Way Men Dance

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.

As dance being known as an art form that can portray symbolic meanings and influence society, not many dance companies are grasping at the opportunity to address many of these social issues that our culture is facing. “I feel as though [major dance companies] do the happy-go-lucky dances and never do the gritty, what’s really going on in dances, says high school junior Jenae Rogers from George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. The modern world has been brought up against multiple issues, ones that relate close to home, and ones that might not particularly pertain to us. Despite not being able to primarily fix these issues, we can certainly draw attention to it. Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on issues in society. Betty Cooper, Chamber Dance Company’s Program Director, explains that “As an ephemeral art form, people tend to let dance wash over them like a sunset, and don’t necessarily expect more of it than to be poetic. But dance is a medium that is as potent for social commentary as the spoken and written word.” Many outsiders feel as though dance is just a hobby, but dancers and dance companies can do a lot to help spread awareness of certain issues. Police brutality, gender diversity, and eating disorders or weight shaming can all be addressed in major dance companies. Dance gives us the ability to share our thoughts on social issues that do not get the attention they need in order to be helped. Nonetheless,

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).

a) Many ask, “How can dance be a sport? You can't judge on time and the scoring is subjective!” Just like figure skaters, competitive dancers are judged on many criteria: technique, posture, timing, line, hold, poise, togetherness, expression, presentation, power, and foot or leg action. Dancers have a lot on their minds while performing. They are constantly asking themselves, am I extending correctly? Is my technique right? Is my head facing the right direction?

To start off this project you need to know where dance originated or where it came from and how it got started. The first dances came about in ancient civilization and was more for ritual reasons rather than entertainment like it is today. The credit for the origin of dance cannot be given to any one country in particular. Different countries/cities had their own rituals depending on the circumstance at the time.   For example in Egypt the priests and priestesses had the sound of harps and pipes that mimicked the rhythm between night and day.  The women also danced at funerals to help in the expression of grief for the mourners.   During the sixth century dancing becomes the centerpiece of Greek theatre. These dances were performed in a circle

There are many major obstacle facing African American dancers that contribute to racial segregation in the dance world. For instance flesh coloured shoes with pink ribbons are the traditional foot wear for ballet which dates back the 1820’s. Many African American dancers have questioned major dance wear companies who use this tradition as an excuse not to provide all the different skin tone dance wear. It is not only the dance wear companies refusing to adapt to modern societies idea of equality but other white dancers and companies as well.

Dancing, it takes a large part in the Native American culture. The Native Americans have very diverse and different types of dancing.”Religious symbolism is significant even in the human interactions of the dance. Men often symbolize phallic, aggressive supernatural beings and rain-bringing deities, whereas women symbolize actual fertility” (britannica.com).Their dancing explained stories and also the performers dress up. In the different tribes they might have another way of dressing but they also have different backgrounds and they have ceremonies for different

As everyone continues to ask “How can dance be a sport? You can’t judge on time and the scoring is personal.” Just like figure skaters (an Olympic sport), competitive dancers are judged on technique, posture, timing, formation, hold, pose, togetherness, musicality, and expression, presentation, power, foot and legwork, shape, and travel space. Dancers have a lot on their minds while performing on stage. Some of the thoughts are “Is my foot pointed? Am I extending my arms correctly? Is my technique clear? Is my head turned the right way?” That’s a lot to think about while under enough pressure by being on stage.

Dancing is a form of visual expression through creative body and space movements as old as the ancient Romans. While it may seem easy to dance, it takes real effort to learn to perform a dance, and its success depends on the use of the five elements of dance. In viewing two dances from the TV series “So you Think you Can Dance”, I got a perspective of how judges would critique dances based on how their use of elements correlated with the type of dance style. I discovered that although I enjoy the open style of jazz dances, Sabra and Neil’s dance to “Sweet Dreams” left me some negative impressions on jazz dances. Instead, Neil and Kent’s dance to “How it Ends” impressed me with how the elements were used to change the face of contemporary art

There is a large amount of stress put on the bodies of dancers when participating in ballet. Although they may be a part of an industry that holds itself to a certain standard, there are aspects that create unnecessary pressure and tension among dancers. These stresses include body image and self esteem. Even from a young age many dancers experience the pressure to look a certain way. On one account, a 12 year old girl in a ballet class was told to lose weight which made her realize

I agree with the judges’ decision with the best couple of the week being Laurie Hernandez and her partner. In her performance, there was an actual connection between her partner and herself. She was in sync with her dance instructor and she had a flow with the routine, I personally believe her experience as a gymnast performer gives her the moves and flexibility to be the dancer to beat this season. Hernandez’s moves were sharply executed and I feel she has developed a relationship with her instructor that has reflected in their tempo and rhythm as one. I noticed that unlike most of the contestant’s in Monday’s performance, her body was not stiff, and she would flow from one move to the next, rather than look like a robot. The dancing felt genuine, and nothing felt forced about the body movements.

The first video we saw was “The Men Who Danced”. It’s basically about the story of Ted Shawn's male dancers from1933-1940. I was really excited to see the way they were trained and the way they were seen as. They went around doing shows and concerts and a lot of people loved them. Ted Shawn started dancing professionally by entertaining station stops of the Santa Fe Railroad. Eventually he met an amazing dancer, Ruth St. Denis and married in 1915. They both were amazing dancers that they both established the Desnishawn School. That’s how everything started, that school became the most influential back in the 20 centuries. They both brought Modern Dance to America to have something different than ballet. Everything went bad because of the Great

The purpose of their study was to determine the impact of clothing on the wearer's perceptions and actions. They used a twist on the highly researched term embodied cognition, and called it “enclothed cognition.” Enclothed cognition is defined as the systematic influence of clothes on the wearer's psychological processes and behavioral tendencies. They found that the type of clothing one wears can influence performance on attention related tests. This is important because it shows how clothing can have an effect on the attitude and performance of an individual.

When thinking of dance, most people think about ballet such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, or even Beauty and the Beast. Dance first started out as a ritual. According to HistoryWorld “In most ancient civilization, dance before the god is an important element in the temple ritual”. Ritual dancing bring men as they celebrate their necessities. These necessities include food, shelter, safety, and surviving natural disasters. These ritual dances brought the communities together to celebrate their accomplishments. According to Lucile Armstrong writer of Ritual dances states that “The first section of will deal with ritual dances not using sticks or swords necessarily, but with similar intent. The second will describe some stick dances. The third section will refer to sword dances, or dances connected with swords”. It is stated that the stick dance is done in the early mornings before most people are awake. This dance can also be performed in the evening of the 21st and on the eve of the great day.

There’s an exciting fashion trend happening – dance. The dance and fashion industries seem to be increasingly joining forces, with dance companies commissioning high profile designers and fashion labels turning to dancers to optimally show off their clothes. The collision of the worlds of fashion and dance creates alchemy beyond the reach of either one alone. Fashion is made to move in the