A dancing maenad. This is a Greek statuette from the 3rd century BC. It was made in Taranto

The history of dance may be as long as the history of humankind and before. Not to be confused with Toronto. Taranto ( Ancient Greek: Tarās; Modern Greek: Tarantas) is a coastal city in History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave paintings. A stone tool is in the most general sense any Tool made of stone. Cave paintings are Paintings on Cave walls and ceilings and the term is used especially for those dating to Prehistoric times It is not possible to say when dance became part of human culture. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilizations. A ceremony is an activity infused with Ritual significance performed on a special occasion A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions A party is a Social gathering for Celebration and Recreation. See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Archeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as the 9,000 year old Bhimbetka rock shelters paintings in India and Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" The Bhimbetka rock shelters compose an archaeological site and World Heritage Site located in Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now

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. ^[1]

Another early use of dance may have been as a precursor to ecstatic trance states in healing rituals. An altered state of consciousness, (ASC also named altered state of mind is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking Beta wave state Dance is still used for this purpose by many cultures from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches ^[2]

Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils). The origin of the dances of Sri Lanka lies with the Indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Wanniyala-Aetto and " Yakkas " (meant who did The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical The Yakkas (demon-worshippers were an Indigenous peoples of Sri Lanka, They were chiefly responsible for the Irrigation system in the dry zone for the development According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan dances originate, 2500 years ago, from a magic ritual that broke the spell on a bewitched king. See also Dances of Sri Lanka Kandyan Dance is a dance form that originated in the area called Kandy of the Central hills region in Sri Lanka. Many contemporary dance forms can be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dances. Historical dance (or early dance) in a collective term covering a wide variety of dance types from the past as they are danced in the present Folk dance is a term used to describe a large number of dances mostly of European origin that tend to share the following attributes originally danced in about the Ceremonial dance is a major category or classification of Dance forms or dance styles where the purpose is ceremonial or Ritualistic This compares This is a list of ethnic folk traditional regional or otherwise traditionally assiciated with a particular ethnicity dances, grouped by Ethnicity, Country

An early manuscript describing dance is the Natya Shastra on which is based the modern interpretation of classical Indian dance (e. The Nātya Shastra ( Sanskrit: Nātyaśāstra नाट्य शास्त्र is an ancient Indian treatise on the Performing arts Indian classical dance is a relatively new umbrella term for various codified art forms rooted in Natya, the sacred Hindu Musical theatre styles whose theory g. Bharathanatyam). Bharatanatyam (பரதநாட்டியம்is a classical Dance form originating in Tamil Nadu,

The ancient chronicle, the Sinhalese (Sri Lankans), the Mahavamsa states when King Vijaya landed in Sri Lanka in 543 BCE he heard sounds of music and dancing from a wedding ceremony. The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and number approximately 15 million people with the Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island The Mahavamsa, ("Great Chronicle " is a historical poem written in the Pali language of the kings of Sri Lanka. Vijaya (c 543 BC - 504 BC) was the first king of Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Sri Lankan Pali chronicles Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Origins of the Dances of Sri Lanka are dated back to the aborginal tribes. The origin of the dances of Sri Lanka lies with the Indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Wanniyala-Aetto and " Yakkas " (meant who did The Classical dances of Sri Lanka, Kandyan Dances features a highly developed system of tala (rhythm), provided by cymbals called thalampataa.

In European culture, one of the earliest records of dancing is by Homer, whose "Iliad"; describes chorea (khoreia). Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Chorea (choreia khoreia χορεία is a Circle dance (χορεύω σε κύκλο accompanied by singing (see chorus, khoros known in Ancient Greece The early Greeks made the art of dancing into a system, expressive of all the different passions. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία For example, the dance of the Furies, so represented, would create complete terror among those who witnessed them. In Greek mythology the Erinyes (Ἐρινύες pl of Ἐρινύς lit The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, ranked dancing with poetry, and said that certain dancers, with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions, and actions. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. The most eminent Greek sculptors studied the attitude of the dancers for their art of imitating the passions.

Asia

Dancing is historically entwined with many cultures around the world. Here, 17th century Persian women dance in a ceremony in Iran. layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics.

