摘要：The article presents a selection of contemporary theories and methods of ethnochoreology. The selection was made based on the present reality of research into Estonian dance, which is currently at its very beginning. The need to bring into play recent theoretical and methodological approaches emerged in connection with project “Original Choreographic Text and Style of Performance of Estonian Folk Dances on the Basis of Recorded Audiovisual Material”, which aims at studying the authentic style of performing folk dance and at the identification and explanation of the changes that take place in folk dances during different periods and in revival processes. In the article, the concept of ‘folk dance’ (Estonian: rahvatants) is used in its broadest meaning which incorporates the ritual and social dancing of people in the past and present, and the changing meanings that have been attributed to the concept of ‘folk’ (Estonian: rahvas), as well as author works which elaborate and stylize the genres of folklore. Participatory and presentational dancing are discussed in connection with the concepts of the first, second and third existence of folklore. The author aims to stress the importance of specific research into the real use of the key concepts and terms in the field of folk dance and how they are understood by different groups of Estonian-speaking people. The article briefly addresses the historical research into folk dance studies, revealing some current problems in the history of European social and traditional dance and introducing the theory of dance paradigms. The author points out that next to studying local peculiarities in the Estonian dance tradition, more attention should be paid to parallels with the dance history of other nations and trends in the international dance practices. Ethnochoreological research as a distinctive branch of contemporary cultural studies is also discussed in the article. The (so-called American) anthropological approach and (European) choreological one are compared in terms of their disparities and similarities, and the article introduces the holistic or integrated dance research which incorporates the two approaches. Special attention is paid to the so-called performer-centred folk dance research, which may be very relevant in Estonia today. In dance analysis, two levels can be discerned – the analysis of a dance event as a cultural text and specific analysis of choreographic text, or dance movements. Two principally different ways of notation – prescriptive and descriptive – are discussed. Descriptive notation is quite a new approach to Estonian folk dance tradition and may bring along revolutionarychanges in research in this field. The article has been written with the conviction that even a brief introduction of recent theories and methods may help potential Estonian folk dance researchers effectively continue the first steps taken in scientific research into Estonian folk dance.
关键词：analysis of dance ; Estonian folk dance ; ethnochoreology ; folk/ethnic dance ; folklore studies ; history of social dance ; traditional dance
