Traditional Dances in Japan

There are several traditional dances in Japan, but the one of the most famous and common dance is Bon dance, which is called "Bon Odori" in Japanese. People dance Bon Dance in the Bon Festival. The Bon Festival is held every summer, in every district in every city.

Bon means welcoming ancestors' souls and holding a memorial service for the souls. There is a Bon week in August every year, and Bon continues for about a week. During Bon, sometimes all relatives of the family gather and hold a memorial service for their ancestors. This tradition comes from Buddhism in China.

The Bon Festival is held during Bon week, and people gather at the near open-space or the parks, and dance to traditional Japanese music. The music should be happy music to welcome the ancestor's souls, and people have a duty to make a happy, mysterious, and welcoming mood. Moreover, the Bon Dance should be held in the night because Japanese people believe that ancestors' souls come back in the night.

The technology in Japan has developed in a hundred years, but Japanese people have never forgotten the traditional heart, and they celebrate Bon Festival and Bon Dance every summer. Japanese people will continue to observe this tradition, and to respect the soul of their ancestors.

The So-ran Bushi, however, is a new sort of Japanese traditional dance that was fused together with modern rock beat.

(www.japan-101.com/art/art_bon_odori.htm)

Discussion

1. What makes Irish dancing so popular around the world?

2. Why is traditional Indian dance called "The spiritual art of India"?

3. What is the difference between various Latin American (Moroccan) dances? What do they have in common?

Project Topics

1. Professional and amateur folk dancing.

2. The origin of traditional (folk) dances.

3. The importance of traditional (folk) dance festivals (competitions) for preserving cultural heritage.

Lesson 5. Modern ballroom dancing Quiz

1. What do you think of ballroom dancing? Is it entertainment or art?

2. Name some well-known ballroom dances. Why are they popular?

3. What do you know about the origin of modern ballroom dances?

Modern Dances

In the category "Modern Dances" all the dances are summarized, which follow actual fashion trends. Modern Dances evolve from music, reflect their period and are document of the actual spirit of the age. Often Modern Dances disregard rigid standards and break social taboos.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Modern Dances were imported from the United States and South America. In 1889 the American band leader John Philip Sousa created the Washington Post March, a Twostep in 6/8-time with fast steps and hops. Ragtime based on the black American music came into being at the end of the 19th century. From 1911 to 1915 its vivid syncopated rhythm supported the evolution of funny dances. But in these times Tango was very popular as well.

The social and political events were reflected in the vivid changes of dancing styles. The dances of the first two decades of the 20th century, like Charleston, corresponded with the euphoria of the times after the first World War. In the thirties with 'Swing' a new music style came into being. It was played by Jazz musicians like Benny Goodman and their big bands. In the time of economic depression dancing films were made by producers like Busby Berkeley. Foxtrot, a quick dance with walks, created about 1913, was revived in a slower, more flowing style. In 1939 at the World Fair, a Samba orchestra played in the Brazilian pavilion. From this a wave of enthusiasm evolved for dances like Rumba, Mambo, Cha-Cha-Cha and Conga.

In the middle of the fifties Rock'n Roll was a national phenomenon in the United States. Elvis Presley thrilled the audience with his legendary hip swing. When Bill Haley, with his band The Comets, made his debut in the film Rock Around the Clock, a new wave of dancing enthusiasm was born. In these times a fundamental change of the American society took place, which in the following decade found its expression in the civil rights movement and in the protests against the Vietnam war. In 1960 the Rock musician Chubby Checker introduced 'Twist'. Its twist of hips and upper torso was the physical expression of the aggressive attitude of the young generation.

Pair dancing appeared on the scene again in the seventies, such as Hustle and other dances, which were choreographed complicated and which were danced at disco music. After the disco era in the seventies and eighties the punk rock movement brought 'Slam' dancing and in the middle of the eighties acrobatic Breakdance mostly performed by a single dancer. The nineties are influenced by the raise of techno cult. At the same time in a nostalgic movement big-band-sound was revived, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz were all popular again.

(www.anidance.de/en/he5.htm)