Virtuality of dance and the paradox of body movement

This chapter discusses the body as a space of creation and the principle of dance as virtuality. Dance as a symbol has virtuality as something created for a meaning. Illusions in dance must be presented in order to enrich human understanding and the meaning of life, because when dancing, one does not only play a role but also revives the character and the life of the character into the dance. This research uses two approaches. First, through the understanding of Amor Fati from Friedrich Nietzsche to posit the body as a space of creation. Second, through the approach of Susanne K. Langer to understand virtuality and symbols in dance creations. The urgency of Langer’s philosophy is to make art and science in the equal position, defining art is not just as a functional thing, but what meaning is contained in it. Through its formulation of symbol theory, Langer defines symbolization as the highest capacity that human possesses which the other creatures do not possess. It means that a dance is something imaginary, it is an illusion. To explain the dance creation process that involves the imagination and also the body movement, we use Nietzsche’s framework of Amor Fati. For Nietzsche, it is precisely through the body that the human forces must be expressed. Nietzsche said that the body’s intelligence is because Nietzsche wants to provide a special place for tension, human freedom which actually comes from the body. In an effort to understand something, humans are always attached to their body. Nietzsche uses dance metaphors to describe how the body and dance as the will to power. Dance metaphor to represent a body that ignores its weight, through the process to liberate the body. With these frameworks, we posit the body as a space of creation and the principle of dance as virtuality. Dance is not just as a show but also as a form of body understanding of symbolic space in dance and its creation process. Dance as a symbol has virtuality, meaning that it presents an illusion, as something created for meaning. Illusions in dance are created to enrich people’s understanding and meaning of life, because when dancing, one does not only play a role but also enlivens people and life into their dance. Observations of modern and contemporary dance are used to strengthen the philosophical search in this chapter.