Dance as a means of communication : contemporary dance as perceived in society

Abstract

This research study has been an attempt to gain insight into how the Maltese - as a society made up of people from different backgrounds - make sense of contemporary dance and how this is perceived as a form of communication. Although the subject of dance as communication has been studied and theorised upon by various scholars it had been never tackled with regards to a Maltese society. This provides for the originality of the study. Three groups of people with different backgrounds and levels of understanding of dance were taken to task and tested in a qualitative environment. Three different dances were used as samples with the intention of uncovering various and numerous reactions. Enticing results emerging from this study will definitely provide further basis for research into contemporary dunce as a means of communication and the qualitative nature of the study provided even further information which was not being addressed by the initial question of this dissertation, thus inspiring even further research inquires. The research unequivocally confined that contemporary dance in Malta is considered to be a form of entertainment but in order to reveal embedded meanings and connotations created by this form of art, research studies are still sparse and irregular. Hopefully this research study will serve as a valuable contribution to a much neglected area.