CAS

RESEARCH
ASSIGNMENT
MUSIC AND DANCE

SEM HOUMES, LEANNE

BIJL & ESRA KLOET
CONTENT

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction on our research

2. Internet research on dance

2.1 The history of dance and why people started dancing
2.2 Why people like to dance and why people like to watch dance performances
2.3 Different types of dance
2.4 What we can learn from dancing
2.5 The link between dancing and a person’s personality

3. Internet research on music

3.1 The history of music and why people started making music
3.2 How music plays a role in daily life
3.3 Different music genres
3.4 How the sound of music has changed over decades

4. Research in class and at a dance performance

4.1 Introduction & research questions
4.2 Research method
4.3 Results research in class
4.4 Results research at Sem’s dance performance

5. Conclusion
5.1 Conclusion & answers to research questions

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 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction on our research
We got the assignment to do a research on a topic to our choice. After some brainstorming, we decided that we
wanted to do our research about dance and music. First of all, we started with setting up a research question
for our research in the class. We decided that we wanted to look what music has for impact on dance
performances. We worked this out,but found out that this was not enough for our research. We decided that we
should do some internet research as well. On dance as well as on music. So that is when our plan became
clear. We made a planning and wanted to include the following things in our research.

- Information about dance à for example about the history, different types and effects on us as
human beings.
- Information about music à for example about different genres, the history, usage in the daily
life, etc.
- How music influences our thoughts on a dance performance à What impact does music have,
do we miss music when it’s not there, What types of music belongs to what type of dance, etc.

We wanted these three things to be part of our research. So we started working it out. For the first two things,
we used the Internet for different sources. We wanted the last question to answer ourselves. So, we did
research on this in class and at a dance performance of Sem’s dance school.

You can read everything about all our findings in this report about our CAS – research.

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 2. INTERNET RESEARCH ON
DANCE
2.1 The history of dance and why people started dancing
The purpose of dance has always been a ritual, dance was used for the excitement and pleasure.
In ancient civilizations, dancing was done in temples for the gods. People performed stately movements which
mime significant events in the story of a god, or imitate cosmic patterns such as the rhythm of night and day.
At Egyptian funerals, women dance to express the grief they heave for the dead person. You can recognize
these situations in Egyptian paintings for example. Dance was also used as an overwhelming feeling of great
happiness or joyful excitement. People used to dance after good achievements or good news. For example,
farmers celebrate the occasion, after harvesting grapes, and dance for the god of wine.
Later in time, people used dance as entertainment at weddings and celebrations. This was mostly done in
France and Italy. The France king Louis XIII loves to show off his talents, he was a talented dancer. He spread
the love for dance over his whole country. From 1672 professional dancers are trained by a ballet company.
The number of ballet dancers increased over the entire world. Costumes and decors have great impact on the
dance shows.

