Hand motions are an important aspect of telling stories in classical ballet.
Dance is an abstract art form whose purpose is to tell stories and express emotions without the use of words or spoken language. However, dance forms from around the world use mime to enhance dance performances and clarify story elements to the audience. Dances from the classical and folkloric traditions around the world incorporate mime movements in their dances.
Classical Ballet
Classical ballets aim to tell stories of love, loss, death, betrayal, redemption and mistaken identity without the use of voice or spoken explanation. The communication and storytelling techniques in ballets are abstract, using facial expressions, costuming, choreography and musical rhythms to provide the tone of a character. Mime is often necessary to explain plot details and interaction between characters. Dancers use specific hand and arm motions to express such things as acceptance, refusal, a promise, a declaration of love or impending death. Mimed gestures are crucial to the plots of classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, the Sleeping Beauty and La Sylphide.
Classical Indian
Indian dances use the hands to tell stories of the Hindu gods.
Classical dances of India use specific hand gestures called "mudras" to accompany the dance and further the stories they tell. The hand gestures are highly detailed and dancers must take care to properly execute them. Dancers tell stories of Hindu gods with the specific motions of the hands and fingers while performing difficult dance moves with the rest of their bodies while wearing intricate, colorful costumes.
Tunisian Folkloric
Tunisia, a small but culturally rich country in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea, is home to a distinctive form of dance recognized as "belly dance." However, while this dance form features hip twists and shoulder shimmies, very traditional forms of the folkloric Tunisian dance tradition also included mimed movements from everyday life. Women's dance moves include kneeling dances with hands simulating the motions of making couscous, washing clothes or gathering water. Standing motions can include miming picking fruit and placing it in a basket.
Polynesian
The hands are as important as the hips in Polynesian dances.
Polynesian dances, such as those from the Pacific Islands of Tahiti, Hawaii, Samoa and Tonga, use hand motions to mime stories and images from nature and religious mythology. Men and women perform dances in Polynesian cultures, though the movements and hand motions are often different. Men may perform choreography miming war movements or mimicking the use of weapons, while women may focus on the storytelling aspects with fluid, smooth hand movements, The hand motions have replaced the oral language to tell stories accompanied to music.
