Learn About Dance

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about dance. You might be thinking, "Hey, this topic is too energetic for me to get some sleep," and normally, I might agree with you. But that's exactly what this episode is—normal. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Dance.

Dance is an art form,

Often classified as a sport,

Consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value,

Either improvised or purposefully selected.

Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography,

By its repertoire of movements,

Or by its historical period or place of origin.

Dance is typically performed with musical accompaniment,

And sometimes with the dancers simultaneously using a musical instrument themselves.

An important distinction is to be drawn between theatrical and participatory dance,

Although these two categories are not always completely separate.

Both may have special functions,

Whether social,

Ceremonial,

Competitive,

Erotic,

Martial,

Sacred,

Or liturgical.

Other forms of human movement are sometimes said to have a dance-like quality,

Including martial arts,

Gymnastics,

Cheerleading,

Figure skating,

Synchronized swimming,

Marching bands,

And many other forms of athletics.

Dance is not solely restricted to performance,

As dance is used as a form of exercise and occasionally training for other sports and activities.

Dance has become a sport for some,

With dancing competitions found across the world exhibiting various different styles and standards.

Dance has an aesthetic appeal to many people.

Theatrical dance,

Also called performance or concert dance,

Is intended primarily as a spectacle,

Usually a performance upon a stage by virtuoso dancers.

It often tells a story,

Perhaps using mime,

Costume,

And scenery,

Or it may interpret the musical accompaniment,

Which is often specially composed and performed in a theater setting,

But is not a requirement.

Examples are western ballet and modern dance,

Classical Indian dance such as Bharatanatyam,

And Chinese and Japanese song and dance dramas,

Such as the dragon dance.

Most classical forms are centered upon dance alone,

But performance dance may also appear in opera and other forms of musical theater.

Participatory dance,

Whether it be a folk dance,

A social dance,

A group dance such as a line,

Circle,

Chain,

Or square dance,

Or a partner dance such as in western ballroom dancing,

Is undertaken primarily for a common purpose,

Such as social interaction or exercises,

Or building flexibility of participants rather than to serve any benefit to onlookers.

Such dance seldom has any narrative.

A group dance and a corps de ballet,

A social partner dance and a pas de deux,

Differ profoundly.

Even a social dance or interpretive dance may be undertaken solely for the satisfaction of the dancer.

Participatory dancers often all employ the same movements and steps,

But,

For example,

In the rave culture of electronic dance music,

Vast crowds may engage in free dance,

Uncoordinated with those around them.

On the other hand,

Some cultures lay down strict rules as to the particular dances people may or must participate.

Archaeological evidence for early dance includes 10,

000 years old paintings in Madhya Pradesh,

India,

At the rock shelters of Bhimbetka,

And Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures dated circa 3300 BC.

It has been proposed that before the invention of written languages,

Dance was an important part of the oral and performance methods of passing stories down from one generation to the next.

The use of dance in ecstatic trance states and healing rituals,

As observed today in many contemporary indigenous cultures,

Is thought to have been another early factor in the social development of dance.

References to dance can be found in very early recorded history.

Greek dance,

Khorosh,

Is referred to by Plato,

Aristotle,

Plutarch,

And Lucian.

The Bible and Talmud refer to many events related to dance and contain over 30 different dance terms.

In Chinese pottery as early as the Neolithic period,

Groups of people are depicted dancing in a line holding hands,

And the earliest Chinese word for dance is found written in the oracle bones.

Dance is described in the Lixi Chuanqiu.

Primitive dance in ancient China was associated with sorcery and shamanic rituals.

During the first millennium BCE in India,

Many texts were composed which attempted to codify aspects of daily life.

Bharata Muni's Natyashastra,

Literally the text of dramaturgy,

Is one early text.

It mainly deals with drama in which dance plays an important part in Indian culture.

A strong continuous tradition of dance has since continued in India through to modern times where it continues to play a role in culture,

Ritual,

And the Bollywood entertainment industry.

Many other contemporary dance forms can likewise be traced back to historical,

Traditional,

Ceremonial,

And ethnic dance.

Dance is generally but not exclusively performed with the accompaniment of music and may or may not be performed in time to such music.

