Texture
- Kaitlyn Sloan
- Apr 29, 2019
- 2 min read
Texture? In dance? What does that even mean? Dance isn't something you can physically touch like a shirt or a sandwich, so what the heck are the critics referring to?

What's up friends?! Long time no see! My last few post had been about choreography and it got me thinking about all of the other things that go into great choreography. This post will dive into texture, what it means, how it effects dance, and the different levels of texture.
So what is texture you might ask? Texture in dance refers to the feeling of a movement, whether it be strong, soft, or sharp. This can be how something feels in your own body or how something feels when it is presented to the viewer. It's essentially the same as something being rough or fuzzy, but in terms of dance.
But why do we have to use texture? It's important to use texture because it gives dynamic to your dance. I know another vocab word. So what is dynamic? Dynamic is the nuance and variety withing a piece or movement. The more texture you have the more dynamic between movements you create. This keeps your piece interesting and engaging for the audience and elevates your choreography to a new level.
Well what can you actually apply texture? Applying texture can come in the form of just changing up the feeling in the pattern of your movements. Like when you do something fast, fast, then sloooooow to create a contrast between the moments of high energy and moments of stillness.

Now that we have the idea of what texture is we can further explore the dynamics of it. So even when you are doing your fast, fast, slow movement there are layers even to that. Think of it in terms like this: Slow 1, Slow 2, Slow 3. Slow 1 would still be slow but in comparison to Slow 3, it would still be fast. Soft 5 would be oh so delicate, but Soft 7 would shatter like glass. It's not just strong and soft any more there are levels within that that texture the dance so it's not just one note! I recommend watching this dance video below from 1million dance studio. Lia Kim choreographed a beautiful piece (like all of her work) to Redbone and for me at least, it exemplifies everything that texture and dynamic are. Watch how she uses moments of stillness to contrast her moments of fast movement to create impact.
Texture and dynamics are a huge part of dance. Even if you are not choreographing the piece yourself, as a dancer it is important to understand the significance of what you are doing as a performer! If you want to learn more about texture, I will leave some links down below to check out at Steezy.com. Thanks for reading through the post and don't forget to subscribe and as always leave any comments, questions, or concerns in the forum! See ya'll next time!
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