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Dance

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Recreation

   Dance (from Old French dancier, perhaps from Frankish) generally refers
   to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a
   social, spiritual or performance setting.

   Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication (see
   body language) between humans or animals ( bee dance, mating dance),
   motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind), and
   certain musical forms or genres.

   Choreography is the art of making dances, and the person who does this
   is called a choreographer.

   Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social,
   cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from
   functional movement (such as Folk dance) to codified, virtuoso
   techniques such as ballet. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and
   synchronized swimming are dance disciplines while Martial arts ' kata'
   are often compared to dances.

Origins of dance

   Unlike some early human activities such as the production of stone
   tools, hunting, cave painting, etc., dance does not leave behind
   physical artifacts. Thus, it is impossible to say with any certainty
   when dance became part of human culture. However, dance has certainly
   been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and
   entertainment since the birth of the earliest human civilizations.
   Archaeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as
   Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC
   and the Bhimbetka rock-shelter paintings in India.

   One of the earliest structured uses of dance may have been in the
   performative retelling of mythological stories. Indeed, before the
   introduction of written languages, dance was one of the primary methods
   of passing these stories down from generation to generation.

   Another early use of dance may have been as a precursor to ecstatic
   trance states in healing rituals. Dance is still used for this purpose
   by cultures from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert.

   Origins of Sri Lankan dances goes back to immemorial times of
   aboriginal tribes and "yakkas" (devils). According to a Sinhalese
   legend, Kandyan dances originate, 2500 years ago, from a magic ritual
   that broke the spell on a bewitched king.

   Many contemporary dance forms can be traced back to historical,
   traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dances.

Dancing and music

   Although dance and music can be traced back to prehistoric times it is
   unclear which art form came first. However, as rhythm and sound are the
   result of movement, and music can inspire movement, the relationship
   between the two forms has probably always been symbiotic.

   Many early forms of music and dance were created and performed
   together. This paired development has continued through the ages with
   dance/music forms such as: Jig, Waltz, Tango, Disco, Salsa, Electronica
   and Hip-Hop. Some musical genre also have a parallel dance form such as
   Baroque music and Baroque dance where as others developed separately:
   Classical music, Classical ballet.

   Although dance is often accompanied by music, it can also be presented
   independently or provide its own accompaniment ( tap dance). Dance
   presented with music may or may not be performed in time to the music
   depending on the style of dance. Dance performed without music is said
   to be danced to its own rhythm.

Genres and music forms used for dancing

   Primary
     * Ballet
     * Classical dance
     * Country line
     * Disco
     * Funk
     * House music
     * Hip hop dance
     * Jazz
     * Lyrical
     * Modern
     * Tap
     * Techno
     * Contemporary dance
     * Irish Step
     * Competitive dance
     * hip hop

   Secondary
     * Rock and Roll
     * Punk rock & hardcore punk (see mosh & hardcore dance}
     * low-tempo ( slow dance) songs...
     * film soundtracks

Dance in India

Dance in Indian canonical literature

   In the first millennium BCE in India many canonical texts were composed
   which sought to codify the rules of social management, private life,
   linguistic discipline, public finance, state policy, poetics, and
   dramatics. In the matter of dance, Bharata Muni's Natyashastra
   (literally "the art of dance") is the one of the earlier texts.

   Though the main theme of Natyashastra deals with drama, dance also
   finds mentions at considerable length. It elaborates various gestures
   of hands and classifies such gestures and movements as either graceful
   or vigorous, defining the lalita form of dance - lasya; and the
   vigorous form ' tandava'.

   Dance is classified under four categories and into four regional
   varieties. Natyashastra names these categories as secular, ritual,
   abstract, and, interpretive. Regional geography has altered since
   ancient India's time and so have regional varieties of Indian dances.
   Dances like "Odra Magadhi", which after decades long debate, has been
   traced to present day Mithila- Orissa region's dance form of Odissi,
   indicate influence of dances in cultural interactions between different
   reigons.

   Indian dance-styles have experienced states of dormance and resurgence
   many times. The roots of the present day Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi,
   Mohini Attam and Kuchipudi are found in ancient Indian civilization.
   Abstractness is now the feature of almost all classical Indian dance
   forms.

Devil Dances in Sri Lanka

   The devil dances of Sri Lanka or "yakun natima" is a carefully crafted
   ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka's pre-Buddhist
   past. It combines ancient "Ayurvedic" concepts of disease causation
   with deft psychological manipulation. The dance combines many aspects
   including Sinhalese cosmolgy, the dances also has an impact on the
   classical dances of Sri Lanka.

Classical Indian dance since 1947

   During the reign of the last Mughals and Nawabs of Oudh dance fell down
   to the status of ' nautch', an sensuous dance of courtesans.

   Later, linking dance with immoral trafficking and prostitution, British
   rule prohibited public performance of dance. Many disapproved it. In
   1947, India won her freedom and for dance an ambience where it could
   regain its past glory. Classical forms and regional distinctions were
   re-discovered, ethnic specialties were honored and by synthesizing them
   with the individual talents of the masters in the line and fresh
   innovations emerged dance with a new face but with classicism of the
   past.

   Archaeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as
   Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC
   and the Bhimbetka rock-shelter paintings in India.

Performance Dance in Europe and North America

   As European culture became more cosmopolitan, dances from various areas
   were practiced outside of those areas, on the one hand, and new dances
   began to be invented, especially in Italy. As dances began to be
   performed outside of their cultural context, instruction manuals were
   now required. Ballet, the reigning dance form in Europe, developed
   first in Italy and then in France from lavish court spectacles that
   combined music, drama, poetry, song, costumes and dance. Members of the
   court nobility took part as performers. During the reign of Louis XIV,
   himself a dancer, dance became more codified. Professional dancers
   began to take the place of court amateurs, and ballet masters were
   licensed by the French government. The first ballet dance academy was
   the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy), opened in Paris in
   1661. Shortly thereafter, the first institutionalized ballet troupe,
   associated with the Academy, was formed; this troupe began as an
   all-male ensemble but by 1681 opened to include women as well.