2.2 why people like to dance and why people like to watch dance performances
The human is one of the few animal species that has a sense of rhythm. Many people cannot stop it, moving to
music is almost automatic. Although many people claim that they have no sense of rhythm, a sense of rhythm
is actually innate. I found six reasons why we like to dance.
1. Dancing gives an instant feeling of happiness:
A happiness hormone is released during dancing. Music is the crucial ingredient in this. The London School of
Economics published a study this year that shows that simply dancing makes people just as happy as an annual
salary increase of 2,000 euros. Dancing was compared to other sports and came out as the very best.
2. Dancing reduces stress:
This point is linked to point number one, but it may still be mentioned separately. Almost everyone
experiences stress in daily life. It is sometimes difficult to let this go; thoughts stay but go through your mind
and therefore really does not work. A very good way to clear your mind for a moment is by dancing.
3. Dancing is possible anytime and anywhere:
Good intentions to work out often end up in the trash, because people don't feel like going to the gym or
running in the cold. This problem does not exist with dancing. Everyone has a device that can be used to play
music. The living room, bathroom or bedroom, you can dance anywhere you want.
4. You work on your condition in a fun way:
For sports such as running or playing football, many would rather not get out of bed, but dancing is something
we all really like to do. And if you want to work on your fitness, dancing doesn't have to have any less effect
than a trip to the gym. Moreover, dancing is often easy to adapt to one's own abilities and can therefore be
sustained for a long time.
5. For young and old:
Dancing is an activity that is done by both young and old. Dancing is also a fun activity for the elderly. The
different movements that one makes ensure a better sense of balance and stronger muscles and bones.
6. Dancing brings people closer together:
There is dancing all over the world. Unless you dance with the curtains closed in the room, dancing is often an
activity where several people come together. Of course, you have different forms of dance where a partner is
required, but also dances where one only carries out the steps are very social events. Enjoying the music
together brings people closer together.
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2.3 Different types of dance
There are more than thousand dance types, and there are many different methods to teach each dance form. To make
it easy I made a list of the ten most popular dance types.
1. Ballet
Tutus, pointe shoes and men in tights are what come to mind when someone mentions ballet. It is said to be the most
difficult genre to master, ballet is a rigorous style of dance that is the foundation of most forms of dance training.
Ballet is an excellent teaching tool for all dancers as it is a complex mixture of technique, coordination and musicality.
2. Tap
Tap is best described as "musical feet". Tap is a form of dance where dancers use their feet as percussive instruments.
Tap shoes are that are specially designed with percussive metal plates on the toe and heel, called taps. There are many
different styles of tap dancing however the two most noted are Rhythm Tap and Broadway Tap. Rhythm Tap is more
musically driven, where Broadway Tap is more dance and movement oriented. Tap is great for fostering rhythm in
dancers, as it turns their feet into a musical instrument.
3. Jazz
Jazz is the most popular style of dance among dancers. Jazz combines all dance styles in a high energetic dance that is
without conventional boundaries. It has been influenced by ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop, African dance and many
more styles.
4. Modern
Modern was said to be first created dance type. A raw style of dance, modern dance is an expression on the dancers'
relationship to the floor, including methods of contractions, release and movement, as well as the dancers of breath.
5. Lyrical
Though the basis of lyrical dance is ballet merged with jazz and modern. It is dynamic while simultaneously subtle and
focuses on conveying feelings and emotions through movement. Set to popular songs that emphasize deeper feeling
and emotion, such as grief, longing, love and despair.
6. Hip Hop
Hip Hop is an edgy, raw and intense urban dance style also known as Street Dance. The origin of popping, locking and
crumping, Hip Hop is mostly danced to rap, urban and not surprisingly, hip hop music. What sets Hip Hop apart from
most dance genres is that its original street dance was freestyle in nature and did not follow a predefined
choreography.
7. Contemporary
Contemporary dance embodies ballet, modern, jazz and lyrical. It uses a technique such as ballet as its fundamentals
and creates many more movements that do not adhere to the strict rules of ballet and modern.
8. Highland Dancing
Highland dance was developed in the Gaelic Highlands of Scotland and should not be confused with Scottish Country
Dancing. Highland dancing requires a lot of stamina, as well as arm and leg strength.
9. Line Dancing
Line Dancing is a social dance that is made up of a sequence of repeated steps and is traditionally associated with
country-western music. It is a solo dance that is danced in a straight line, a circle or in a “follow the leader” pattern!
10. Irish Dancing
Irish dancing originated from Ireland and can be divided into performance and social dances. Made famous by
Riverdance, it is best recognized by stationary arms combined with rapid leg and foot movements.

2.4 what we can learn from dancing

Dance performances tell their audience a story. Sometimes this is a clear and proper story, and other times it is
rather vague. Dance performances mostly tell stories without the use of words. The music and the dance itself
tell enough. Some dance performances are based on actual situations and others show a fairy tale or another
fictive story.

