Modern & Traditional Dance

DANCE

    Dance is a form of art that is made by purposefully recreating selected sequences of human motion, which can be imbued with the values of aesthetic and symbolism that are acknowledged by both performers and observers from within the particular culture. The dance itself can be freeform or can have a predefined choreography that may or may not align with traditions of origin or historical period.

    The dance has always been with us, even before the arrival of written language and modern history, when our earliest cultures evolved utilizing oral and performance methods to pass the stories from one generation to the next. Many historians believe that social, celebratory and ritual dances are one of the essential factors of the development of early human civilizations.

    The oldest proof of existence of dancing comes from the 9000 year old cave paintings that were found in India, which depicts various scenes of hunting, childbirth, religious rites, burials and most importantly, communal drinking and dancing. Since dancing itself cannot leave clearly identifiable archeological artifacts that can be found today, scientist looked for secondary clues, written word, stone carvings, paintings and similar artifacts.

    Period when dancing became widespread can be traced to the third millennia BC, when Egyptians started using dance as integral parts of their religious ceremonies. Judging by the many tomb paintings that survived the tooth of time, Egyptian priests used musical instruments and dancers to mimic important events - stories of gods and cosmic patterns of moving stars and sun.

 

Traditional Dance

 

    Traditional dancing can be another term for folk dance, or sometimes even for ceremonial dance. The term ‘Traditional’ is more frequently used when the emphasis is on the cultural roots of the dance.Traditional dance is a form of dance that has been around for a long time, has been passed down from generation to generation, and usually contains philosophical, symbolic, and religious values. A Traditional dance will therefore have arisen from a people’s cultural traditions, for example, the folk dances of indigenous populations of Europe. However, dances that have a ritual origin or purpose are not usually considered to be Traditional dances. These are known as ‘Religious dances’ instead.

    Of course, not all dances in traditional or folk were intended for religious purposes. Ordinary people used dance for celebration, entertainment, seduction and to induce the mood of frenzied exhilaration. Annual celebration in honor of Greek god of wine Dionysus (and later Roman god Bacchus) included dancing and drinking for several days. 1400BC year old Egyptian painting showed the group of scantily dressed girls who danced for the wealthy male crowd, supported by the several musicians.

African

    Africa is widely known to have a variety of traditional dances. African dance most often refers to traditional social dance, and to ceremonial or religious dance—danced communal religious observances led either by priests or girots who perform ritual dance-dramas that share cultural traditions or community history through metaphorical statements expressed in music and dance.

    African dance is polyrhythmic—the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms in drummers and dancers, the relationship of rhythm to movement is key. African dance is notable for the close, multi-directional relationships among participants, often called a conversation, between drummer and dancer, and also drummer to drummer and dancer to dancer. During stage performances the fourth wall often comes down, communication extending between dancer, drummers, and audience members.

    African dances are performed in lines or circles of dancers. The body is used asymmetrically. All parts of the body articulate in African dance; arms, legs, and torso all appearing angular, bent, the body slightly forward. Shoulder and hip movement are notable. Feet are flattened against the ground in a wide stance. Steps include: scuffing, stamping, jumping and hopping steps. African dance is often said to be “earth centered;” even in jumping styles, (such as the Tutsi of Rwanda,) the orientation is towards the earth.

European

     Not only Africa, every country in the world has its own traditional dances, even these dances are very well known to foreign countries. European cultures have dances that are identity markers. Some examples include the Schuhplattler (“slap dance”) of Germany and Austria, the jota of Spain, the jig of Ireland, the tarantella of Italy, and the hopak (or gopak) of Ukraine. These dances are secular, recreational, and celebratory, and they are used as national identifiers.

    Since the 16th century, European dance represented a dichotomy between classes and between local and regional village life and foreign culture. While many countries (England, in particular) went through periods where dance styles of foreign origin, especially France and Italy, were frowned upon, these styles permeated all of Western Europe, enriching and complementing local English dance traditions, and vice versa. Dance remains an evolving art in Europe, and its outside influences come from even further away, nurturing and strengthening a living tradition.

Asian

    Asia has a bright tapestry of distinctive dances particular to its many different cultures.In Asia, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, the bond between religion and theatre and dance is very strong even today. This may be at least partly explained by religious attitudes. In south-east Asian dance traditions, precisely, the ancient Indian dance traditions, have been strongly influenced by the predominant forces of religion and mythology. 

    If we look into the history of the classical Indian dance forms including Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi, we would see that all of these dance forms have been strongly associated with Hindu temples and the temple arts, with the dancers regarded as Devadasis (temple dancers) or Bayadères. All these classical dance traditions were evolved with ‘dance’ being a sign of prosperity for the temples, with mythological stories being narrated through the dancers’ performances in order to enlighten people about the ways of the Gods.

    The Chinese and Taiwanese traditional dance forms, in their own way, uniquely synthesize their ethnic and cultural diversity through various dance forms like the Chinese Lion dance and other diversified Chinese dances including Chinese folk dance, Taiwan Aborginal Dance, Kung-Fu Fan Dance and also the traditional Chinese dance forms like the Dragon Dance, Feather Fan Dance, Traditional Chinese Ribbon Dance and also the Sword dance.

    The Japanese traditional dance forms, for example, the Kabuki, Noh, folkloric, and Okinawan dance styles, on the other hand, are primarily based on the relationship between religion and dance in the Japanese society. Distinctly different from Ballet and other western dance forms, the dramas, dances and music representing Japanese art and culture also represent an incredible regional diversity.Most of Japanese folk dance styles, along with an upbeat style of music, smiles and facial expressions of the dancers convey a spirit of youthful exuberance, which is the very essence of the culture of the Japanese.

