Lesson 1. Dance in society

Quiz

1. What do you think is dance?

2. Do you know anything about the history of dance?

3. What do you know about belly dance?

Dance

Dance is human movement used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting.

The term Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication between humans or animals (mating dance), motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind) and musical forms or genre. People who dance are called dancers and the act of dance is known as dancing. An event where dancing takes place may be called a dance. Choreography is the art of making dances.

Definition

Definitions of dance depend on social, cultural, aesthetic artistic and moral conditions and range from functional movement (folk dance) to codified, virtuoso techniques such as ballet. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming contain dance disciplines while martial arts 'Kata' are often compared to dances.

Dance Quotes

Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances. – Maya Angelou

I have no desire to prove anything by dancing. I have never used it as an outlet or a means of expressing myself. I just dance. I just put my feet in the air and move them around. –Fred Astaire

Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order. –Samuel Beckett

Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythm of your life. Its the expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, sadness and envy. –Jacques D'Amboise

To dance is to be out of yourself, larger, more powerful, more beautiful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking. –Agnes de Mille

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. –Edwin Denby

Dancing: The Highest Intelligence in the Freest Body. –Isadora Duncan

Dance is the hidden language of the soul. –Martha Graham

So you can't dance? Not at all? Not even one step? . . . How can you say that you've taken any trouble to live when you won't even dance? –Hermann Hesse

Dance for yourself, if someone understands good. If not then no matter, go right on doing what you love. –Louis Horst

We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. –Friedrich Nietzsche

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance)

Dance and Human Culture

Dance can be art, ritual, or recreation. It goes beyond the functional purposes of the movements used in work or athletics. Dance expresses emotions, moods, or ideas; tells a story; serves religious, political, economic, or social needs; or simply is an experience that is pleasurable, exciting, or aesthetically valuable.

Dance and Society

The physical and psychological aspects of dance serve many functions. It may be a form of worship, a way of honoring ancestors and the gods, or a method to do magic. Dancing is mentioned in the Bible, and until the Middle Ages it was often a part of worship services and religious celebrations. Although the Christian church later denounced dancing as immoral, it continued to be important in various Christian and non-Christian sects, among them the American Shakers and the Islamic dervishes.

Dance often takes place at ceremonies performed when an individual passes from one role to another. Birth, initiation, graduation, marriage, and death may be marked by dancing. Dance may also be a part of courtship. In some societies dances may be the only events at which young people of different sexes can meet. In contemporary society, dances also provide important occasions for young people to socialize. Work too may be in the form of dance. Rhythmic movements may make the work go more quickly and efficiently, as in Japanese rice-planting dances. Dance is an art form in some cultures, and in the 20th century some dances that originated as religious rituals or court entertainments have been adapted to the theater. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Dance and Music

Although dance is often accompanied by music, it can also be presented alone (postmodern dance) or provide its own accompaniment (tap dance). Dance presented with music may or may not be performed in time to the music depending on the style of dance. Dance performed without music is said to be danced to its own rhythm'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance)

History of Dance

It is not known when people began to dance. Throughout history, dance has been a part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment. It is traceable through archeological evidence from prehistory to the first examples of written and pictorial documentation from 200 BC. Many contemporary dance forms can be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial and ethnic dances.

Prehistoric cave paintings from more than 20,000 years ago depict figures in animal costumes who seem to be dancing, possibly in hunting rituals, or perhaps for education or entertainment. A few cultures that exist today, however, have had little or no direct contact with industrialized societies. Their dances may look simple, but often they are not. Usually they form part of complicated rituals that contain religious or philosophical ideas. Because most of the dances are for participation, they must be easy to learn. Such societies may also possess presentational dances. Among Australian aboriginals and African Khoi-san peoples, for example, skilled individuals perform mime and acrobatic dances to entertain and instruct.

Ancient Civilizations

Written as well as visual evidence of dance has survived from the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Egyptian tombs depict people who seem to be dancers, often in acrobatic positions; these figures probably represent professional. Dancing was an important part of agricultural and religious festivals such as the dance-rituals enacting the cyclic death and rebirth of the god Osiris (symbolizing the seasonal cycle of the Nile).

The Greeks admired dancing. Greek warrior dances were part of military training. Religious dances, especially those honoring Dionysus, the god of wine, are believed to be the origin of the dance in Greek drama. In tragedy, the chorus used symbolic gestures and dance steps to accompany the spoken or sung verse. (Encyclopedia Britannica)