History of Dance PDF

The History of DANCE WHAT IS DANCE?  It is an ART of body movement. It uses the body as an instrument of expressions in time & space.  It focuses on an aesthetic or even entertaining experience  It is an activity which can take many forms and fill many different needs. It can be:...

The History of DANCE WHAT IS DANCE?  It is an ART of body movement. It uses the body as an instrument of expressions in time & space.  It focuses on an aesthetic or even entertaining experience  It is an activity which can take many forms and fill many different needs. It can be:  RECREATION  ENTERTAINMENT 4 Main Reasons:  EDUCATION To please gods To please others  THERAPHY To please themselves or self-  RELIGION expressions  JOB Build community within an ethnic group/social interaction  History of Dance There is no definite date where certain dances originated 1. Experts suggest (through the analysis of cave painting) that dancing has been around since beginning of life 2. Used for courtship& mating, communication, worships (rituals &offerings), therapeutic experience  Ancient Egyptian Dance The real knowledge of dance came about, Great Mediterranean & Middle East particularly in EGYPT. On which they reflected the dance from their wall paintings, reliefs and record in hieroglyphic. Ancient Egyptian dance varied from each instance to the next, with different movements and steps depending on the kind of engagement the dancers were performing at. For instance, a military meeting would be different from a more ritualistic time. Dancers in Ancient Egypt The dancers themselves were often groups, but only of one gender at a time, with little to no evidence of males and females dancing together. The steps were choreographed to not echo one and another, but often, as in more recent dance movements, each person has their own gestures and positions to make on their own, but each is working together in very specifically organized ways. Ancient Egyptian Dance Costumes  While many cultures have very specific and often elaborate dancing costumes, the clothes worn by Egyptian dancers were hardly elaborate or involved enough to even call them an actual costume.  In many scenes that have survived the ages, dancers (females, specifically) are found moving their arms and legs without being trapped by cloth of any sort, except for the occasional small fringed skirt or tunic, not always worn simultaneously. There were other times when dancing took place in the nude, with nothing but a single ribbon tied loosely about the waist. Ritual Dance  It is believed that the dances originally started as a way of both mourning the dead and appeasing the goddess Sekhmet, who, as the myth goes, once nearly destroyed all of mankind when asked by the sun god Ra to punish those who had forgotten him.  While we may not know the particular meaning of every step or movement made by a dancer during any given dance they performed, we understand that they were almost entirely religious in nature, and meant to honor, celebrate, mourn, or pacify.  As such, most of the rituals were performed in the name of one or many of their gods, who they believed helped them frequently during the passage of a day, not to mention the passage of time.  Other tomb depictions show dancers following funeral processions, and in some cases, performing moves more closely associated with acrobatics and gymnastics than strictly dancing.  During these processions, it was common for dancers to skip or leap into the air, which was a way of honoring and welcoming the goddess Hathor, who was believed to meet the dead at the entrance to the underworld. By properly honoring Hathor, it assured them that the newly deceased would reach his or her destination well at the hands of the goddess.  Facts about Dance in Ancient  Egypt Dance played an important role in the lives of all social classes.  Usually associated with religious rituals, music and dance were present in festivals and celebrations of various gods.  Dancers wore little clothing, but adorned themselves with jewelry and headdresses.  Musicians are often depicted alongside dancers, with traditional string or percussion instruments Dancers of Ancient Egypt owing their Pharaoh Ancient Greek Dance Terracotta dancing MAENAD There were two primary kinds of dances: circular ones around an altar or votive offering and lines dances performed during processions. In general men and women danced separately. There are deceptions in the Iliad and other places of men and women dancing together holding hands. Pyrrhic dances (dances with weapons) were invented by Greeks but popularized by Romans. Pyrrhic dancers were commonly painted on vases designed to hold oil. On these vases dancers are shown doing their steps and movements wearing full body armor, apparently to develop their strength and skill in military sports and for battle itself. The same movements were sometimes performed in dances performed by the chorus at poetry contests. The anapale , a dance with wrestling movements originated in Sparta. Pyrrhic dances were performed during military campaigns. There are description of them being performed for ambassadors and special guests  Anapale Dance Maenad, terracotta Dance Pyrrhic Dance Dance in Ancient Rome  Dances in the Roman era described in texts and pictured in art appear to have been performed primarily for entertainment. They often emphasized burlesque, overtly erotic, comic and frightening elements.  In Roman times dancers became professionals of low status, rather than respected artist and participants in religious events as was the case in Greece and dance lost is sacred public function and degenerated into more of spectacle and low-brow entertainment. In the colonies country people danced for their own amusement.  Wealthy Romans generally did not dance themselves. They hired dancers to perform for them. Many of the dance performers were slaves from Greece or Spain. Under Nero, dancing became erotic and suggestive and even explicit, Theatrical dancing was banned when the Christian church gained control.  However, they gave less importance to dancing, otherwise, They ceased performing dance it became BRUTAL & SENSIONALIZED  In their times, dance became an integral part of CORRUPTION Early Christian They transformed the history of dance through theatrical play/entertainment after the Fall of Rome CHURCH – is the sole custodian of learning & education, source of morals They transformed the dance through theatrical play/entertainment but then was prohibited. General Types  Ballet Contra  Jazz  Hip Hop Country/Western  Swing  Tap Belly  Modern  Swing Flamenco Latin Dance Folk Dance