 American

    Latin American dance, dance traditions of Mexico, Central America, and the portions of South America and the Caribbean colonized by the Spanish and the Portuguese. These traditions reflect the distinctive mixtures of indigenous (Amerindian), African, and European influences that have shifted throughout the region over time.

    In the late 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish and Portuguese colonists conquered the indigenous empires. Catholic priests and monks incorporated Catholic saints and ideas into traditional rituals. The native ritual and festival calendar was also modified to coincide with Catholic events such as Ash Wednesday and Patronal Feasts. These blended rituals became an important part of colonial religious festivals. During the 17th and 18th century, upper-class European immigrants brought fashionable European dances with them to Latin America. These dance styles swept quickly through Latin America. Over time, elements of European dance styles were adopted into indigenous dance rituals.

    Many dance styles from different areas of the world were integrated into Latin dance. Such styles came about which comprised the main categories of Latin dancing: Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Bachata, and Samba. Music became the engine for Latin dancing because it guided the dance steps with its measure, speed, and the feeling it evoked, from energetic to sensual. Various Latin American regions developed independent styles, and from each genre, or combination of styles, a different genre was born.

  Australian and New Zealand

    Ceremonial dancing has a very important place in the Indigenous cultures of Australia. They vary from place to place, but most ceremonies combine dance, song, rituals and often elaborate body decorations and costumes. The different body paintings indicate the type of ceremony being performed. They play an important role in marriage ceremonies, in the education of Indigenous children, as well as story telling and oral history. The term corroboree is commonly used to refer to Australian Aboriginal dances, although this term has its origins among the people of the Sydney region.

    In New Zealand, the haka is a type of ceremonial Māori dance or challenge. Haka are usually performed in a group and typically represent a display of a tribe's pride, strength and unity. Actions include foot-stamping, tongue protrusions and rhythmic body slapping to accompany a loud chant. The words of a haka often poetically describe ancestors and events in the tribe's history.

    Traditionally, the haka was performed when two parties met as part of the customs around encounters. For example, the haka was used on the battlefield to prepare warriors mentally and physically for battle, but it was also performed when groups came together in peace. Today, haka are still used during Māori ceremonies and celebrations to honour guests and show the importance of the occasion. This includes family events, like birthdays and weddings.

 

Modern Dance

    Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance, primarily arising out of Germany and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern dance is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of or rebellion against, classical ballet. In the late 19th century, dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan and Loie Fuller were pioneering new forms and practices in what is now called aesthetic or free dance for performance. These dancers disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary, the particular, limited set of movements that were considered proper to ballet and stopped wearing corsets and pointe shoes in the search for greater freedom of movement. 

    Isadora Duncan was a predecessor of modern dance with her stress on the center or torso, bare feet, loose hair, free-flowing costumes, and incorporation of humor into emotional expression. She was inspired by classical Greek arts, folk dances, social dances, nature, natural forces, and new American athleticism such as skipping, running, jumping, leaping, and abrupt movements. She thought that ballet was ugly and meaningless gymnastics. 

    Feeling unhappy and unappreciated in America, Duncan moved to London in 1898. She performed in the drawing rooms of the wealthy, taking inspiration from the Greek vases and bas-reliefs in the British Museum. The earnings from these engagements enabled her to rent a studio, allowing her to develop her work and create larger performances for the stage. From London, she traveled to Paris, where she was inspired by the Louvre and the Exposition Universelle of 1900.

    In America 1915, Ruth St. Denis founded the Denishawn school and dance company with her husband Ted Shawn. St. Denis was responsible for most of the creative work, and Shawn was responsible for teaching technique and composition.Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman were all pupils at the school and members of the dance company. Seeking a wider and more accepting audience for their work, Duncan, Fuller, and Ruth St. Denis all toured Europe Fuller's work also received little support outside Europe. St. Denis returned to the United States to continue her work.

    Martha Graham is often regarded as the founding mother of modern 20th-century concert dance.Graham viewed ballet as too one-sided: European, imperialistic, and un-American. She became a student at the Denishawn school in 1916 and then moved to New York City in 1923, where she performed in musical comedies, music halls, and worked on her own choreography. Graham developed her own dance technique, Graham technique, that hinged on concepts of contraction and release.

    The legacy of modern dance can be seen in lineage of 20th-century concert dance forms. Although often producing divergent dance forms, many seminal dance artists share a common heritage that can be traced back to free dance. 

Postmodern dance

    Postmodern dance developed in the 1960s in United States when society questioned truths and ideologies in politics and art. This period was marked by social and cultural experimentation in the arts. Choreographers no longer created specific 'schools' or 'styles'. The influences from different periods of dance became more vague and fragmented. It is very common for postmodern dance to be performed to little or no music at all. 

Contemporary dance

    Contemporary dance emerged in the 1950s as the dance form that is combining the modern dance elements and the classical ballet elements. It can use elements from non-Western dance cultures, such as African dancing with bent knees as a characteristic trait, and Butoh, Japanese contemporary dancing that developed in the 1950s. It is also derived from modern European themes like poetic and everyday elements, broken lines, nonlinear movements, and repetition. Many contemporary dancers are trained daily in classical ballet to keep up with the technicality of the choreography given. These dancers tend to follow ideas of efficient bodily movement, taking up space, and attention to detail. Contemporary dance today includes both concert and commercial dance because of the lines being blurred by pop culture and television shows.

 

 Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_dance

https://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/haka/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_in_Australia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_dance

https://dance.lovetoknow.com/Asian_Folk_Dance 

https://ourpastimes.com/the-history-of-european-dance-12324911.html

https://qcc.libguides.com/c.php?g=818979&p=6267812