Some dance,

Such as tamp dance or gumbo dance,

May provide its own audible accompaniment in place of or in addition to music.

Many early forms of music and dance were created for each other and are frequently performed together.

Notable examples of traditional dance music couplings include the jig,

Waltz,

Tango,

Disco,

And salsa.

Some musical genres have parallel dance form,

Such as Baroque music and Baroque dance.

Other varieties of dance and music may share a nomenclature but develop separately,

Such as classical music and classical ballet.

The choreography and music are meant to complement each other to express a story told by the choreographer and dancers.

Rhythm and dance are deeply linked in history and practice.

The American dancer Ted Shawn wrote,

The conception of rhythm,

Which underlies all studies of the dance,

Is something about which we could talk forever and still not finish.

A musical rhythm requires two main elements.

First,

A regularly repeating pulse,

Also called the beat or tuctus,

That establishes the tempo and,

Second,

A pattern of accents and rests that establishes the character of the meter or basic rhythmic pattern.

The basic pulse is roughly equal in duration to a simple step or gesture.

Dances generally have a characteristic tempo and rhythmic pattern.

The tango,

For example,

Is usually danced in 2-4 time at approximately 66 beats per minute.

The basic slow step,

Called a slow,

Lasts for one beat,

So that a full right-left step is equal to one 2-4 measure.

The basic forward and backward walk of the dance is so counted slow-slow,

While many additional figures are counted slow-quick-quick.

Repetitive body movements often depend on alternating strong and weak muscular movements.

Given this alternation of left-right,

Of forward-backward,

And rise-fall,

Along with the bilateral symmetry of the human body,

Many dances and much music are on duple and quadruple meter.

Since some such movements require more time in one phase than the other,

Such as the longer time required to lift a hammer than to strike,

Some dances fall into triple meter.

Occasionally,

As in the folk dances of the Balkans,

Dance traditions depend heavily on more complex rhythms.

Further,

Complex dances composed of a fixed sequence of steps always require phrases and melodies of a certain fixed length to accompany that sequence.

Musical accompaniment arose in the earliest dance,

So that ancient Egyptians attributed the origin of the dance to the divine Athetas,

Who was said to have observed that music accompanying religious rituals caused participants to move rhythmically,

And to have brought these movements into proportional measure.

The same idea that dance arises from musical rhythm was found in Renaissance Europe in the works of the dancer Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro,

Who speaks of dance as a physical movement that arises from and expresses inward spiritual motion,

Agreeing with the measures and perfect concords of harmony that fall upon the human ear.

While earlier Mechthild of Magdeburg,

Seizing upon dance as a symbol of the holy life foreshadowed in Jesus's saying,

I have piped,

And ye have not danced,

Writes,

I cannot dance unless thou leadest.

If thou wouldst have me spring aloft,

Sing thou,

And I will spring,

Into love,

And from love to knowledge,

And from knowledge to ecstasy above all human sense.

Thouanadarbo's celebrated sixteenth-century dance treatise,

Orchizografie,

Indeed begins with definitions of over eighty distinct drum rhythms.

As has been shown above,

Dance has been represented through the ages as having emerged as a response to music,

Yet as Lincoln Kirstein implied,

It is at least as likely that primitive music arose from dance.

Sean concurs,

Stating that dance was the first art of the human race,

And the matrix out of which all other arts grew,

And that even the meter in our poetry today is a result of the accents necessitated by body movement,

As the dancing and reciting was performed simultaneously.

An assertion somewhat supported by the common use of the term foot to describe the fundamental rhythmic units of poetry.

Skoles,

Not a dancer but a musician,

Offers support for this view,

Stating that the steady measures of music of two,

Three,

Or four beats to the bar,

Its equal and balanced phrases,

Regular cadences,

Contrasts,

And repetitions,

May all be attributed to the incalculable influence of dance upon music.

Émile-Jacques Delcroze,

Primarily a musician and teacher,

Relates how a study of the physical movements of pianists led him to the discovery that musical sensations of a rhythmic nature call for the muscular and nervous response of the whole organism,

To develop a special training designed to regulate nervous reactions and affect the coordination of muscles and nerves,

And ultimately to seek the connections between the art of music and the art of dance,

Which he formulated into his system of Eurythmics.

