User:Mbour181/History of dance

History of dance

Lead

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''The history of dance is difficult to access because dance does not often leave behind clearly identifiable physical artefacts that last over millennia, such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave paintings. It is not possible to identify with exact precision when dance became part of human culture''. However, dance has been present for many centuries and in many different regions such as Europe, Africa, Asia and America. The history of dance ranges from means of social communication and bonding, to cultural traditions and all the way to competitive and commercial dance in the late 20th and 21st century. Many different style of dance also exists the main and most popular ones being ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, hip-hop (street dance) and various forms of dances related to specific regions and cultures.

Cultural traditions
Indian Classical dance

* rewriting this part & including better sources - paragraph copy-pasted from article and changed (most of it changed)* An early manuscript describing dance is the Natya Shastra on which is based the modern interpretation of classical Indian dance (e.g. Bharathanatyam).Classical Indian dance was constructed with the purpose of carrying out the wishes of the national ideology of India. The group that forged this type of dance was the dominant Indian class. In the late 1800s, “Nautch”, (generic term for dance in India) was practiced by two different groups of dancers: traditional dancing girls called devadasis (which translates to servants of gods) and rajadasis (which translates to servants of the king). These two groups were both professionally trained dancers. However, during the reign of the last Mughals and Nawabs of Oudh the standard of dance fell down and became an unethical sensuous thing of courtesans. his happened because of the anti-nautch movement of 1892 where the devadasis were presented by the reformers as prostitutes which linked dance with immoral trafficking and prostitution. These girls were then shunned from the population and their public performances were banned. Keshaub Chandra Sen and R. Venkataratnam Naidu were two important actors supporting the anti-nautch movement.

In the early twentieth century, Rabindranath Tagore was one of the first individual to fight the anti-nautch movement and bring back the dying art of dance. Other actors were included in the fight to regain dance in India. For example, Anna Pavlova, a very famous ballet dancer, went to India in 1929 to perform a ballet dance in Bombay and although her contributions were small, she definitely left an impact in India. In 1947, India finally won its freedom and created 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

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African Dance

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It is unclear as to when exactly African dance has started; however, it has been around for centuries. Dance plays a critical role in the culture of African tribes and it holds many functions. It can communication emotions, it can be used to celebrate various rites of passage as well as help develop a feeling of interconnectedness within the tribe. What distinguishes African dancing from dance in the rest of the world is its polycentric nature which means the dancer’s body is divided into different areas each capable of moving to different rhythms (this type of dance can also be called articulation or isolation). Each tribe has its particular style of dance, accentuating different parts of the body. Some dances include Indlamu (Nguni tribe), Adumu (Maasai dance), Kpanlogo (Ghana dance), Umteyo (Amakwenkwe tribe) and many more. Dance is taught by the dance master of a tribe. Each dance master has the responsibility of teaching kids, from a young age, how to dance and the kids have the duty of reproducing the exact moves as no improvisation is allowed. Dancing is mostly done as a group; dancing as a couple was seen to be very immoral and the two sexes were often separated. In African tribes, dance and music are considered to be inseparable. The drum is the most important instrument for dance in African culture. The human voice is also an instrument used to produce music. Furthermore, the clapping and stomping of hands and feet also add to the rhythm.

In the 1500s, dance brought a source of joy in a very dark time. African slaves continued to dance in secret to keep their cultural traditions, to keep their spirits up and to remind themselves of their home country. Various dances were popular in plantations such as “The Ring Dance”, “The Juba”, “The Chica” and “The Calenda”.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries
Competitive and commercial dance

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* add link to competitive dance wiki page Competitive dance - only the basic is provided in this paragraph* In the 20th century competitive dance and commercial dance were introduced; they are two ways in which dance manifests itself today. It is very prominent in the United States, but can also be seen in many different parts of the world. Competitive dance involves a dancer (or a group of dancers) competing on a stage that advertises the brand/sponsor, in front of a panel of judges. These judges later hand out various awards which depend on the age of the dancers, number of people in a group and level of experience. There are regional and national events and styles can vary from ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop and more. Dance competitions can involve private-sector dance studios where mostly children under the age of 18 compete or they can involve a broadcasted television competition. Popular dance reality television competition programs involve So You Think You Can Dance, World of Dance, Dancing With The Stars, etc. which are all American television shows. Commercial dance is not as focused on the dancers; it is mainly used to help sell a product and to provide background entertainment (i.e. back-up dancers for singers world tours). Jazz is the main style of dance used by commercial dancers. There are also many different ways in which commercial dance manifests itself such as in music videos, on social media, in advertising, concerts, on television and many more.