Main articles: Dance in India and Dances of Sri Lanka

Drawing of 'urddhakeshin' Shiva at Nawda Todo, forms of monkeys at Gupteshvara and a number of human figures at Pahadgarh, Tikla and Abachand present evidence of dance. Dance in India covers a wide range of dances from the ancient classical to modern styles The origin of the dances of Sri Lanka lies with the Indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Wanniyala-Aetto and " Yakkas " (meant who did Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva These drawings belong to the period from 5000 to 2000 B. C. As revealed by the stone statuette of a male dancer from Harappa and the bronze figurine of a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro, the Indus Valley civilization had a well-evolved dance culture. Harappa ( Urdu:, Hindi: हड़प्पा) is a City in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about 35km (22 miles southwest Mohenjo-daro (موئن جودڑو موئن جو دڙو मोहन जोदड़ो Mound of the Dead was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600&ndash1900 BCE abbreviated IVC, was an ancient Civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin

Classical Indian Dance in the 20th Century

During the reign of the last Mughals and Nawabs of Oudh dance fell down to the status of 'nautch', an unethical sensuous thing of courtesans. The Mughal Empire ( Persian and self-designation گورکانی; مغلیہ سلطنت) was an Islamic imperial power which ruled most In North India, Nautch /nɔtʃ/ is one of several styles of popular dance performed by young girls known as "Nautch girls"

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.

European dance

See also: Medieval dance, Renaissance dance, and History of ballet

Pietro Longhi, "La lezione di danza" (The Dancing Lesson), ca 1741, Venezia, Gallerie dell'Accademia. The first detailed descriptions of dancing in Europe date from 1450 in Italy, which is after the start of the Renaissance. Renaissance dances belong to the broad group of Historical dances While we know that people danced in Europe long before the Renaissance, the first See also Ballet, History of dance Ballet is a formalised form of Dance with its origins in the Italian Renaissance court of the 15th Pietro Longhi ( November 5, 1701 – May 8, 1785) was a Venetian painter of contemporary scenes of life

18th and 19th centuries: from court dancing to Romanticism

By the 1700s ballet had migrated from the royal court to the Paris Opera, and the director Lully ‘preserved the ballet du cour’s basic concept of a composite form, in which the dance was an essential and important element. The Académie Royale de Musique (French - Royal Academy of Music; first known as the Académie d’opéra) was the Music academy of Ancien regime Jean-Baptiste de Lully ( Giovanni Battista di Lulli) (ʒɑ̃batist də lyˈli in French (November 28 1632 &ndash March 22 1687 was a French Composer of Italian ’ ibid. During this century the ballet was to develop throughout Europe, from a courtly arrangement of moving images used as part of a larger spectacle, to a performance art in its own right, the ballet d’action. This new form swept away much of the artificiality of the court dance and strove towards ‘the concept that art should aspire to imitate nature’. This ultimately resulted in costuming and choreography that was much more liberating to the dancer, and conducive to a fuller use of the expressive capacity of the body. It also opened the door to pointework, for this acceptance of more naturalistic costuming allowed the development of the heel-less shoe, which led to the dancer being able to make more use of the rise onto demi-pointe. Dancing on pointe, or en pointe (pronounced /ɑ̃ pwɛ̃t/ often anglicised as /ɑn pwɛ̃t/ or /ɑn pɔɪnt/ is the act of standing on the tips of the Toes

The era of Romanticism in the early 1800s, with ballets that focused more on the emotions, the fantasy and the spiritual worlds, heralded the beginning of true pointe-work. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Now, on her toes, the deified ballerina (embodied in this period by the legendary ballerina Marie Taglioni) seemed to magically skim the surface of the stage, an ethereal being never quite touching the ground. See also Marie Taglioni ( April 23, 1804 &ndash April 24, 1884) was a famous Italian ballerina of the Romantic ballet It was during this period that the ascending star of the ballerina quite eclipsed the presence of the poor male dancer, who was in many cases reduced to the status of a moving statue, present only in order to lift the ballerina. This sad state was really only redressed by the rise of the male ballet star Nijinsky, with the Ballets Russes, in the early twentieth century. Nijinsky redirects here For other uses of the name see Nijinsky (disambiguation. See also Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, The Ballets Russes ( French for The Russian Ballets) was a Ballet company established Ballet as we know it had well and truly evolved by this time, with all the familiar conventions of costume, choreographic form, plot, pomp, and circumstance firmly fixed in place.

Early 20th century: from ballet to contemporary dance

Since the Ballets Russes began revolutionising ballet in the early 20th century, there have been continued attempts to break the mold of classical ballet. Currently the artistic scope of ballet technique (and its accompanying music, jumper, and multimedia) is more all-encompassing than ever. Multimedia is media and content that utilizes a combination of different content forms. The boundaries that classify a work of classical ballet are constantly being stretched, muddied and blurred until perhaps all that remains today are traces of technique idioms such as ’turn-out’.

