Dance
This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (June 2023) |
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Dance is an
An important distinction is to be drawn between
Theatrical and participatory dance
) |
Theatrical dance, also called performance or
Participatory dance, whether it be a
History
References to dance can be found in very early recorded history;
During the first millennium
Music
Dance is generally, but not exclusively, performed with the accompaniment of
Rhythm
Dances generally have a characteristic tempo and rhythmic pattern. The tango, for example, is usually danced in 2
4 time at approximately 66 beats per minute. The basic slow step, called a "slow", lasts for one beat, so that a full "right–left" step is equal to one 2
4 measure. The basic forward and backward walk of the dance is so counted – "slow-slow" – while many additional figures are counted "slow – quick-quick".[18]
Repetitive body movements often depend on alternating "strong" and "weak" muscular movements.
Musical accompaniment arose in the earliest dance, so that ancient Egyptians attributed the origin of the dance to the divine Athotus, who was said to have observed that music accompanying religious rituals caused participants to move rhythmically and to have brought these movements into proportional measure. The same idea, that dance arises from musical rhythm, was found in renaissance Europe, in the works of the dancer Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro, who speaks of dance as a physical movement that arises from and expresses inward, spiritual motion agreeing with the "measures and perfect concords of harmony" that fall upon the human ear,[19] while, earlier, Mechthild of Magdeburg, seizing upon dance as a symbol of the holy life foreshadowed in Jesus' saying "I have piped and ye have not danced",[21] writes;
I can not dance unless thou leadest. If thou wouldst have me spring aloft, sing thou and I will spring, into love and from love to knowledge and from knowledge to ecstasy above all human sense[22]
Thoinot Arbeau's celebrated 16th-century dance-treatise Orchésographie, indeed, begins with definitions of over eighty distinct drum-rhythms.[23]
As has been shown above, dance has been represented through the ages as having emerged as a response to music yet, as
Scholes, not a dancer but a musician, offers support for this view, stating that the steady measures of music, of two, three or four beats to the bar, its equal and balanced phrases, regular cadences, contrasts and repetitions, may all be attributed to the "incalculable" influence of dance upon music.[24]
Hence, though doubtless, as Shawn asserts, "it is quite possible to develop the dance without music and... music is perfectly capable of standing on its own feet without any assistance from the dance", nevertheless the "two arts will always be related and the relationship can be profitable both to the dance and to music",[27] the precedence of one art over the other being a moot point. The common ballad measures of hymns and folk-songs takes their name from dance, as does the carol, originally a circle dance. Many purely musical pieces have been named "waltz" or "minuet", for example, while many concert dances have been produced that are based upon abstract musical pieces, such as 2 and 3 Part Inventions, Adams Violin Concerto and Andantino. Similarly, poems are often structured and named after dances or musical works, while dance and music have both drawn their conception of "measure" or "metre" from poetry.
Shawn quotes with approval the statement of Dalcroze that, while the art of musical rhythm consists in differentiating and combining time durations, pauses and accents "according to physiological law", that of "plastic rhythm" (i.e. dance) "is to designate movement in space, to interpret long time-values by slow movements and short ones by quick movements, regulate pauses by their divers successions and express sound accentuations in their multiple nuances by additions of bodily weight, by means of muscular innervations".
Shawn nevertheless points out that the system of musical time is a "man-made, artificial thing.... a manufactured tool, whereas rhythm is something that has always existed and depends on man not at all", being "the continuous flowing time which our human minds cut up into convenient units", suggesting that music might be revivified by a return to the values and the time-perception of dancing.[28]
The early-20th-century American dancer Helen Moller stated that "it is rhythm and form more than harmony and color which, from the beginning, has bound music, poetry and dancing together in a union that is indissoluble."[29]
Approaches
Theatrical
Concert dance, like
The ballet developed out of courtly dramatic productions of 16th- and 17th-century France and Italy and for some time dancers performed dances developed from those familiar from the musical suite,[32] all of which were defined by definite rhythms closely identified with each dance. These appeared as character dances in the era of romantic nationalism.
Ballet reached widespread vogue in the romantic era, accompanied by a larger orchestra and grander musical conceptions that did not lend themselves easily to rhythmic clarity and by dance that emphasised dramatic mime. A broader concept of rhythm was needed, that which
Indian classical dance styles, like ballet, are often in dramatic form, so that there is a similar complementarity between narrative expression and "pure" dance. In this case, the two are separately defined, though not always separately performed. The rhythmic elements, which are abstract and technical, are known as nritta. Both this and expressive dance (nritya), though, are closely tied to the rhythmic system (tala). Teachers have adapted the spoken rhythmic mnemonic system called bol to the needs of dancers.
