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Perspectives on Pantomime
Edited by Przemysław Żywiczyński, Johan Blomberg and Monika Boruta-Żywiczyńska
[Advances in Interaction Studies 12] 2024
► pp. 139–158

Chapter 6
The pantomimic origins of the narrative arts

| McMaster University
The evolutionary study of pantomime provides important insights into the origins of the narrative arts, including visual art, theatre, and narrative forms of dance (e.g., ballet). Drawing, as a motoric activity, shows a strong resemblance to tracing pantomimes. The main difference is that drawing generates an enduring image on a surface, whereas pantomime is “drawing in the air.” The theatrical arts – including dramatic acting, mime acting, and narrative forms of dance – take a more egocentric approach to pantomime than drawing, employing full-body mimicry of the expressive actions of a referent person. Overall, iconic gesturing through pantomime provides an evolutionary foundation for all of the narrative arts. On the flip side, a consideration of the narrative arts themselves provides many new avenues for the exploration of pantomime, including shedding light on gestural models of the origins of language.
Keywords: pantomime, arts, narrative, theatre, storytelling, visual art, dance, music
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The narrative arts
  • The nature of pantomime
  • Diegesis: The gestural origins of visual art
  • Mimesis I: The theatrical arts
  • Mimesis II: Mime theatre and narrative dance
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 15 February 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ais.12.06bro
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