It was during the explosion of new thinking and exploration in the early 20th century that dance artists began to appreciate the qualities of the individual, the necessities of ritual and religion, the primitive, the expressive and the emotional. In this atmosphere modern dance began an explosion of growth. There was suddenly a new freedom in what was considered acceptable, what was considered art, and what people wanted to create. All kinds of other things were suddenly valued as much as, or beyond, the costumes and tricks of the ballet.

Most of the early 20th century modern choreographers and dancers saw ballet in the most negative light. See also, Choreography (literally "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" (circular dance see chorea) and "γραφή" Isadora Duncan thought it most ugly, nothing more than meaningless gymnastics. Isadora Duncan (May 26 1877 &ndash September 14 1927 was an American dancer Martha Graham saw it as European and Imperialistic, having nothing to do with the modern American people. See also Martha Graham ( May 11, 1894 &ndash April 1, 1991) was an American Dancer and Choreographer Merce Cunningham, while using some of the foundations of the ballet technique in his teaching, approached choreography and performance from a totally radical standpoint compared to the traditional balletic format. See also Merce Cunningham (born April 16, 1919 in Centralia Washington, United States is an American Dancer and choreographer

The twentieth century was indeed a period of breaking away from everything that ballet stood for. It was a time of unprecedented creative growth, for dancers and choreographers. It was also a time of shock, surprise and broadening of minds for the public, in terms of their definitions of what dance was. It was a revolution in the truest sense.

Late 20th century: growth of contemporary dance

After the explosion of modern dance in the early 20th century, the 1960s saw the growth of post modernism. Post modernism veered towards simplicity, the beauty of small things, the beauty of untrained bodies, and unsophisticated movement. The famous ‘No’ manifesto rejecting all costumes, stories and outer trappings in favour of raw and unpolished movement was perhaps the extreme of this wave of thinking. Unfortunately lack of costumes, stories and outer trappings do not make a good dance show, and it was not long before sets, décor and shock value re-entered the vocabulary of modern choreographers.

By the 1980s dance had come full circle and modern dance (or, by this time, ‘contemporary dance') was clearly still a highly technical and political vehicle for many practitioners. Contemporary dance is the name given to a group of 20th century Concert dance forms Existing alongside classical ballet, the two art-forms were by now living peacefully next door to one another with little of the rivalry and antipathy of previous eras. In a cleverly designed comment on this ongoing rivalry the brilliant collaboration of Twyla Tharp (one of the 20th Century's cutting edge Dance avant gardist\(Contemporary) and Ballet dance was ultimately achieved. The present time sees us still in the very competitive artistic atmosphere where choreographers compete to produce the most shocking work, however, there are still glimpses of beauty to be had, and much incredible dancing in an age where dance technique has progressed further in expertise, strength and flexibility than ever before in history.

At the same, mass culture experienced expansion of street dance. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — Street dance, also called vernacular dance is an umbrella term used to describe Dance styles that evolved outside of Dance studios in everyday spaces In 1974, famous group Jackson 5 performed on television a dance called Robot (choreographed by postmodern artist Michael Jackson). Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The Jackson 5 (also spelled The Jackson Five or The Jackson 5ive, and later known as The Jacksons) was an American popular music Family Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29 1958 is an American musician entertainer and businessman This event, and later Soul Train performances by black dancers ignited street culture revolution, which later formed break dancing rocks dance. Soul Train is a music-related syndicated television program In its 35-year history the show has primarily featured performances by Rhythm and blues, soul For the emergence of 20th century modern dance see also: Mary Wigman, Gret Palucca, Harald Kreutzberg, Yvonne Georgi, and Isadora Duncan. Mary Wigman (1886 &ndash 1973 (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann) was a German Dancer choreographer, and instructor of dance Gret Palucca ( 8 January 1902 in Munich &ndash 22 March 1993 in Dresden) was a German Dancer and Harald Kreutzberg ( December 11, 1902, Reichenberg/ Liberec - April 25, 1968) was a German Dancer and Choreographer Yvonne Georgi ( October 29, 1903 in Leipzig &ndash January 25, 1975 in Hannover) was a German dancer choreographer Isadora Duncan (May 26 1877 &ndash September 14 1927 was an American dancer

References

External links

• Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D. from Project Gutenberg