Japanese classical dance-theatre styles such as Kabuki and Noh, like Indian dance-drama, distinguish between narrative and abstract dance productions. The three main categories of kabuki are jidaimono (historical), sewamono (domestic) and shosagoto (dance pieces).[36] Somewhat similarly, Noh distinguishes between Geki Noh, based around the advancement of plot and the narration of action, and Furyū Noh, dance pieces involving acrobatics, stage properties, multiple characters and elaborate stage action.[37]
Participatory and social
Cultural traditions
Africa
Dance in Africa is deeply integrated into society and major events in a community are frequently reflected in dances: dances are performed for births and funerals, weddings and wars.[39]: 13 Traditional dances impart cultural morals, including religious traditions and sexual standards; give vent to repressed emotions, such as grief; motivate community members to cooperate, whether fighting wars or grinding grain; enact spiritual rituals; and contribute to social cohesiveness.[40]
Thousands of dances are performed around the continent. These may be divided into traditional, neotraditional, and classical styles:
Asia
All
There are now many regional varieties of Indian classical dance. Dances like "Odra Magadhi", which after decades-long debate, has been traced to present day Mithila, Odisha region's dance form of Odissi (Orissi), indicate influence of dances in cultural interactions between different regions.[42]
The
The
The
Europe and North America
Ballet developed first in Italy and then in France from lavish court spectacles that combined rhythm, drama, poetry, song, costumes and dance. Members of the court nobility took part as performers. During the reign of Louis XIV, himself a dancer, dance became more codified. Professional dancers began to take the place of court amateurs, and ballet masters were licensed by the French government. The first ballet dance academy was the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy), opened in Paris in 1661. Shortly thereafter, the first institutionalized ballet troupe, associated with the Academy, was formed; this troupe began as an all-male ensemble but by 1681 opened to include women as well.[7]
Latin America
Dance is central to Latin American social life and culture. Brazilian Samba, Argentinian tango, and Cuban salsa are internationally popular partner dances, and other national dances—merengue, cueca, plena, jarabe, joropo, marinera, cumbia, bachata and others—are important components of their respective countries' cultures.[50] Traditional Carnival festivals incorporate these and other dances in enormous celebrations.[51]
Dance has played an important role in forging a collective identity among the many cultural and ethnic groups of Latin America.[52] Dance served to unite the many African, European, and indigenous peoples of the region.[50] Certain dance genres, such as capoeira, and body movements, especially the characteristic quebradas or pelvis swings, have been variously banned and celebrated throughout Latin American history.[52]
Education
Dance studies are offered through the
Occupations
Dancers
Professional dancers are usually employed on contract or for particular performances or productions. The professional life of a dancer is generally one of constantly changing work situations, strong competitive pressure and low pay. Consequently, professional dancers often must supplement their incomes to achieve financial stability. In the U.S. many professional dancers belong to unions (such as the American Guild of Musical Artists, Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association) that establish working conditions and minimum salaries for their members. Professional dancers must possess large amounts of athleticism. To lead a successful career, it is advantageous to be versatile in many styles of dance, have a strong technical background and to use other forms of physical training to remain fit and healthy.[54]
Teachers
Dance teachers typically focus on teaching dance performance, or coaching competitive dancers, or both. They typically have performance experience in the types of dance they teach or coach. For example,
Choreographers
Competitions
A dance competition is an organized event in which contestants perform dances before a judge or judges for awards, and in some cases, monetary prizes. There are several major types of dance competitions, distinguished primarily by the style or styles of dances performed. Dance competitions are an excellent setting to build connections with industry leading faculty members, adjudicators, choreographers and other dancers from competing studios. A typical dance competition for younger pre-professional dancers can last anywhere between two and four days, depending whether it is a regional or national competition.
The purpose of dance competitions is to provide a fun and educative place for dancers and give them the opportunity to perform their choreographed routines from their current dance season onstage. Oftentimes, competitions will take place in a professional setting or may vary to non-performance spaces, such as a high school theatre. The results of the dancers are then dictated by a credible panel of judges and are evaluated on their performance than given a score. As far as competitive categories go, most competitions base their categories according to the dance style, age, experience level and the number of dancers competing in the routine.[58] Major types of dance competitions include:
- Dancesport, which is focused exclusively on ballroom and latin dance.
- , are permitted.
