“The body says what words cannot” (Martha Graham). This quote helps explain how the body can move in ways to help explain cultures and events that have happened. The body can move in ways to show emotion that people are sometimes unable to explain with words. Different styles of dance have evolved dramatically over the years and can even be used in the modern world as a profession.
Dance has been affected by many events including religious rituals that helped form the art of dance, the Italian Renaissance, and the French Revolution. “Dance was originally reserved for religious rituals in ancient civilizations” (“Dance” 1). Dance was used in the religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic. In ancient Egypt, different cultures would use dance to perform for their peers in ceremonies. Dance spread throughout Europe and soon became a common activity in many European countries. Dance also played a part in Greek and Roman society. Dance was used for religious purposes and was also demonstrated in ceremonies. “Dancing commemorated the changing of the seasons, life and death, social solidarity, and the connection between humanity and the unseen powers that affected human existence” (“Overview of Dance” 2). Dance would also be used in the Greek society to honor a god or an important individual. Ballet can be dated all the way back to the Italian Renaissance. In the fifteenth century, ballet was demonstrated during the courts of Italy. Ballet was not made to be performed in front of
Dance is found in all cultures. It is considered a way to communicate without talking. During the Renaissance period, ballet was considered a Russian specialty. The highly qualified and sought after dance companies would tour the world performing in front of those who had never experienced ballet before. By exposing ballet to the United States of America, the Russians inspired and sparked a demand for legitimate ballet in America. It took place throughout the 20th century, currently known as the Russo-American Era.
Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.
Unlike traditional ballet The Rite of Spring featured sharply bent arms and legs that focused on barbarian depictions of life rather than the elegant, graceful representations used in conventional ballet. The violent dance steps depicted fertility rites, which is what provoked the earliest interruptions during the ballet. While Nijinsky was creating the dance for the ballet, Roerich was creating the setting and costumes to accurately portray this sacrificial rite. The use of such primitive pagan images were something that the people were not accustomed to. It was a topic that the world was not yet ready to deal with. But the visuals of the ballet were not the only historic part; the music had an even greater impact.
Dance has been around for a long time, it is older than many other popular sports we have. It takes on the physical capacity to be labeled as a sport, and yet in most cases, it is not. It is one of the few activities that is both a sport and an art, but it is given very little respect as a sport. Dance has evolved in a number of ways throughout time, but it has always been through a meaning. Whether that be dancing for love or faith, or dancing for first place.
The French Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted from the years 1789-1799. [1] The revolution arose out of hard economic times that had befallen France. Widespread famine and hunger, due to a grain shortage, rampaged through sections of the country. The economic crisis led to an increase in taxes on the lower classes, known as the third estate, to upkeep the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. [1] All of these are the known factors that led to the rise of the French Revolution.
Ballet started in the late 1400s during the Renaissance. When Catherine de Medici who married King Henry the second of France know for throwing large parties. These parties would last for 8 hours straight of music, food, dancing and other entrainment. These
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.
Something I found interesting is that Ballet was actually FIRST introduced during the Renaissance time and Modern dance history in Europe actually started with Renaissance (http://www.ducksters.com). There were also several new dances that were invented at the time (http://www.dancefacts.net). Music and dance were actually the main forms of entertainment (http://www.ducksters.com). However, dance quickly rose to importance among art and science (https://socialdance.stanford.edu). Unfortunately, no choreographic descriptions of the dances survived from the 14th century, the Renaissance time (https://socialdance.stanford.edu).Most dances were actually a passionate form of flirting. The actual true purpose of the dance steps were flirtations (http://dance.lovetoknow.com). Dance was considered as much a part of education as reading or eating with a knife or fork (http://dance.lovetoknow.com). Dance was mainly to socialise (http://www.streetswing.com). These are some interesting facts I learned about the past of Renaissance
Dance is one of the most beautiful, expressive forms of art known to mankind. It expresses joy, love, sorrow, anger, and the list truly goes on for all the possible emotions that it can convey. Dance not only can express how one feels, but it can tell a story or even be used to praise a higher power. Dance has intricately played an important role to every culture over the course of time. Two forms of dance that have not only stood against the test of time but have influenced the development of other various styles of dance is none other than Classical Ballet and Modern Dance.
French Ballet began in the 17th century. It was a flamboyant entertainment presented in front of the aristocracy and royalty in the courts. French Ballet was also performed when they were celebrating marriages and showing off the wealth and power of the ruler. Besides, Ballet was called “la belle danse”, and it means “the beautiful dance.” In order to help the audience to recognize the characters in the story, dancers usually wore extravagant costumes. Moreover, the idea of different ballet movements was based on the social dance of royal courts, like beautiful arm and upper body movements and floor patterns were included. Also, in the beginning, only men were allowed to dance ballet, and women played the first ballet with parts until 1681.
Dance has been a natural movement form since the beginning of time. The origin of dance is unknown, just as the knowledge of the benefits of dance are unknown to many in our society. Many people do not enjoy dancing and also do not fully understand the positive benefits that come from dancing. Researchers such as Edwards, Duberg, and many more have found countless mental and emotional benefits of dance that originate from movement patterns, brain connections, and even expressions of emotion. Many are aware of the physical benefits of dance, but beyond the physical benefits of dance, there are also emotional and mental benefits that come from dance as well.
Dance is the word that is broadly that used to define a human behavior characterized by expressive movements of the body. It is the grace, artistry, and classicality and precision that distinguishes ballet from other dance styles. People have danced for many different reasons such a religious, entertainment, tribal rituals, exercise or to simply to express something that cannot find voice in words. For as long as people inhabited Canada, there has been dance and it has subsequently played a role throughout Canadian history. In Canada dance history began with indigenous dance of First Nations Peoples, but with the arrival of European settlers came more European dance forms such as ballet, which have shaped dance in Canada into what it is
Dance is said to have existed prior to the invention of written languages, and was perhaps an essential aspect of storytelling for the passing of knowledge and information from generation to generation. And it has been, since time immemorial, a part of every culture and religion as a means of self and collective expression.
What is dance? Dance is defined as lively movement using one’s body with or without music. Dancing means to feel someone existence to feel vitality, joy, and most importantly to feel alive. Anyone can define dancing as whatever they would like, but how is dance useful to our lives? Whether you are a ballerina from birth or if you are newly introduced to the art of dance, everyone can dance some way, shape, or form. Dance therapy provides psychological and physical benefits. It helps connect body and mind as one giving support to become rooted and balanced. In order to be centered and grounded while moving your body, a dancer must be in tuned with the center of gravity in relation to the earth. Dance therapy is also a great way for people
These dances eventually evolved to include praise songs and myths that were enacted by trained dancers and actors. By the end of the 5th century BC, these dance dramas were part of entertainment and provided social and political commentary on the times. Amongst the Romans, dance waxed and waned in acceptance by the powers that ruled. Until 200 BC, dance brought life to Roman processions, festivals and celebrations. However, in 150 BC all of the dancing schools were closed as Roman nobility considered dance as suspicious and even dangerous activity of the masses. Dancing has come a long way since ancient times. But there are still some similarities. When people thought up these dances they were trying to express themselves, their emotions, their problems and beliefs. Today we do the same thing. We make up dances according to our attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings. The future will also contain dances that will reflect that society. There are many different kinds of dances. There is ballet, line dancing, slow dancing, the list goes on and on. Some of these dances are slow. Some of them are fast. They all use different type of instruments. Each dance representing a time, an event, an expression or feeling. Each dance expressing something different. Dances will never die. They are too interconnected in the