Mask Dances of Bhutan

1” Festival activity, which has always been a significant part of Pacific culture, has provided a vehicle for expressing contemporary indigenous identities. The Festival of Pacific Arts, founded in 1972, has become a major venue for the perpetuation of the region’s arts, music, and dance. With the goal of reviving what was in danger of being lost, the festival is held every four years, each time hosted by a different country.” It almost seems to be a Polynesian “Olympics”, but for partying. The Hula dance is very popular within the islands. The Hula dance is so popular that it has its own festival: the annual Merrie Monarch Hula Competition. The Tiki culture became popular due to the Pacific themed bars. Decorators and bar owners used the Pacific mentality to reel in consumers. 3 “Tiki carving is one of the oldest art forms known to man, and all original Tiki carvings are unique. Each island culture introduced another variation to the carving technique. In most Tiki cultures, Tiki statues carved by high-ranking tribesmen were considered sacred and powerful, and these were used in special religious ceremonies. Tiki statues carved by anyone other than a high-ranking tribesman were used simply as

Between leaps, spins, and basic walking, without balance, this performance could have become messy and not effective. Before the stage goes dim, the overall stage is shown once more. The backdrop of an old village from the time the dance might have been performed in was shown. The backdrop and scenery might have helped wrap the audiences head around the purpose of this masked deer dance. As the dancer performed with a deer mask, this could allude to be seen as a ritual thanking the gods for the animal that was provided. Just like the deer, no beat of the song was missed or unused by the dancer. Every beat was heard by the masked performer and used to his full extent to show the story of Tibetan Rituals. What was normally performed regularly in a village, is now being performed on a stage to inform the audience and to keep traditions

Australian Aboriginals used danced to communicate stories of the cultural spirits and legends, along with tell stories of the past, present and future with those in their community (Cheeky Dancers, n.d.). There is a sense of pride when they dance and pass on their history and culture to the generations after them (The age, 2013). Aboriginal people are proud of their heritage and dance allows them to express their thoughts and views of the world the way they see

Many may know that it can be almost impossible to completely identify what African Dance is. Africa is a huge continent that holds many different cultures, beliefs and overall ways of living. It is said to be the most “socially and racially diverse on the planet (wikipedia).” Even though Africa can be one of the most diverse places on earth, there can be similar dance styles being established throughout many other larges countries. Creativecareerguice.com states that “history, language, song, background, and purpose and cannot be translated to another dance of the same culture much less another

The author, Harriet Lihs begins explaining that It is very difficult to separate religious dance and court dance. because the linking of dance to the courts of nobility has been inevitable in history of the sacred role of the highest authority. So there's for two reasons, firstly dance vividly provided displays of power, and secondly dance seeks patrons.

Although the dance originated in Zitlala, dancers perform it today in many regions for many different celebrations and festivities. One of these include “Dia de San Juan Bautista” or Day of Saint Juan. In fact, they perform this and similar dances during celebrations of all the Saints. A parade usually marks the beginning of the festivity. Cars and floats move along the streets. These floats normally all demonstrate some aspect of Mexican culture, such as music. Then, the dancing begins. There is also a firework show. These festivities usually last through the night. The dance is

The first section, will talk about the history and meaning of Native American dance and cultures from the various tribes in North America. The second section will talk about in great detail of Anishinaabe culture and the Hoop Dance, a story that i found very interesting. The last section will be my conclusion of how I perceive the Native Americans differently and a great understanding of not only their singing and dancing, but of their unique culture and their image that have portrayed on me. This will also include my citations that I have used to help me write this

