoretical principles and numerous examples, besides the authors’ background knowledge and long experience in the fields of music and dance. Most point out intersemiotic challenges faced during the translation process between the different kinds of expression, as well as difficulty in bridging the gap between the original artwork, with its idiosyncratic conditions of production, and the target product which will be experienced under contemporary conditions. The book will be helpful not only to specialized audiences in art and/or linguistics, but also to readers interested in a better understanding of current transposition and interconnectedness between genres, languages, and modalities. Moreover, the book uses class examples, historical performances, memories, and illustration to vividly document the strong collaboration between performers, directors, and stagers involved in the creative process. One secondary recommendation addresses the excessive descriptions of step dances and musical scores provided in some chapters, which would escape the comprehension of the average reader. Finally, in other cases, some authors would have benefitted from further elaboration of relevant concepts, simply mentioned, such as the creation of a “musical grammar” and the incorporation of the Systemic Functional Approach (Halliday, 1994). Overall, Music, Dance and Translation situates the translation activity in contemporary complex, multilayered and multicultural societies, and therefore the book is highly recommended.

REFERENCES

Bassnett, S. (2014). Translation Studies. London: Routledge.

Benesh, R., and A. Benesh. (1956). An Introduction to Benesh, Movement-Notation: Dance. London: Adam and Charles Black.

Cattrysse, P. (2014). Descriptive Adaptation Studies: Epistemological and Methodological Issues. Antwerp and Apeldoor: Garant publishers.

Dimova, P. (2013). Decadent Senses: The Dissemination of Oscar Wilde's Salome across the Arts. In C. Rowden ed, Performing Salome, Revealing Stories. Farnham: Ashgate: 15-47.

Foster, S. (2008). Reading Dancing: Bodies and Subjects in Contemporary American Dance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Genette, G. (1997). Paratext: Thresholds of Interpretation. Translated by J. Lewin with a Forword by R. Macksey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gentner, D. (1983). Structure-Mapping: A Theoretical Framework for Analogy. Cognitive Science 7(2): 155-170.

Goodman, N. (1968). Languages of Art. Indianapolis, In: Bobbs-Merrill Company Halliday, M.A.K (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

Hebert, C. (2016). Movement Memory: How we Learn, Retain and Remember Dance. The Dance Current: Canada's dance Magazine. Canada. November/December. http://www.the dancecurrent.com/feature/movement-memory

Holman, M. and J. Boase-Beier, Eds. (1999). The Practices of Literaty Translation: Constraints and Creativity. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.

Hutchinson Guest, A. (1984). Dance Notation: The Process of Recording Movement on Paper. London: Dance Books.

Jäger, L. and G. Stanitzek, Eds. (2002). Transkribieren-Medien/Lekturen. München: Wilhelm Fink.

Jakobson, R. (2004). On Linguistic Aspects of Translation. In L. Venuti (ed.) The Translation Studies Reader. New York, Routledge: 138-143.

Kando, J. (2020). What Is Choreology. Owlcation. https://owlcation.com/humanities/what-is choreology

Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication. London: Routledge.

Minors, J., Ed. (2013). Music, Text and Translation. London: Bloomsbury. Munday, J. (2016). Introducing Translation Studies. New York: Routledge. Nabokov, V. (1964). On translating Pushkin: Pounding the clavichord. New York Review of Books 2(6).
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1964/04/30

Pouillaude, F. (2017). Unworking Choreography: The Notion of the Work in Dance, Translated by A. Pakes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Reardon, J. (2007). Ballet and the Bard. Performance. Print. National Ballet of Canada Archives.

Saussure, F. (1983). Course in General Linguistics. R. Harris, C. Bally and A. Sechehaye (eds). London: Duckworth.

Van Zile, J. (1985). What is the dance? Implications for dance notation. Dance Research Journal, 17(2), 41-47.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Laura Dubcovsky is a retired instructor and supervisor from the Teacher Education Program in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis. With a Master’s in Education and a Ph. D in Spanish linguistics/with special emphasis on second language acquisition, her interests tap topics of language, bilingual education, and bilingual children’s literature. She has taught bilingual teachers to use and practice communicative and academic Spanish needed in bilingual classrooms for more than ten years. She is currently helping with professional development courses for bilingual teachers, interpreting in parent/teachers’ conferences, and translating for several institutions, such as Davis and Riverside Joint Unified School Districts, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, YoloArts in Woodland, Davis Art Center, STEAC, and the Zapotec Digital Project of Ticha. Laura is a long-standing reviewer for the Linguistic list-serve and the California Association of School-University Partnerships (CASUP), and she also reviews articles for the Elementary School Journal, Journal of Latinos and Education, Hispania, and Lenguas en Contexto.

She published “Functions of the verb decir (‘to say’) in the incipient academic Spanish writing of bilingual children in Functions of Language, 15(2), 257-280 (2008) and the chapter, “Desde California. Acerca de la narración en ámbitos bilingües” in ¿Cómo aprendemos y cómo enseñamos la narración oral? (2015). Rosario, Homo Sapiens: 127- 133.