   During the 18th century, ballets were still primarily composite
   productions, performed alongside opera or poetry, but the idea of dance
   performance as separate from sung or spoken word began to be
   experimented with. Mime, instead, was used to tell the stories of these
   ballets. Female professional dancers began to take their place onstage,
   having previously been hampered by social norms; they performed in
   high-heeled shoes and long, full skirts.

   During the Pre-Romantic era in ballet, the art form changed rapidly.
   Costume reforms were made, especially for women; these reforms were in
   part a result of the French Revolution. Heeled street shoes were
   replaced by slippers, and corsets and heavy petticoats were discarded,
   and tights were invented. Simple en pointe work was introduced by
   ballerinas such as Fanny Elssler and Marie Taglioni, who heavily darned
   their slippers in order to be able to rise up briefly on their toes.
   The seven movements of dance (to bend, to rise, to stretch, to glide,
   to jump, to turn, and to dart) were codified in 1796.

   The period of time between 1830 and 1870 is classified as the Romantic
   era of ballet. A format developed for ballets crafted in this period:
   the first act was set in the real world and the second in a
   supernatural or otherwordly setting. Most ballerinas portrayed
   creatures such as wilis, sylphs and nymphs wearing long white skirts,
   today called Romantic tutus. Ballets choreographed during this time
   period included Giselle in 1841, La Sylphide in 1832, and Coppelia in
   1870. The Romantic Era came to a close when ballet lost popularity in
   Western Europe due to competition by music halls and a lack of strong
   male dancers and choreography.

   St. Petersburg became the centre of ballet during the second half of
   the 19th century; the art form was supported by the patronage of the
   czars and the success of the Imperial Ballet, its school (forerunner of
   the Kirov Ballet) and the talent of Marius Petipa. Hard or blocked
   pointe shoes were introduced during this period, as were short tutus
   (today known as classical tutus, these skirts take their name from this
   era, which was the Russian Classical). Many story ballets ( The
   Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire)
   were produced during this period. Although the coming of the Russian
   Revolution boded ill for the art form, Nicholas Sergeyev, last
   régisseur of the Imperial Ballet, smuggled the choreographic notation
   documenting the Imperial Ballet's repertory out of Russia and into the
   West. Hence many of the ballets survived, and are still performed
   today.

   The Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev was instrumental in bringing
   ballet back to Western Europe and allowing for its evolution into a
   20th century art form. Although not a dancer nor a choreographer,
   Diaghilev was an avid dance and music patron. He assembled a troupe of
   Russian composers, dancers, choreographers and designers; as the
   Diaghilev Ballet Russes, this troupe toured Europe and the United
   States. Diaghilev was one of the foremost influences upon ballet in the
   new century, and he helped to launch the careers of such artists as
   Anna Pavlova, Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine,
   among others. After Diaghilev's death, the company disbanded. Many of
   his dancers settled in Western Europe and the United States. Michel
   Fokine joined American Ballet Theatre in 1940 as its resident
   choreographer; George Balanchine also came to America and founded the
   New York City Ballet in 1934. It was Balanchine who developed what is
   now known as the "neo-classical" style of ballet.

   At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an explosion of
   innovation in dance style characterized by an exploration of freer
   technique. Early pioneers of what became known as modern dance include
   Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Mary Wigman and Ruth St. Denis. The
   relationship of music to dance serves as the basis for Eurhythmics,
   devised by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, which was influential to the
   development of Modern dance and modern ballet through artists such as
   Marie Rambert.

   Eurythmy, developed by Rudolf Steiner and Lori Maier-Smits, combines
   formal elements reminiscent of traditional dance with the new freer
   style, and introduced a complex new vocabulary to dance. In the 1920s,
   important founders of the new style such as Martha Graham and Doris
   Humphrey began their work. Since this time, a wide variety of dance
   styles have been developed; see Modern dance.

Dance studies

   In the early 1920s dance studies (dance practice, critical theory,
   Musical analysis and history) began to be considered an academic
   discipline. Today these studies are an integral part of many
   universities' arts and humanities programs. By the late 20th century
   the recognition of practical knowledge as equal to academic knowledge
   lead to the emergence of practice-based research and practice as
   research. A large range of dance courses are available including:
     * Professional practice: performance and technical skills
     * Practice-based research: choreography and performance
     * Ethnochoreology, encompassing the dance-related aspects of
       Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Area studies,
       Postcolonial theory, Ethnography, etc.
     * Dance-Movement Therapy.
     * Dance and technology: new media and performance technologies.
     * Laban Movement Analysis and Somatic studies

   A full range of Academic degrees are available from BA (Hons) to PhD
   and other postdoctoral fellowships, with many dance scholars taking up
   their studies as mature students after a professional dance career.

Categories of dance

   Dance can be divided into two main categories that each have several
   subcategories into which most dance styles can be placed. They are:
     * Concert dance / Performance dance
          + 20th century concert dance
          + Competitive dance

     * Social dance / Participation dance
          + Ceremonial dance
          + Traditional dance

   See also: List of dance style categories

Dance as an occupation

   In the U.S. many professional dancers are members of unions such as the
   American Guild of Musical Artists, the Screen Actors Guild and Actors'
   Equity Association. The unions help determine working conditions and
   minimum salaries for their members.

   Dancers may receive other benefits from their jobs such as room and
   board (for touring production). Professional dancers often have the
   opportunity to teach as well.

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