Taiwan and America have always had strong relations since the early 1900s. However, during the Cold War, they became even closer allies. During this time, many famous American dancers such as Alvin Ailey, José Limón and Paul Taylor visited Taiwan. They brought along the ideas of American-style democracy embedded in the art form of modern dance, which also expressed individual freedom. In addition, the United States’ aid to Taiwan during the 1950s and 1960s helped Taiwan create the booming economy it enjoys today. In the 1970s, the growth of economic changes allowed for the numbers of professionals and intellectuals to grow. This caused the middle class to expand, and the Taiwanese people became interested in their culture, religion, and art, and how it was distinct from that of China. Modern dance and Western classical music in Taiwan reflected the push for modernization in society. The United States became the top training destination for young Taiwanese dancers. Especially in 1987, after martial law in Taiwan was lifted, many dancers began setting up their own troupes. One of the most famous American-trained Taiwanese dancers would be Lin Hwai-min, who later returned to Taiwan and in 1973 founded the world-acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan. However, this paper will be focusing on a lesser-known Taiwanese-American modern dancer: Nai-Ni Chen. Chen is currently a successful modern dancer in Fort Lee, New

According to the PBS documentary, the Minstrel Show was Americans first entertainment craze. Their inspiration for doing some of these dances

This piece was choreographed by Steven Rosa. The music that were used for this piece was a combination of three songs; the first song was by Vishal Dadlani, the second one was just a music by Shekhar Ravjiani, and the last one was a song by Daler Mehndi. This performance piece represented the Indian traditional dance. It was performed by twelve dancers including two boys and ten girls. They were divided in four teams, each team had a different color for their costume. This dance got the audience attention from the first minute they started to perform on the stage. One of the thing that grabbed the audience attention was the colorful customs that the dancers used for this specific dance. The dancers danced in-groups as well as in-lines. Also they were really organized on the stage. Appropriately, the dancers displayed synchronized and athletic movements with lots of Indian traditional dance movement. The repetitive beating of the drum in the background music helped to portray the momentum and the energy. The dancers tended to change the look of their customs while they dancing which created the feeling of watching multiple dances in one. The dancers were well communicate very well with each other and communicate very well with the audience as a group. This helped the dance to come out really interesting. The ending of the dance was so positive and appropriate finish. Overall, this dance was one of the best

Similar to music, dance is usually centered around social events such as in the movie where the community would come together and dance at events where the mayor would speak and in events associated with the marriage season. Personal experience of this dance phenomenon in Arab culture in Egyptian weddings has shown me way too well how serious dance is to the culture. One of the particular dances shown in the film is the Dabke, a Levantine circle dance, which is also a favorite among Arabs to be done at weddings. One finds that this form of dance along with a lot of Arab dance involves groups of people and there is less focus on singularity in dance. When some starts this dance, no one can escape, form the elderly grandparents to the toddler cousins, everyone seems to get off their feet and come together holding hands. The use of dance in the film is used to emphasis the sense of community felt in Arab culture, even more so in small communities such as this small Lebanese village where there seems to very close village

The origins of jazz music and dance are found in the rhythms and movements brought to America by African slaves. The style of African dance is earthy; low, knees bent, pulsating body movements emphasized by body isolations and hand-clapping. As slaves forced into America, starting during the 1600’s, Africans from many cultures were cut off from their families, languages and

The movements were very specific and showed the story of the dance. The partners used many movements that contained many body

From this came a mix of cultures and eventually the creation of the Tango. Although it can't be proven that this is its exact origin this is the theory that is most logical. The relentless rhythms that the African slaves, the candombe, beat on their drums (known as tan-go); the popular music of the pampas (flatlands) known as the milonga, which combined Indian rhythms with the music of early Spanish colonists; and other influences, including Latin. Some say the word "tango" comes from the Latin word tangere (to touch.) It was the dance of sorrow. It speaks with body language. More then just frustrated love, it is also said to speak of death and pain. It was the perfect dance for social outcasts; it epitomized their feelings about their life.

There are eight individual and unique classical dances in India. Each has its own distinctive dance movements, make-up, and costumes. The classical dance forms that have developed in India all have set rules which have been followed traditionally over the years. This set of rules that the classical dances follow is called the Natya Shastra. This is the ancient text that all Indian classical dances obey by in order for them to be called a “classic”. The eight forms that have succeeded in reaching the conventions of the Natya Shastra are: the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, and Sattriya. Among all eight of these dances I argue that Bharatanatyam is the most elite form of all these dances