The Daily Choreography of NYC
How do everyday movements reflect the city culture?
The city includes many different movements due to its dynamic and multicultural structure. It has a unique rhythm seen through its common spaces, values, thoughts, and culture; all of which can be heard, seen, and felt in one of the oldest subway systems of the world, the NYC Subway!
This article was written for an assignment given in the Music and Art Anthropology Class in the Fall Semester of 2021.
Bodies choreograph space; space choreographs bodies
The body's motion is defined by space and time, as explained by Sansan Kwan. She writes that movement is tied to space, time, and energy. As objects move, they move in space, and as they go forward, they also move in time while consuming energy. Kwan then explains how this movement, together with the community, transforms it into a 'specific place and a unique history.'
The Grammatical Structure of Dance
Structured movement systems carry the knowledge of action and interaction, which are included in an extensive activity system. Adrienne L. Kaeppler shows the grammatical structure of dance movements stating that there are elements similar to structure, style, and syntax in dance, as is seen in language, and that there are certain rules for bringing these elements together. As sentences and paragraphs are larger structures in languages, choreographies are also larger structures created by the combination of movements. Movement systems are essential to understand human activities and interactions due to the everchanging socio-political aspects of society.
Dance as a Tool to Communicate
Missouri Historical Society Photographs and Prints Collection.
Constance Valis Hill talks about how Katherine Dunham uses dance as a communication tool. Besides Dunham's dance being public art, it is also a protest way to show the African-American political struggle. Her dance brings together gestures, movements, and expressions to transfer knowledge.
Oyku Potuoğlu‐Cook also places dance in a socio-political context; she examines space, class, hierarchy, women, and their honor through an urban ethno-choreography. One of the examples in her study is Nesrin Topkapi, a famous Turkish belly dancer known for adding new movements and gestures to her belly dance choreographies tied to everyday tasks bound by gender roles: Wringing laundry, holding a baby, or stirring a pot.
Oyku suggests that the daily movements or choreographies will be helpful in understanding the relations and processes between the city and its culture by examining them as ethnographic data.
Based on these studies, I thought about the daily choreographies seen in New York City. During my soundscape study, I started by questioning what I heard in the city; now, I asked myself how my body moves in the city.
The rhythm of the city
When I think about my daily activities, I realized that travel has a significant place in it. — Krygsman et al. state that natural rhythm structures daily activities and travel. Nowadays, most everyday activities are related to work; thus, home and work locations and the spaces between these two locations are the activity space of people. The movements within these activity spaces are repetitive and habitual behaviors, and all of these behaviors form the city's rhythm.
Besides the moving city life between the above ground to the underground worlds, The New York City Subway is an exciting space that contains the city's cultural patterns. In addition to providing a large part of the city's transportation with its wide network, it allows people from various backgrounds to meet in city life. David King explains the reason for this is that the development of the subway network and the development of the city's commercial regions are directly proportional.
According to Jablonski, the need for subways increased with the construction of new commercial offices; similarly, commercial areas close to subway stations became more valuable for workplaces. Due to the subway's major role in developing the aboveground may be one of the reasons why the subway stops and routes are on the city landmarks.
Subway-focused choreographies
When walking isnt an option in the City, Google Maps generally shows that the quickest route would be to use the Subway. The subway and the people interacting with the subway system have a specific rhythm, starting from the moment we go through the turnstiles in the first station and ending when we leave our destination.
At the turnstiles, I observed three major movements. A rhythmic passing of the now-old-school MetroCards, the newly innovated sound of the OMNY readers on our phones, and those jumping to evade paying the transportation fees. To my eye, each has a socio-cultural implication.
First, the old-school MetroCards. New Yorkers have mastered using MetroCards, even when running to catch the train; New Yorkers are masters of the swipe! The card has a steep learning curve, making it difficult for newcomers or first-time users to get the correct speed, angle, and direction of the card to swipe.
Next, we have 'tech-savy' subway users, taking advantage of the weekly or monthly subscription, that Omny offers. Although marketed as a quick and easy way to use the subway, I have seen many people get stuck, forming a long line of angry, rushing New Yorkers behind them. Not only does the reader occasionally not work, but using the wallet application can be tricky at times, especially for those who recently have acquired this technology. Young people, 'smart watch' users, and non-frequent travelers are this system's main demographic. People who generally have an understanding of the technology and opt not to get the weekly or monthly pass do see this as an alternative.
Evading the transportation fee is against the law and has a large fine attached to it. However, in my two years of experience, I have personally not seen anyone fined for this, except for on the news.
Those with a lower income and students are mainly those I have seen who use the subway without paying. Although $2.75 might not seem high for many, the cost of transportation is amongst the highest in the US and can be seen in the top five cities worldwide. New York is an expensive city, and the difference between people's economic status can be understood by simply observing the repetitive movement of paying for transportation.
Next, the choreography leads us to one of many subway cars that stop at each station. Here there are a number of instances that are important to note for subway riders. Choosing where to wait for the train to arrive, getting on the train, and finally, the dance all New Yorkers are used to, which is getting comfortable on the train.
Choosing where to stand needs both street smarts and a good understanding of the subway system. Street smarts come to play when riders choose to stay away from each other and as far away as possible from any potential threat. For riders, knowing the subway helps to decide where to stand in the station; is their exit in the front or back of their final stop? This creates a movement where many can be seen rushing to a specific part of the station before the train arrives.
The dance of finding a seat
As passengers get on the train, the dance of finding a seat while not caring about anything else happening can be seen in almost every car. I believe this is best articulated on Seinfeld, where Kramer can be seen dramatically trying to find a place to sit.
After finding or not finding a seat, many dive into their own worlds, not looking, interacting or caring about much of what is happening around them. Some with headphones, listening to music or a podcast, others working on their laptops, trying to get ready for a meeting. Some people try to make a living by dancing, singing, and selling products, while others try to make it to work on time.
New Yorkers live to work and work to live
The Subway system cannot be seen directly; it is represented visually by the subway map. The routes of the trains are identified with letters and corresponding colors. These create an image of the subway system and provide information about it to riders. As can be heard in my Soundscape, announcements at subway stations give people feedback about their current location and where they are going. People move according to the indicators and signals at stations; thus, their bodily movements are controlled throughout the subway system.
New York is a fast-paced city, which can also be seen in its transportation system. Not only the riders but also the trains are quick to arrive and depart. Riders are in a hurry to get to their destination. This is directly related to the industrialization and capitalization of the city. New Yorkers live to work and work to live. Working is an integral part of their everyday lives, as seen in the subway system. The subway stations create new opportunities for people aboveground, as it increases the area's value. The subway is the heart of New York, culturally, economically, and socially.
