Arabesque Dance Design: Reflections of Music on the Body

Every passing moment in our modern world sees the arts of music and dance being reinvented. From ethnic and classical to rock, hip-hop, and digital, new genres and interpretations are constantly born. They manifest in various forms-protest-led, therapeutic, expressive, emotional, or even neurobiologically focused. Throughout history, this evolution has brought us the elegance of the minuet, waltz, and classical ballet paired with Western classical music. Conversely, genres like Jazz and Hip-Hop have emerged as unified identities-seamlessly representing both a musical movement and a dance style simultaneously. The spectrum of these artistic fusions is vast and ever-evolving.Shared values, experiences, and a common body language act as unifying forces in society. This sense of belonging is fostered by collective patterns of behavior and cultural expression. This study focuses on Arabesque music, a cornerstone of Turkish popular culture, analyzing reactive movement patterns through survey-based data. The result is an experimental work: 'Arabesque Dance Design,' which bridges the gap between musical resonance and physical expression.Detailed field studies show that Arabesque has remained a style unexplored in dance scholarship in Turkey. Today, it is primarily defined by many researchers as a musical genre belonging to popular culture.As a pioneering study in both Turkey and the world, this work is an endeavor to draw the identity portrait of a massive, shared mosaic through the art of dance.