History of Dance

• Dance serves as an art form and a form of recreation.
• Dance is an all-encompassing art that uses movement to tell stories, evoke moods, or express emotions.
• Dance consists of rhythmic movements in a spatial sequence, progressing from start to middle to end.

History of Dance

• Dance history has played an important role in defining foundations, inventions, and the significance of both music and dance.
• It has evolved into a much-loved social pastime today.
• Dance has evolved along with the human race since the earliest times in civilizations.
• Dance served as an irreplaceable outlet for human thought and emotion before modern civilizations.
• Dance has been altered to become a popular way of expressing oneself, staying healthy, communicating, and competing because civilization has advanced throughout millennia.
• Initially, dance was used as a gesture to communicate.
• It was used as religious expression.
• Ancient Greeks thought a man's grace in dance was equivalent to his skill in battle, so dance was included in their basic education and was an aid to military education.
• Dance is a way of expressing tribal unity.
• Dance is used as an approach for courtship.

Reasons Why People Dance

• To please the gods
• To please others
• To please themselves or self-expression
• To build community.

Types of Dances

• Folk Dance/Ethnic Dance
• Ballroom Dance
• Theatrical Dance

Folk Dances/Ethnic Dances

• These are social dances which portray the beliefs, interests, habits, customs and practices of the natives.
• These dances are not designed for public performance, even though traditional folk dances can be arranged later for stage performances,.
• These are derived from ethnic dances
• People worldwide have unique folk dances specific to their cultures.

Examples of Ethnic Dance

• Saut is performed by the male Talaanding tribe to show expertise in fighting and ritual dances for offering to the Magbabaya (god).
• Dugso or "dance" is a ceremonial dance among the Manobo people in Bukidnon, Agusan and Misamis Oriental. -Dugso is usually done during important occasions like kaliga (feasts) or kaamulan (tribal gatherings).

Examples of Folk Dance

• Itik-Itik mimics a duck's walk and splashing water to attract a mate. -A woman named Kanang choreographed the steps at a baptismal party, and the other guests copied her. -Due to everyone liking the dance, it has been passed along ever since.
• Tinikling is considered the Philippines' national dance and imitates the movements of the tikling bird through grass and between tree branches; people perform the dance using bamboo poles.
• Singkil is traditionally performed by a single woman to attract potential partners, with dancers stepping in and out of rhythmically clapped poles, often using fans and scarves to enhance movements.
• Sayaw sa Bangko is performed on narrow benches, with dancers requiring good balance, including acrobatics, and rooted in Pangasipan, Lingayen, and Pangasinan.
• Pandanggo sa Ilaw, derived from the Spanish word "fandango", demonstrates grace, balance, and dexterity, involving holding three glasses of wine (or water) on the hands and head without spilling a drop.

Ballroom Dances

• These are dances of public entertainment, usually performed in pairs in ballrooms, nightclubs, auditoriums, or in public places.
• Examples are waltz, swing, foxtrot, cha-cha, boogie, tango, body language, and rhumba.

Examples of Ballroom Dance

• Waltz is commonly thought when someone mentions ballroom dancing, and it is 28 bars per minute, done in 3/4 time, and it can be romantic.
• The Tango is a dramatic dance, popular in the United States and worldwide, characterized by sharp, staccato movements and passionate emotion.
• Cha-cha-cha originates from Latin America, blending slow and energetic movements for a hit worldwide.
• Rumba's popularity came from its focus on sensual hip movements of dance partners.
• Samba is a musical genre that originated off the coast of Africa and from the land of Brazil.

Theatrical Dances

• These are performed for the entertainment of the audience in a theater.
• Examples are ballet, modern dance, musical comedy dance, and tap dancing.

Examples of Theatrical Dance

• Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance during the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. -Ballet is characterized by light, graceful, fluid movements and the use of pointe shoes.
• Interpretive dance uses movement to convey human expression and emotion, telling stories about global issues or personal experiences of love or despair.

Elements of Dance

• Theme is the most basic element of a dance and conveys the message.
• A dance without a message, irrespective of movement, is not a dance.
• Design is the pattern of movement in time and space. -Pattern in time refers to unaccented beats of movements into measures, and pattern in space refers to the path traced by the dancer's feet on the ground and the levels on which they move.
• Movement refers to the bodily actions of the dancer, which include his steps, gestures of the arms, hands, and body, and facial expression.
• Technique is the skill of movement executed by the dancer.
• Music is the auditory background to which a dancer moves, and a dance is always accompanied by any form of music.
• Costumes and body paraphernalia are properties worn by the dancer that help reflect the message, customs, beliefs, and setting of the dance.