Terpsichorean moments in Patrick White's The Solid Mandala and Hal Porter's The Tilted Cross

Significant moments of dance occur in Patrick White's The Solid Mandala and Hal Porter's The Tilted Cross. In the former, Arthur, a mentally deficient man performs a mandala dance as a means to integrate the various components of his life. In The Tilted Cross, set in Hobart in 1847, a drunken actor's terpsichorean movements intermingle metaphorically and elaborately with the shadows cast by four candles. The importance of these choreographic moments is evident in the voluminous critical attention devoted to them. Nevertheless, in both text and criticism the actual act of dance pales into insignificance beside the focus on the meanings and symbolisms of the dance. In this article my aim is to focus specifically on the acts of dance portrayed in the texts, discussing the movements performed and the characteristics of the dancers performing. As a prelude to this examination, I will explore the relationship of the dance experiences of the authors to the way they represent dancing in the two texts under scrutiny. I will also analyse the actual representation of dance, that is, the way the words of the novelists evoke the dance, in order to demonstrate that the movement of dance is conspicuously absent compared to the symbolism and meaning drawn from the dances.