- Commercial Dance, consisting of as hip hop, jazz, locking, popping, breakdancing, contemporary etc.[58]
- Single-style competitions, such as; highland dance, dance team, and Irish dance, that only permit a single dance style.
- Open competitions, that permit a wide variety of dance styles. An example of this is the TV program So You Think You Can Dance.
- Olympic, Dance has been trying to be part of the Olympic sport since 1930s.
Dance diplomacy
During the 1950s and 1960s, cultural exchange of dance was a common feature of international diplomacy, especially amongst East and South Asian nations. The
Health
Footwear
In most forms of dance the foot is the source of movement, and in some cases require specific shoes to aid in the health, safety ability of the dancer, depending on the type of dance, the intensity of the movements, and the surface that will be danced on.
Dance footwear can be potentially both supportive and or restrictive to the movement of the dancer.[60] The effectiveness of the shoe is related to its ability to help the foot do something it is not intended to do, or to make easier a difficult movement. Such effects relate to health and safety because of the function of the equipment as unnatural to the bodies usual mobility.
Ballet
Ballet is notable for the risks of injury due to the biomechanics of the ankle and the toes as the main support for the rest of the movements. With the pointe shoe, the design specifically brings all of the toes together to allow the toes to be stood on for longer periods of time.[61]
There are accessories associated with pointe shoes that help to mitigate injury and soothe pain while dancing, including things such as toe pads, toe tape, and cushions.[62]
Body image
Dancers are publicly thought to be very preoccupied with their body image to fit a certain mold in the industry. Research indicates that dancers do have greater difficulty controlling their eating habits as a large quantity strive for the art-form's ideal body mass. Some dancers often resort to abusive tactics to maintain a certain image. Common scenarios include dancers abusing laxatives for weight control and end up falling into unhealthy eating disorders. Studies show that a large quantity of dancers use at least one method of weight control including over exercising and food restriction. The pressure for dancers to maintain a below average weight affects their eating and weight controlling behaviours and their life-style.[63] Due to its artistic nature, dancers tend to have many hostile self-critical tendencies. Commonly seen in performers, it is likely that a variety of individuals may be resistant to concepts of self-compassion.[64]
Eating disorders
In North America, eating disorders present a significant public health challenge, with an estimated 10% of young girls affected. Those engaged in aesthetic-focused sports like dance face even greater risks due to intense pressures for a slender physique.[65] Eating disorders in dancers are generally very common. Through data analysis and studies published, sufficient data regarding the percentage and accuracy dancers have of realistically falling into unhealthy disordered eating habits or the development of an eating disorder were extracted. Dancers, in general, have a higher risk of developing eating disorders than the general public, primarily falling into anorexia nervosa and EDNOS. Research has yet to distinguish a direct correlation regarding dancers having a higher risk of developing bulimia nervosa. Studies concluded that dancers overall have a three times higher risk of developing eating disorders, more specifically anorexia nervosa and EDNOS.[66]
Dance on social media
This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. (June 2023) |
Dance has become a popular form of content across many social media platforms, including TikTok. During 2020, TikTok dances offered the opportunity for isolated individuals to interact and connect with one another through a virtual format.[67] Since its debut in 2017, the app has also attracted a small but growing audience of professional dancers in their early 20s to 30s. While the majority of this demographic is more accustomed to performing onstage, this app introduced a new means to generate professional exposure. [68]
Gallery
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Folk dance – a trio ofIrish Stepdancersperforming in competition
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A contemporary dancer performs a stag split leap.
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Dance partnering – a male dancer assists a female dancer in performing an arabesque, as part of a classical pas de deux.
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Acrobatic dance – an acro dancer performs a front aerial.
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A dancer performs a "toe rise", in which she rises from a kneeling position to a standing position on the tops of her feet.
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Social dance – dancers at aswing, jive, and jazz dance.
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Latin Ballroom dancers perform the Tango.
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Gumboot dance evolved from the stomping signals used as coded communication between labourers in South African mines.
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Copenhagen, Denmark
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Apopping.
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pole dancerperforms a routine.
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Prop dance – afire dancerperformance
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Modern dance – a dancer performs aleg splitwhile balanced on the back of her partner.
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Stage dance – a professional dancer at the Bolshoi Theatre
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A nineteenth century artist's representation of a Flamenco dancer
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Ritual dance – Armenian folk dancers celebrate aneo-pagannew year.
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A latin ballroom couple perform a Samba routine at a dancesport event.
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Folk dance – some dance traditions travel with immigrant communities, as with this festival dance performed by a Polish community in Turkey.
