History of Dance

The first experience of watching a ballet, for me or any little girl, can be fascinating and exhilarating. Wondering how a dancer can be so steady on her toes as she spins in circles and leaps through the air. Watching a ballet, there is a feeling of wanting to be graceful, as well as the warm sensation felt by a little girl as she slips into dream land. My mom had taken me to my first ballet when I was 11 years old. When we returned home home, she signed me up for classes at the local dance center. The expectations to become a prima ballerina would involve much hard work and concentration. I knew when I started it would take years of steady practice and commitment. Learning the history of ballet and the famous

Have you ever heard of the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Jitterbug, or Charleston? If so, you already know a little about dance in the “Roaring Twenties,” and how big of an impact it made on American culture then and forevermore. At a time of prosperity and flamboyant wealth, dance made citizens enjoy life again, engage in one-another, develop an eccentric new style that would carry into the rest of the twentieth-century.

We were the center of attention. This was our moment—our time—to make a statement on the raging political events. It was evident from the speechless, astonished faces of the audience that we were successful. I smiled as I watched my activism and dance group, Bailamos, dance with pride on the stage. After all the countless hours of organizing dance routines and spreading the Hispanic-Latino culture throughout school, I was finally able to witness the outcome for myself.

Dance is a unique sport because it combines the grit and sweat of sporting events, such as track and field, with the style and extravagance of a fashion show (D.Fowler, 2000).

People think of street culture as gangs, violence and drugs, but actually , it’s a colorful culture with a lot of good people in it and includes the art of Hip-Hop Dance. There are a lot of types of dance, but a popular form of dance today is called Hip-Hop, which dates back to as far as the 1960s! Hip-Hop has a short but interesting history; it plays an important role in many communities, and can be beneficial to lots of people.

Ballet is one of the most beautiful, graceful dances known to the dancing world. From the tutu to the pointe shoes the need to see the expression of the steps given. Being able to see how the illusion of a flying princess is one of the most mysteries that come with a ballet show. The history of Ballet has evolved into one of the most well-known type of dances in the world this is from only the men having roles in the ballet to women being able to express emotion.

Jane Desmond introduces her article, “Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies,” by describing a dance that readers can picture as the dance of tango in their minds. This helps lead to her connecting dance, or body movement, with cultural studies and social identities. In her article, Desmond focuses on connecting how dance and body movement can be portrayed differently in social identities, such as race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality.

On April 14, 2017, my friend and I visited for the first time Salt Lake City Community College dance company’s annual performance. The show was presented at the Grand Theater at the South City Campus of the college. The performance’s name “Moving Words” imply what the audience was about to experience. “Moving Words” consists of 18 different dances and each of those dances brought a unique feeling to the overall performance. I thought that the dancers and choreographers have done an amazing job. However, after seeing all the different dances there were two that stuck together with me, because of the ideas and the morals these dances introduced.

The Jazz dance form is quite popular and is enjoyed by all for its energy and rhythm. It is often thought of as an American creation, but it truly originates from a form of dance that was African American in origin. This occurred during the late 1800s. The first man to officially perform jazz dance was an American called Joe Frisco in around 1910. Though this was the first recorded history of jazz dancing, its roots seemed to lie further in the past than this.

Firstly, three of the dancers gave a short story about their history, some can trace their ancestry back to foreign countries, some just to the slave trade and some just know that their parents moved from one state over. Their statements all dealt very personal and added to the communal aspect of this particular multi-generational dance.

This chapter takes a broad look at the relationship between human movement, framed as dance, and important identities such as religion, ethnicity, gender, and social status. While not specifically focused on issues of identity in America, this chapter will provide an important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a representation of cultural values, which will underlie the remainder of our coursework.

Over the past five centuries, dance has undergone tremendous change and evolved in to various different forms. Throughout the history of dance, styles including ballet or modern have changed in both technique and expression, and their popularity has constantly fluctuated. From the 16th century until present day, ballet specifically has fallen in and out of favor and gone through multiple periods of artistic scarcity to prosperity. One peak of its popularity was during the Romantic era when creativity and innovation were thriving among choreographers and dancers. Modern dance, which emerged from ballet as a way of rejecting classical aesthetics, also experienced times of dormancy and activeness since its origin at the turn of the 20th

During the 1950’s there were many dances that began to emerge after WWII, predominantly between young teenagers. The decade of the 1950's witnessed the continuing growth of music and dance activity in the Unites States, it gave the chance for the younger generation to let loose and have fun. This new trend however not only fascinated music lovers but also dancing enthusiasts and initiated people to get up and dance whether it was school gym dances, home basement parties, or at the drive-in. As Nora Ambrosio author of Learning About Dance stated, “The younger generation abandoned the prevailing conservative attitude. The attitude changed, as well as the popularity of rock and roll music, resulted in the development of any new dances.

While more well-known, specialized schools have had their own annual take on “The Festival of Nations,” RFK’s extracurricular activities focus more on basic sport and common clubs such as Yearbook, Habitat for Humanity, etc. Although the high school does not have a dance team or dance club, a few junior level students decided to create their own dance show similar to that of Townsend Harris. However, even though it wasn’t a formal, well-established production, the students formed their own grassroots type club from the ground up in order to showcase various modern day dance from around the world.

On May 18 2016, I attended the La Costa Canyon Dance Recital, “A Night At The Movies”. The show was performed by the school’s dance team, Dance Mavs, and was well executed and rehearsed. The show provided an interesting interpretation of famous movies and their impact on the audience. Famous dances and themes were portrayed throughout the night, allowing for not only an entertaining experience, but an extremely memorable one. The amount of work put into the show was evident and allowed the audience to appreciate each dance with more respect and admiration. It is obvious these shows can take a toll on those performing, so it must be all the more rewarding when it turns out as great as the recital did.