Embodied Signs: Reading Gesture and Posture in Classic Maya Dance

Abstract

In this article, we couple Peircean semiotic theory with Laban movement analysis (LMA) to interpret scenes of Classic period Maya dance. We focus primarily on depictions found on polychrome ceramics that feature the dances of the Maize God and contrast them with those featuring the wahy creatures that inhabit the underworld. We interpret their inner emotional states based on their postural and gestural vocabularies using LMA, developed for that very purpose. The body can be considered a semiotic sign, and is therefore capable of simultaneously conveying iconic, symbolic, and indexical meanings. Maya dance has typically been interpreted at the iconic or symbolic levels, which reveal its mimetic or representational qualities. We explore the indexical qualities of the bodies of the dancers, and propose that shifting our attention to the indicative mode enables us to gain yet more insight into their embodied states.

Semiologic process in the performance of a dance performance: a critical review

“…This supports the approach of understanding dance artistic creation as a construction process, where all the elements involved must be selected carefully for transmitting a message (Chappell & Varelas, 2020;Cruz de la Garza, 2015). Even though we have not collected too many articles according to our inclusion criteria, literature has made some approaches that integrate dance in a semiotic process, where the elements are treated in the same way than other signs with meaning are (Baneerman, 2010;Bejarano, 2017;Popa, 2015;Sonesson, 2022;Wright & Lemos, 2018). In fact, the mentioned approaches concur with studies from the perspective of linguistic semiology, such as the general theory of signs (Baneerman, 2010).…”

“…The translation of signs into information (content, message) will arise from a complex interaction between micro-semiotic and macro-semiotic levels, as well as occurs in other artistic expressions accompanied with dance, with the aim of reaching a signs reinterpretation within the whole levels of the semiotic system, transforming the interpreted meaning (Jyothi, 2021). Wright & Lemos (2018) combine Peirce's semiotics theory with Laban's movement analysis to interpret Mayan dance scenes within the classic period. Through the analysis of polychromic pictorial representations where different dances are symbolized, they interpret their inner emotional states based on their postural and gestural vocabularies using LMA (Laban Movement Analysis), given to the body the capacity of simultaneously conveying iconic, symbolic, and indexical meanings (Wright & Lemos, 2018).…”

“…Wright & Lemos (2018) combine Peirce's semiotics theory with Laban's movement analysis to interpret Mayan dance scenes within the classic period. Through the analysis of polychromic pictorial representations where different dances are symbolized, they interpret their inner emotional states based on their postural and gestural vocabularies using LMA (Laban Movement Analysis), given to the body the capacity of simultaneously conveying iconic, symbolic, and indexical meanings (Wright & Lemos, 2018).…”

Símbolos de prestigio y poder entre los gobernantes del Clásico Tardío en las Tierras Bajas mayas del sur: los datos arqueológicos de Yaxchilán, Chiapas

“…Diversos estudios refieren que la élite maya de las Tierras Bajas del sur (Figura 1), en el periodo Clásico (200-900 d.C.), denotaba su estatus y poder a través de la ostentación de títulos, actitudes, posturas, ornamentos y objetos (Bishop y Cartmill, 2020;Halperin, Hruby y Mongelluzzo, 2018;Houston y Stuart, 2001;Marcus, 2006;V. Miller, 1983;Velásquez, 2019;Wright y Lemos, 2018); ello no sólo ponía de manifiesto el poder de un individuo o grupo social sino también su prestigio, por lo que consideramos adecuado denominarles "símbolos de prestigio y poder", con base en lo que a continuación precisamos.…”

La comunicación en danza. Principios para la semiótica

“…Los diferentes estudios han hallado que coexisten varios elementos o signos como portadores de significado, y varios agentes como emisores del mensaje dentro del proceso de comunicación en todos sus tipos y niveles. La gestualidad y el movimiento corporal del bailarín se considera el parámetro que produce la mayor cantidad de signos generadores de significado por su condición intrínseca de significar (Díaz, 2015;Wright Lemos, 2018;Carloni, 2018y Carnero-Sierra y Amezaga, 2019. Esto significa que el lenguaje corporal y el bailarín como signo vivo portador de significado se corresponde con el hecho inherente a la ontogenia individual del intérprete de expresar, sin embargo, existen otros elementos en todos los niveles del proceso que conllevan significado, de acuerdo con Bettetini (1977) los llamaremos Elementos de Significación.…”