Social dance

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Arthur Murray Dance Studio in The Woodlands, Texas
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Khigga is the most common social folk dance among Assyrian people.

Social dances are dances that have social functions and context.[1] Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance.[2] They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competitive and erotic functions.

Many social dances of European origin are in recent centuries partner dances (see Ballroom dance) but elsewhere there may instead be circle dances or line dances.

Social dance in western cultures

Eighteenth-century social dance. Translated caption: A cheerful dance awakens love and feeds hope with lively joy, (Florence, 1790)

The types of dance performed in social gatherings change with social values.

basse dance in which a large group perform a series of steps in triple time. Italian courts danced balli, with a wide array of choreographed rhythms, steps and positions for the dancers. These were documented in instruction books written by the dance masters who choreographed them for the courts.[4]

Social dances of lower classes were not recorded until the

pavane and the Canary dance. Thoinot Arbeau's book Orchésographie describes peasant branles as well as the 16th century basse danse and la volta. The peasants from the countryside supplied new dances to the court as the old ones' novelty wore out.[4]

Scottish country dancing

During the

Menuet and the Gavotte gained popularity. Balls often ended with an English country dance. France gained a pre-eminence in dance, but the French Revolution created a shift away from formality.[4]

During the Regency Era, from 1811 to 1830, the

jeté. Most other dances of this era, such as the Mazurka, were performed in lines and squares.[4]

The waltz, which arrived in Britain toward the end of the Napoleonic Wars, was a partner dance in which partners danced more closely than had previously been considered acceptable. In the waltz, neither partner led. Individuals danced as equals, which was new at the time. The Polka was another dance that arose during this time in which partners were scandalously close. According to Powers, the dances of this time were "fresh, inventive, youthful, and somewhat daring," which mirrored society at the time.[4]

20th century United States

Contra dancing
in the United States

Towards the end of the 19th century, Americans were tiring of the court dances of their grandparents' era. In the early 20th century, Americans began pairing Victorian dances such as the

Turkey Trot. The most popular social dance of the time was the One-Step. The dance consisted of couples taking one step on each beat of the music, so even beginners could participate.[4]

The introduction of the phonograph record marked a shift toward dancing to recorded music, as radio stations, jukeboxes, and sock hops played records to dance to.[5]

Swing dance in the 1930s has grown in popularity, taking many dance forms, some of them, such as Lindy Hop or West Coast Swing
have survived to today.

Rock 'n' roll in the 1950s brought about a shift in social dancing toward rebelliousness. This shift was seen especially in teenagers who did not want to dance the same steps that their parents did. The dancing was mostly swing based but had a variations in different regions.[4]
Couples began dancing as individuals for the first time, sending the message that there did not have to be a leader and a follower.

References

  1. ^ Origins Archived 2007-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  2. .
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  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Powers, Richard. "Brief Histories of Social Dance". Social Dance at Stanford. Stanford University. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  5. OCLC 1230460986.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link
    )

Further reading