DANCE

What is dance?
is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting. may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans, and is also performed by other animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are sports that incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate objects may also be described as dances (the leaves danced in the wind).

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 virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian dances. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story. has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretative. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances.

HISTORY OF DANCE

Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave paintings. It is not possible to say when dance became part of human culture. Dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilizations. Archeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as the 9,000 year old Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka paintings in India and Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from c. 3300 BC.

One of the earliest structured uses of dances may have been in the performance and in the telling of myths. It was also sometimes used to show feelings for one of the opposite gender. It is also linked to the origin of "love making." Before the production of written languages, dance was one of the 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 many cultures from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert . Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils). According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan dances originate, 250 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 dance.

ELEMENTS OF DANCE

CENTERING
This is fundamental to your ability to dance well. This is maintaining a sense of your own body center that holds you together as you move. It allows you to move gracefully and freely. This means you have to have the ability to move, to hold, to organize yourself around your own physical body. If you are centered you can eventually learn how to do anything. If you are not centered you may develop beautiful looking arms and legs but never be able to move well. Liken your center to home. If you dont have a sense of home you will probably get lost every time you go out. Your body needs to be balanced like a see-saw. Position fluctuates between individuals. Center for Middle Eastern Dance is in the solar plexus. Every movement has to go through center. This is what makes it Orientale or eastern. Your natural base is approximately just below the navel but the movements for this dance form come from the solar plexus. Everything emanates from there. Start by feeling how your arms and legs work from the same central point in the back. Moving from your center will make movements easier to control.

GRAVITY
This is the force that holds you to the earth. It is a force you have to work with because it constantly inhibits movement. Try to become aware of the pulls in your own body. What points are taking the most weight? When you push on these points can you feel a rise up from them? You should be holding yourself better. When you dance you want to feel as if someone is pushing you under your buttocks and the base of your spine and directing the energy up through your breastbone.

BALANCE
Balance is concerned with more than balancing on one leg. Your aim is to achieve and constantly maintain an inner balance of the whole body. It is tension of mutual support among all parts that brings the whole together in a new way. It is an inner relationship between all the points of your body which you hold in your awareness. It is not something you do once in awhile. It is constant. A sense of balance whether you are moving or standing. In the actual act of balancing, if you can find inner balance , you are nearly there. If you are aware internally the need for the sensation of balance, you should be able to get it. * Remember, balancing in both states is an active state.

POSTURE
To achieve this element you need to change your perception of your body, there is often a wide discrepancy between what feels right and what looks right. Dancers work all their dance live on their posture, also called alignment. It is the key to balance and movement. Your posture not only reveals your feelings but can also reveal feelings in you. Learn how to stand properly. You will actually feel brighter and more aware.

GESTURE
Gesture involves using the body as an expressive instrument to communicate feelings and ideas in patterns of movement. With subtle gestures and postural attitudes we show cooperation, give confidence to friends or display aggression to enemies. Arms crossed over chest are a protective wall. Hands on hips mean "show me", fists on hips is even more challenging. Anger patterns are depicted very differently form joy or sadness. Weight on one hip -waiting. Hands out in front you ready to give or receive. Raising shoulders is a gesture of not knowing or caring. Shoulders forward expresses pain. Tapping foot boredom. Observe! Recognize what the body is saying.

RHYTHM
Finding rhythm is largely a matter of paying attention. It is something everybody has, though, some people are not as aware or sensitive to it. Our hearts beat to a rhythm, our lungs breathe to another. Rhythm is essential for a dancer. Pay attention! Generally the beat is carried by the drum. Make sure you are right on the beat, not slightly late. All the work going into making a beat has already been completed by the time you hear it. In fact to get it right, you have to anticipate the beat slightly. Feel as if you are making the beat with your body as well as hearing it. Try to be at one with it, rather than dancing to it. It is the rhythm and the beat of the dance that form the "threads" which allow you to memorize the structure of the dance
.

MOVING in SPACE
You need to be as aware of the space around you as a cat. You have to move with care and awareness, gauging the space. Space is not just empty air but a tangible element that you move through. Consider the space an area you must go through. Consciously go through space. Feel your accomplishment as a journey through space. You will express thoughts and emotions. Actually press your feelings out through your torso and limbs in such a way as to show other people how we are feeling and to satisfy our desire of movement. Our muscles feel better when they are used, and once we get used to moving them, the whole body will respond by working in harmony with itself; to dance.

BREATHING
Breathing is crucial to dance. Not only does it bring oxygen to the body but it also gives your movements fluency and harmony. It is an expressive tool. Calm slow breathing suggests a certain degree of self-control. Denotes a specific quality of movement. A movement with breath has a controlled and considered extension of time, a clear beginning and end no matter how fast or slow the phrase. A phrase without breath looks stiff and mechanical. It is important to learn how to do two or three things at the same time. You frequently have to divide your attention while dancing. You must learn to breathe deeply expanding your ribs at the back of the body rather than from the front. This will also give a more emotional, organic look.

MUSIC
is closely related to the particular dance for which it was created. It should not be regarded as merely an aid to the rhythmic movement of the dancers. When we move as a result of strong physical or emotional impulses or reaction, we do not do so silently. We sometimes scream in fear, laugh with joy, or cry out in pain. We make sounds even as we move. Music in dance has a similar role to play. It motivates the movement of the dancer.

SPECTACLE
The dance by its sequence of movements and music creates a kind of spell on its audience. The scenery and costumes play an important role in the creation of that spell. We may compare these to the setting of a story, which creates or reinforces the moo and atmosphere and provides the background for the unfolding of events.

BALLET
is a formalized kind of performance dance, which originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France, Russia, and Britain as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with most of the audience seated on tiers or galleries on three sides of the dancing floor.

This genre of dance is very hard to master and requires much practice. It is best known in the form of Late Romantic Ballet or Ballet Blanc, which preoccupies itself with the female dancer to the exclusion of almost all else, focusing on pointe work, flowing, precise acrobatic movements, and often presenting the dancers in the conventional short white French tutu. Later developments include expressionist ballet, Neoclassical ballet, and elements of Modern dance

MODERN DANCE
is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE
is a form of dance influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance. It takes its technique and use of pointework from classical ballet, although it permits a greater range of movement that may not adhere to the strict body lines set forth by schools of ballet technique. Many of its concepts come from the ideas and innovations of 20th century modern dance, including floor work, ballistics movements and turn-in of the legs.

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