ARCHETYPAL MOVEMENT REPRESENTATIONS IN FOLK DANCE ART: SEMIOTICS OF EMBODIED EXPRESSION

Abstract

This article establishes the theoretical and methodological framework for investigating movement archetypal representations in folk dance as a crucial component of cultural memory and ethnocultural identity. Folk dance is conceptualized as a syncretic form of non-verbal communication, where plastic structures – gestures, poses, and movements – function as carriers of archetypal imagery rooted in the collective unconscious. The study draws on an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates approaches from cultural anthropology, choreology, semiotics, kinesics, and the principles of Jungian psychoanalysis. For the first time in Ukrainian ethnochoreology, a systematic approach to analyzing motor archetypes is proposed, distinguishing between the concepts of the archetype and archetypal representation. This conceptual differentiation enables the refinement of research tools for applied cultural analysis and deepens the understanding of dance as a bodily text in an ethnocultural context. The study demonstrates how the imagery of folk dance emerges through symbolic corporeality, where gestures, poses, and movements encode mythopoetic thinking, historical memory, and intercultural experience. Dance functions as a medium for archetypal transmission, embodying universal meanings associated with conceptions of humanity, nature, the cosmos, elements, spirits, and cultural heroes. The proposed theoretical and methodological approach opens new analytical pathways for interpreting folk choreographic art as a bodily expression of collective memory. It allows for the decoding of hidden symbolism in dance gestures as semiotic units of ethnocultural communication and supports a deeper exploration of Ukrainian choreographic heritage. In this context, particular emphasis is placed on examining the regional specificity of Ukrainian folk choreography through the lens of deep semiotic structures. The interplay between indigenous and external elements in dance folklore underscores the importance of rethinking processes of local identity formation and uncovering the primordial layers of archetypal imagery embedded in traditional dance culture.