He concluded that musical rhythm is only the transposition into sound of movements and dynamisms,

Spontaneously and involuntarily expressing emotion.

Hence,

Though doubtless,

As Sean asserts,

It is quite possible to develop the dance without music,

And music is perfectly capable of standing on its own feet without any assistance from the dance.

Nevertheless,

The two arts will always be related,

And the relationship can be profitable both to the dance and to music,

The precedence of one art over the other being a moot point.

The common ballad measures of hymns and folk songs take their name from dance,

As does the carol originally a circle dance.

Many purely musical pieces have been named waltz or minuet,

For example,

While many concert dances have been produced that are based upon abstract musical pieces,

Such as two- and three-part inventions,

Adam's Violin Concerto,

And Andantino.

Similarly,

Poems are often structured and named after dances or musical works,

While dance and music have both drawn their conception of measure or meter from poetry.

Sean quotes with approval the statement of Dalcroze that,

While the art of musical rhythm consists in differentiating and combining time durations,

Pauses,

And accents according to physiological law,

That of plastic rhythm,

I.

E.

Dance,

Is to designate movement in space,

To interpret long time values by slow movements and short ones by quick movements,

Regulate pauses by their diverse successions,

And express sound accentuations in their multiple nuances by additions of bodily weight,

By means of muscular innervations.

Sean nevertheless points out that the system of musical time is a man-made artificial thing,

A manufactured tool,

Whereas rhythm is something that has always existed and depends on man not at all,

Being the continuous flowing time which our human minds cut up into convenient units,

Suggesting that music might be revivified by a return to the values and the time perception of dancing.

The early 20th century American dancer Helen Mahler stated that it is rhythm and form more than harmony and color which,

From the beginning,

Has bound music,

Poetry,

And dancing together in a union that is indissoluble.

Concert dance,

Like opera,

Generally depends,

For its large-scale form,

Upon a narrative dramatic structure.

The movements and gestures of the choreography are primarily intended to mime the personality and aims of the characters and their part in the plot.

Such theatrical requirements tend towards longer,

Freer movements than those usual in non-narrative dance styles.

On the other hand,

The ballet blanc,

Developed in the 19th century,

Allows interludes of rhythmic dance that developed into entirely plotless ballets in the 20th century,

And that allowed fast rhythmic dance steps such as those of the Petit Allegro.

A well-known example is the Signet's dance in Act II of Swan Lake.

The ballet developed out of courtly dramatic productions of 16th and 17th century France and Italy,

And for some time dancers performed dances developed from those familiar from the musical suite,

All of which were defined by definite rhythms closely identified with each other.

These appeared as character dances in the era of Romantic nationalism.

Ballet reached widespread vogue in the Romantic era,

Accompanied by a larger orchestra and grander musical conceptions that did not lend themselves easily to rhythmic clarity,

And by dance that emphasized dramatic mime.

A broader concept of rhythm was needed,

That which Rudolf Leiben terms the rhythm and shape of movement that communicates character,

Emotion,

And intention,

While only certain scenes required the exact synchronization of step and music essential to other dance styles,

So that,

To Leiben,

Modern Europeans seemed totally unable to grasp the meaning of primitive rhythmic movements,

A situation that began to change in the 20th century with such productions as Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring,

With its new rhythmic language evoking primal feelings of a primitive past.

Indian classical dance styles like ballet are often in dramatic form,

So that there is a similar complementarity between narrative expression and pure dance.

In this case,

The two are separately defined,

Though not always separately performed.

The rhythmic elements,

Which are abstract and technical,

Are known as nirida.

Both this and expressive dance,

Though,

Are closely tied to the rhythmic system,

Tala.

Teachers have adapted the spoken rhythmic mnemonic system called bol to the needs of dancers.

Japanese classical dance theater styles such as kabuki and noh,

Like Indian dance drama,

Distinguish between narrative and abstract dance productions.

The three main categories of kabuki are historical,

Domestic,

And dance pieces.

Somewhat similar,

Noh distinguishes between geki noh,

Based around the advancement of plot and the narration of action,

And furuyu noh,

Dance pieces involving acrobatics,

Stage properties,

Multiple characters,

And elaborate stage action.

