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Traditional dance and culture
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I have recently gone to a pow wow which had many different tribes from around the U.S. Dressed in their decorative regalia, the dancers dance to the beat of the drums. Some dancers have bells or nut shells around their legs to accompany the sound of the drum. The dances I have witnessed was the men’s fancy dance which is a very athletic type of dance. Women’s fancy shawl which the women or young girls dance gracefully around the floor mimicking the movements of butterflies. The Navajo hoop dance which the dancer uses many hoops to create formations to tell the audience the story he or she is telling through dance. Native Americans hold pow wows to share their styles of dance and get to know other people from different tribes. Some people use
At the beginning of any dance, people are cautious. They must first "feel-out" the other person. They must get a sense of who the other person is, and what is meaningful to them. In the film, Dances with Wolves," John Dunbar approaches the Indians with this same apprehension. He is a white America who is alone on the frontier. He may be scared of the supposed "savages," but he never lets on.
The dance that I will be focusing on is entitled: thinking sensing standing feeling object of attention. The dance, to me, symbolizes the socialization of persons in Western civilization concerning gender roles. In the beginning there are gestures that are separated from emotion and full-embodiment, but as the dance progresses the gestures become more meaningful and recognizable. The lighting starts out very specific and narrow, then the light encompasses the entire stage, and eventually the dancers are silhouetted as they return to a familiar movement motif in the end. The music is mainly instrumental with occasional soft female vocals, and the lyrics suggest emotion, which is interesting because the dancers do not convey emotion until the end of the dance. Also, the showing of emotion is directly proportional to how much clothing the dancers have on at specific points in the dance.
The competitive nature of powwow dance competition and the intertribal nature of the newer dance is helping preserve
All around the world, there are thousands of cultures. Although they are different, every culture partakes in dance. Dancing is something known worldwide. Every culture has traditional cultural dancing they partake in. Mexico has many cultural dances. La danza del venado is one traditional dance from Northern Mexico. La danza del venado, is known as the deer dance.
Belly dance has a rich history dating back past the 18th century in the Middle East as an ancient folk dance. From 1800 to 1850, the Romantic era significantly contributed to the popularization and transmission of belly dance due to the portrayal of this dance in art and society. The United States officially adopted belly dance as a part of American culture in the late 19th century to the early 20th century mainly due to the Chicago World Fair and an influx of Arab immigrants. As time has passed, this dance has evolved into new forms that adopted techniques from other dance styles. Belly dancing has been a way to bring the community together throughout time, but has developed into a new social context that encompasses belly dance as a stigmatized
Dance has not left behind physical artefacts that clearly resemble stone tools in order to determine when it was created. Therefore, it is impossible to say when dance became a part of human culture. Ceremony, rituals and celebration entertainment is suggested to have formed from archaeological evidence since the early human civilisations. An example is the Egyptian tomb painting of dancing figures from 3300BC. One of the earliest uses of dance may have been myths. Before the invention of written languages, dance was one of the methods of passing information from one generation to another. As dance was used to tell stories it makes it very appropriate to incorporate dance into schools as all children love stories. Dance was also used to show feelings. An example of a dance ritual still performed today is the raindance. Native American tribes wear unique turquoise headdresses and clothing resembling wind and rain to perform the dance. The ...
African American dancers not only struggle with the racism of society in general. They also struggle with the divisions within the African American community, based on skin color. Historically the African American community has experienced racism based on how dark or how fair their skin is, beginning with the division of labor during slavery, continuing in theatre, then film, and extending to academia with fair-skinned African Americans being given additional access to mainstream education, employment, and social activities. Although colorism focuses on skin color, the concept includes facial expressions and hair texture. The embodiment of a Eurocentric aesthetic is an understood goal for many within the dance
Oklahoma was created by the Theater Guild to save themselves from bankruptcy. In order to resolve its financial crisis, the guild brought together Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers, one of the best composers for hit operettas and musical comedies (show time 299). This combination alone guarantees the popularity of the play. What’s more to the play other than reputation of the play wrights, is it’s creativity in several aspects. Unlike other musicals where the songs are merely used to cover scenic changes, Oklahoma uses songs as part of the storytelling and character building (show time 307). Music and dialogue, each is designed to work with the others, which makes Oklahoma a well-made musical play. Even the ballet is an inseparable part of the story. The ballet is completed by characters in the play, which makes it the same style as the entire show (show time 309). What’s more, the dancing adds to the story and the characters, which is unprecedented at the time. The beginning of the show is also quite unorthodox: it doesn’t begin with the typical pretty girls in provocative dresses dancing to jazz. On the contrary, it starts with Aunt Eller and Curly singing “O, what a beautiful morning!” just like in Rigg’s play. Afterall, broadway is always about breaking barriers. I think the innovations of this play is why it has earned such success despite its homogeneous rural setting.
The performance of highland dancing has a rich history that is still prevalent today from coast to coast. There are many different dances of Highland Dancing such as “The Jig”, “The Sword Dance” (Gillie Chalium), and “The Sailor’s Hornpipe”. The types of Highland Dancing ranges all the way from national to traditional dance. The history behind Highland Dancing and the symbolism of every aspect in correlation with traditional Scottish dance is amazing and has directed me in the path of learning more. The music, instruments, costumes, and onstage object, such as swords, are unique to Highland dancing and are what makes this Scottish dance so
The exhibit offers education to the masses, preservation of Native Indian culture, and research ideas into the origins of native dance. Proper consent for use of the photographs and due diligence in referencing the displayed information is standard for any display. This exhibit offers examples from many cultures and religious backgrounds. One area that could be of ethical concern is the interpretation by the local cultures of origin for each of the dances listed. The section that list the background and location of the author is very informative and perhaps offers some assurances to the local inhabitants that proper representation of their ceremonies is being
Dance is something that has been around for a very long time and throughout the years, has brought together many different cultures. Different forms of dance formed in different parts of the world and they all have different, languages, values, customs, etc. Dance in one part of the world could have a completely different value in another part of the world. And different styles have been created from past knowledge.
Research describes dance to be physical, intellectual and emotional (Brown, 2014). There are many observational tools that will assist in the acquisition of technique and form in serial movement tasks like a dance sequence. Observational learning is used in dance when the expert teacher/choreographer is instructing the sequence or set moves to the novice dancers. Observation is beneficial as it facilitates motor learning and the development of cognitive processing (Rohbandard et al., 2011). Although observation is useful, most studies test acquisition of simple discrete tasks (Rohbandard et al., 2011). The issue that continues to exist is that the body remains an object for the teacher to
In conclusion, form, repetition, and rhythm all play a major part in country and western dancing. These movements help to create a better understanding of the dance and why the music and the body movements increase the dance performance. This social dance is a relaxing one that is easy to learn and is a healthy way to work off excess
Folk dance is also a popular types of dance. Folk dance is a variety of dances that reflect a certain culture. There are many types of folk dance including aboriginal dance, clogging, irish dance and square dance. Folk dancing started in the 18th century, the steps were then passed through the generations. Many children songs and games today come from folk
‘Dance’, the first thing that comes to the mind is the spirit of happiness, colours and immense joy. Almost all dances form conveys this message. There are also dances which are interpretative, telling stories and passing down valuable lessons to the audience and to the younger generations. Every community has a dance or two which are performed during festivals, deaths, harvest, feasts and other special occasions. When these dances are performed, they are accompanied with music and songs. For the tribal communities these dances give them identity and vice versa. A tribe’s practices, beliefs, culture etc can also be identified through their dances.