Dance

Dance is, in general terms, human movement with an implied purpose such as the communication of an aesthetic or emotional idea, participation with music, and/or the achievement of certain mind-body states, sometimes spiritual-mystical ones, sometimes as simple as body fitness.

Dance is contrasted to utilitarian, mundane movement such as walking, hammering, typing, lifting weights, etc., that has a direct "materialistic" purpose.

A dance also refers to a specific form of this movement. Specific dances have names that are recognized, and the specifics of the dance may be formalized. Examples of specific dances or families of dances are waltz, jig and "Orange Blossom Special".

Dances develop out of a particular culture, and usually have a specific purpose, such as social dancing or performance dancing. These dances may be accepted and/or adapted by other cultures, and for other purposes. For example, the social dances of one culture and time period might become the historical reenactment dances of another culture and time period.

From the sociological point of view, dance is usually considered to be cultural rather than natural phenomenon. Therefore a possible way of classification of various forms of dance is according to the spheres of cultural activity: religion, art, sport, recreation. Of course, this classification is neither precise nor complete. For example, dance can be a form of therapy (choreotherapy). For some people, dance is simply job. Elements of dance can be found in a number of sports, such as gymnastics, figure skating, synchronized swimming.

Dance is often seamlessly blended with other types of art and sports, such as pantomime or gymnastics. Many folk and ethnic dances use steps and movements that imitate important everyday activities: agricultural, fishing, hunting, etc. However the purpose of, e.g., harvesting dance is not harvesting, rather tale about harvesting or something similar.

Dance movement is often, though not always, rhythmic, and usually requires rhythm of music, at least imaginary. Sometimes dancers by their own motion produce music (stomping, clapping, ringing the bells attached to body or garments). As art or entertainment, dancing can be done for dancers' own pleasure or as performance, i.e., for the pleasure of others. It may be danced individually, as couples or in groups.

The principal element of dance is the motion of the dancer's body. It can be more or less coordinated, slower or faster, but always purposeful. Another importann component of dance is rhythm. It is also said that dance is a form of nonverbal communication. In this sence, someone has said (bearing religious dance in mind) "Dance is prayer of feet".

The history of dance is as long as the history of mankind. We can only guess how dances looked like in earlier epochs. In European culture, one of the earliest records of dancing is by Homer, whose "Iliad" describes chorea (khoreia).

Dance is found in every human culture. Dance scholar Alfred Gell has defined dance as "a stylized deformation of nondance mobility, just as poetry is a deformation or modulation of language, a deviation from the norm of expression that enhances expressiveness (Gell, Alfred. 'Style and Meaning in Umeda Dance' in: Spencer, Paul, ed. Society and the Dance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985)."

A continuum of dance can be posited that stretches from the most extreme and solitary forms of non-technical, ritual dance (endurance/trance dancing) through a broad middle of folk dance (including everything from modern club dances to a medieval minuet), to extreme forms of performance dance such as neoclassical ballet or postmodern works employing decontextualized pedestrian movement.

When the purpose of a movement activity is not immediately clear, it is sometimes referred to as dancing. Some examples:

Boxers and fencers are said to dance around each other. Martial arts, especially Asian ones, are often rightfully compared to dancing.
It is said that certain animals dance as part of their mating rituals. Their is still great mystery surrounding these patterns. An example is bee dance, a remarkably regular movement which a honeybee often performs in a hive. It has been a mystery since man first domesticated the bees, the purpose of which has only recently been uncovered.

Dance choreography is the act of planning a dance so a dancer will move in a certain way. It is also the result of this planning.

A significant part of dancing culture takes erotic dance (e.g., belly dance). Often erotic dancer's clothing is limited and/or sexy or gradually decreased (striptease). An erotic male dancer with little clothes, e.g. only briefs, is sometimes called "macho dancer".

However nudity in dance is not a prerogative of erotic dance. The culture and the ability of the human body is a significant aesthetic component in many dance styles.

Dance

See also