Social dances,

Those intended for participation rather than for an audience,

May include various forms of mime and narrative,

But are typically set much more closely to the rhythmic pattern of music,

So that terms like waltz and polka refer as much to musical pieces as to the dance itself.

The rhythm of the dancer's feet may even form an essential part of the music,

As in tap dance.

African dance,

For example,

Is rooted in fixed basic steps,

But may also allow a high degree of rhythmic interpretation.

The feet or the trunk mark at the basic pulse,

While cross rhythms are picked up by shoulders,

Knees,

Or head,

With the best dancers simultaneously giving plastic expression to all the elements of the polyrhythmic pattern.

Dance in Africa is deeply integrated into society and major events in a community are frequently reflected in dances.

Dances are performed for births and funerals,

Weddings and wars.

Traditional dances impart cultural morals,

Including religious traditions and sexual standards,

Give vent to repressed emotions such as grief,

Motivate community members to cooperate,

Whether fighting wars or grinding grain,

Enact spiritual rituals,

And contribute to social cohesiveness.

Thousands of dances are performed around the continent.

These may be divided into traditional,

Neo-traditional,

And classical styles.

Folkloric dances of a particular society,

Dances created more recently in imitation of traditional styles,

And dances transmitted more formally in schools or private lessons.

African dance has been altered by many forces,

Such as European missionaries and colonialist governments,

Who often suppress local dance traditions as licentious or distracting.

Dance in contemporary African cultures still serves its traditional functions and new contexts.

Dance may celebrate the inauguration of a hospital,

Build community for rural migrants in unfamiliar cities,

And be incorporated into Christian church ceremonies.

All Indian classical dances are,

To varying degrees,

Rooted in the Nadia Shastra and therefore share common features.

For example,

The mudras and positions,

Some body positions like movement and the inclusion of dramatic or expressive acting or Abhinaya.

Indian classical music provides accompaniment and dancers of nearly all the styles wear bells around their ankles to counterpoint and complement the percussion.

There are now many regional varieties of Indian classical dance.

Dances like Adra Magadhi,

Which after decades-long debate has been traced to present-day Mithila,

Odisha region's dance form of Odissi or Rissi,

Indicate influence of dances and cultural interactions between different regions.

The Punjab area overlapping India and Pakistan is the place of origin of Bhangra.

It is widely known both as a style of music and a dance.

It is mostly related to ancient harvest celebrations,

Love,

Patriotism,

Or social issues.

Its music is coordinated by a musical instrument called the dhol.

Bhangra is not just music but a dance,

A celebration of the harvest where people beat the dhol,

Drum,

Sing balayan,

Lyrics,

And dance.

It has developed further with the Vaisakhi festival of the Sikhs.

The dances of Sri Lanka include the devil dances,

Yakunatima,

A carefully crafted ritual reaching far back into Sri Lanka's pre-Buddhist past that combines ancient Ayurvedic concepts of disease causation with physiological manipulation and combines many aspects including Sinhalese cosmology.

Their influence can be seen on the classical dances of Sri Lanka.

Indonesian dances reflect the richness and diversity of Indonesia ethnic groups and cultures.

There are more than 1,

300 ethnic groups in Indonesia.

It can be seen from the cultural roots of the Austronesian and Melanesian peoples and various cultural influences from Asia and the West.

Dances in Indonesia originate from ritual movements and religious ceremonies.

This kind of dance usually begins with rituals such as war dances,

Shaman dances to cure a ward-off disease,

Dances to call rain,

And other types of dances.

With the acceptance of dharma religion in the first century in Indonesia,

Hinduism and Buddhist rituals were celebrated in various artistic performances.

Hindu epics such as the Ramayana,

Mahabharata,

And also the Panji became the inspiration to be shown in a dance drama called Sendratari,

Resembling ballet in the Western tradition.

An elaborate and highly stylized dance method was invented and has survived to this day,

Especially on the islands of Java and Bali.

The Javanese Wayang Wong dance takes footage from the Ramayana or Mahabharata episodes,

But this dance is very different from the traditional version.

Indonesian dances do not pay as much attention to the mudras as Indian dances,

Even more to show local forms.