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A ballet dancer performs a standingside split.
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Street dance – aBreakdancerperforms a handstand trick.
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Ballet class of young girls wearing leotards and skirts in 2017
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Kebagh dance from Pagar Alam, Indonesia
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Balinese dance
In animals
Some parrots and elephants have been observed dancing in a way that follows the beat of the music. Other animals appear to lack the ability to do this spontaneously, though some can be trained or led by humans.[69]
See also
- Art
- Outline of performing arts
- Outline of dance
- List of dancers
- List of dances
- List of dance awards
- Index of dance articles
Notes
- ^ Many definitions of dance have been proposed. This definition is based on the following:
"Dance is human movement created and expressed for an aesthetic purpose. Dance is also a source of entertainment."[1]
"Dance is human behaviour composed (from the dancer's perspective, which is usually shared by the audience members of the dancer's culture) of purposeful (individual choice and social learning play a role), intentionally rhythmical, and culturally patterned sequences of nonverbal body movement mostly other than those performed in ordinary motor activities. The motion (in time, space, and with effort) has an inherent and aesthetic value (the notion of appropriateness and competency as viewed by the dancer's culture) and symbolic potential."[2]
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- ^ Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, Ballroom Dancing, Teach Yourself Books, Hodder and Stoughton, 1977, p. 38
- ^ a b Lincoln Kirstein, Dance, Dance Horizons Incorporated, New York, 1969, p. 4
- ^ Shawn, Ted, Dance We Must, 1946, Dennis Dobson Ltd., London, p. 49
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- ^ Lincoln Kirstein, Dance, Dance Horizons Incorporated, New York, 1969, p. 108
- ^ Lincoln Kirstein, Dance, Dance Horizons Incorporated, New York, 1969, p. 157
- ^ Scholes, Percy A. (1977). "Dance". The Oxford Companion to Music (10 ed.). Oxford University Press.
- ^ Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Rhythm, Music and Education, 1973, The Dalcroze Society, London, p. viii
- ^ Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Rhythm, Music and Education, 1973, The Dalcroze Society, London, p. 181
- ^ Shawn, Ted, Dance We Must, 1946, Dennis Dobson Ltd., London, p. 54
- ^ Shawn, Ted, Dance We Must, 1946, Dennis Dobson Ltd., London, pp. 50–51
- ^ Moller, Helen and Dunham, Curtis, Dancing with Helen Moller, 1918, John Lane (New York and London), p. 74
- ^ Laban, Rudolf, The Mastery of Movement, MacDonald and Evans, London, 1960, p. 2
- ^ Minden, Eliza Gaynor, The Ballet Companion: A Dancer's Guide Archived 2023-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, Simon and Schuster, 2007, p. 92
- ^ Thoinot Arbeau, Orchesography, trans. by Mary Stewart Evans, with notes by Julia Sutton, New York: Dover, 1967
- ^ Laban, Rudolf, The Mastery of Movement, MacDonald and Evans, London, 1960, pp. 2, 4 et passim
- ^ Laban, Rudolf, The Mastery of Movement, MacDonald and Evans, London, 1960, p. 86
- ^ Abigail Wagner, A Different Type of Rhythm Archived 2016-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, Lawrence University, Wisconsin
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- ^ "The Indonesian Folk Dances". Indonesia Tourism. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
- ^ a b Badley, Bill and Zein al Jundi. "Europe Meets Asia". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp. 391–395. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.
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{{cite book}}
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- ^ Robert Krulwich (April 1, 2014). "The List Of Animals Who Can Truly, Really Dance Is Very Short. Who's On It?". NPR.
Further reading
- Abra, Allison. "Going to the palais: a social and cultural history of dancing and dance halls in Britain, 1918–1960." Contemporary British History (Sep 2016) 30#3 pp. 432–433.
- Blogg, Martin. Dance and the Christian Faith: A Form of Knowing, The Lutterworth Press (2011), ISBN 978-0-7188-9249-4
- Carter, A. (1998) The Routledge Dance Studies Reader. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-16447-8.
- Cohen, S, J. (1992) Dance As a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History from 1581 to the Present. Princeton Book Co. ISBN 0-87127-173-7.
- Daly, A. (2002) Critical Gestures: Writings on Dance and Culture. ISBN 0-8195-6566-0.
- Miller, James, L. (1986) Measures of Wisdom: The Cosmic Dance in Classical and Christian Antiquity, ISBN 0-8020-2553-6.
External links
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Historic illustrations of dancing from 3300 BC to 1911 AD from Project Gutenberg