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Creativity in
dance forms
By NAOMI FAIK SIMET
Creativity plays a
major role in the formation of a particular dance performance.
Most indigenous Papua New Guinean dances claim to be original
but are usually created by skilful people who are responsible to
teach these dances.
In such situations, dance movements are created according to the
norms and values of that society and are prone to accommodate
changes. Human activity also adds to the changes in dance
movement and the overall choreography of a particular dance;
whether by migration, inter-marriages or borrowing of dance
forms between different cultural groups.
The study of dance is mainly concerned with the description and
comparison of movements. Dance as a thing in itself can be
studied in isolation from its cultural context and can be
described and compared with other dance forms.
The originality of a dance is created and measured by the
significance of its movements and how these movements can be
combined to portray the view of the performers. Only a small
segment of all possible movements are significant in any single
dance tradition.
In a recent school cultural show, students of Don Bosco
Technical School staged a variety of traditional dances to
celebrate the day. One of dances that stood out amongst the
others was a particular dance from the Oro province.
The dance performed was an enactment of animal activity which
was later adapted and created into a dance performance by men.
The dance originated from the Hamara clan of the Hunjara tribe
of the Kokoda area in the Northern (Oro) province of Papua New
Guinea.
This particular dance was taught to men by a group of swamp
toads and ducks. The story tells of a couple who went for a walk
in the bush and stumbled on a special dance presentation of a
group of swamp toads (frogs) and ducks swaying from side to side
in harmony to the synchronised rhythm of the croaking toads.
Fascinated by this performance the couple went home and imitated
the movements of the ducks and the toads which eventually
resulted in a dance performance performed by humans. This
particular dance is now staged in shows for the purposes of
entertainment and also to portray the cultural value of the
Hunjara tribe of the people of Oro.
A majority of our dances in PNG are imitations of animal
movements of which humans incorporate into their dances. These
raises the level of creativity amongst the various dance forms
found in PNG and also adds to the choreographer's creative
ability to integrate movements which are derived from their
natural surroundings.
The writer is a dance researcher in
the Music Department of the Institute of PNG Studies
 
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