The sacred Javanese ritual dance pedaya is believed to date back to the Majapahit period in the 14th century or even earlier.

This dance originated from ritual dances performed by virgin girls to worship Hindu gods such as Shiva,

Brahma,

And Vishnu.

In Bali,

Dance has become an integral part of the sacred Hindu dharma rituals.

Some experts believe that Balinese dance comes from an older dance tradition from Java.

Reliefs from temples in East Java from the 14th century feature crowns and headdresses similar to the headdresses used in Balinese dance today.

Islam began to spread to the Indonesian archipelago when indigenous dances and dharma dances were still popular.

Artists and dancers still use styles from the previous era,

Replacing stories with more Islamic interpretations and clothing that is more closed according to Islamic teachings.

The dances of the Middle East are usually the traditional forms of circle dancing,

Which are modernized to an extent.

All these forms of dances would usually involve participants engaging each other by holding hands or arms,

Depending on the style of the dance.

They would make rhythmic moves with their legs and shoulders as they curve around the dance floor.

The head of the dance would generally hold a cane or handkerchief.

Folk dances vary across Europe and may date back hundreds or thousands of years,

But many have features in common such as group participation led by a collar,

Hand-holding or arm-linking between participants,

And fixed musical forms known as carols.

Some,

Such as the maypole dance,

Are common to many nations,

While others such as the calede and the polka are deeply rooted in a single culture.

Some European folk dances,

Such as the square dance,

Were brought to the New World and subsequently became part of American culture.

Ballet developed first in Italy and then in France from lavish court spectacles that combine rhythm,

Drama,

Poetry,

Song,

Costumes,

And dance.

Members of the court nobility took part as performers.

During the reign of Louis XIV,

Himself a dancer,

Dance became more codified.

Professional dancers began to take the place of court amateurs,

And ballet masters were licensed by the French government.

The first ballet dance academy was the Royal Dance Academy,

Opened in Paris in 1661.

Shortly thereafter,

The first institutionalized ballet troupe associated with the academy was formed.

This troupe began as an all-male ensemble,

But by 1681 opened to include women as well.

20th century concert dance brought an explosion of innovation in dance style,

Characterized by an exploration of freer technique.

Early pioneers of what became known as modern dance include Lloyd Fuller,

Isadora Duncan,

Mary Wigman,

And Ruth St.

Denis.

The relationship of music to dance serves as the basis for Eurythmics,

Devised by Emile Jacques Delcroze,

Which was influential to the development of modern dance and modern ballet through artists such as Marie Rambard.

Eurythmy,

Developed by Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner von Zeevers,

Combines formal elements reminiscent of traditional dance with the new freer style,

And introduced a complex new vocabulary to dance.

In the 1920s,

Important founders of the new style such as Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey began their work.

Since this time,

A wide variety of dance styles have been developed.

African American dance developed in everyday spaces rather than in dance studios,

Schools,

Or companies.

Tap dance,

Disco,

Jazz dance,

Swing dance,

Hip-hop dance,

The Lindy Hop,

With its relationship to rock and roll music,

And rock and roll dance,

Have had a global influence.

Dance styles fusing classical ballet techniques with African American dance have also appeared in the 21st century,

Including Hiplot.

Dance studies are offered through the arts and humanities programs of many higher education institutions.

Some universities offer Bachelor of Arts and higher academic degrees in dance.

A dance study curriculum may encompass a diverse range of courses and topics,

Including dance practice and performance,

Choreography,

Ethnocoreology,

Kinesiology,

Dance notation,

And dance therapy.

Most recently,

Dance and movement therapy has been integrated in some schools into math lessons for students with learning disabilities,

Emotional or behavioral disabilities,

As well as for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

ADHD.

Reviews

Decided to take a nap and listen to a story. And E a yep, I haven’tc the slightest clue on what was said, and I LOVE IT!!! 🥰 Can’t wait to returnt

Enjoyed that one. But still dozed off within minutes. Thanks, Benjamin.

I almost wanted to put a skip in my step and dance away. 😂

Sunday nights are always hard for me to fall asleep so I had to queue this up twice but the second time did it. Thank you!! 😊