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2.5 The link between dancing and a person’s personality
The way you dance reveals information about your personality. The way someone moves to music reveals
secrets about their character. The experiences classified five different types based on personality tests.
They then observed how everyone from each group danced to different types of music.
• Extroverted people move their body the most on the dance floor, they often make energetic
and exaggerated movements with arms and head.
• Neurotic people dance with sharp and sudden movements with hands and feet.
• Accommodating personalities go for more flexible dance styles, they move sideways while
moving with their hands.
• People with an open mind make more rhythmic up and down movements, they don't go
around as much as others.
• Accurate and conscientious persons move a lot on the dance floor, their hands also move
further apart.

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 3. INTERNET RESEARCH ON
MUSIC
3.1 The history of music and why people started making music
When searching for the definition of music, we can find a lot. It is a difficult question to answer: “What is
music?”, as everyone has their own idea. It is a sound that conveys emotion. It is vocal or instrumental sounds
(or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty a form, harmony, ad expression of emotion.

But where do we draw the line between music and speech? You might think that rhythm, pattern and
controlling pitch are important when looking at if something is music or speech. Yet, these things do also
apply when someone recites a sonnet or speaks with heightened emotion. A professor at the university of
oxford once stated: “Each of us in our own way can say ‘yes this is music, and ‘no, that is speech.”

When we have a look at when our ancestors began to make music, we look at different aspects. If we take
singing, controlling pitch is important. Scientists have done several studies on the jaws of fossilized skulls of
our ancestors. They are able to see if our ancestors were able to vocalize and control pitch. Research has
shown us, that people like the Neanderthals were able to sing, but we cannot prove if they really did.

Rhythm is another important component of music. Our early ancestors may have created rhythmic music by
clapping their hands or stamping their feet on the floor. This can probably be linked to the first instruments, as
somebody realized that smacking sticks or stones together does not hurt to your hands. Many of these first
instruments have been made from soft materials such as wood and reeds. These “instruments” are digested and
did not survive. What have survived are bone pipes. Some of the earliest ones we found, are made from swan
and vulture wing bones and are between 39.000 and 43.000 years old. Other examples of instruments have
been found on surprising places. For example, the evidence that people struck stalactites or “rock gongs” in
caves dating from 12,000 years ago. The people living in that time, used the cave as resonators for the sound.

So, we know that music is old and may have been with us from when the humans evolved, but why did it arise
and why has it persisted? There are loads of different possible functions for music. One is dancing, Historians
are not sure if music led to dance or the other way around. Another obvious reason for music is entertainment,
which can be personal or communal. Music has also been used for communication, often using drums or
horns. As well as music can be used for ritual and religious occasions.

However, the major reason that music arose and persist may that it brings people together. Music leads to
bonding between mother and child or bonding between different groups. As professor Montagu from Oxford
concludes:” It has even been suggested that music, in causing such bonding, created not only the family but
society itself, bringing individuals together who might otherwise have led solitary lives.”

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3.2 The way music plays a role in the daily life
Music is a crucial element in everyday life. People spend hours listening to it and billions of dollars buying it.
Yet despite the pervasiveness of music, mainstream social-personality psychology has hardly given any
attention to this universal social phenomenon. Why is music important to people? What role does music play
in everyday life? An article reviews research in fields outside mainstream psychology concerned with the
social and psychological factors that influence how people experience and use music in their daily lives. The
research in this area shows that music can have considerable effects on cognition, emotion, and behavior. It
also indicates that people use music to serve various functions, from emotion regulation to self-expression to
social bonding. Research in this emerging field reveals how social-personality psychology can inform our
understanding of music, and in doing so it highlights the real-world relevance of mainstream theory and
research.

3.3 Different music genres

There are loads of different music genres, most of the time some genres overlap each other. A music genre is a
conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition of conventions. It
is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style. Underneath you can find the most fundamental
music genres:
1. Blues
The blues is an African American music genre that traverses a wide range of emotions and musical styles.”
Feeling blue” is expressed in songs whose verses lament injustice or express longing for a better life and lost
loves/jobs/money. The blues is also a raucous dance music that celebrates pleasure and success.

2. Country
Country music is defined as a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music having
roots in the folk music of the Southeast and cowboy music of the west. It is usually vocalized, generally
simple in form and harmony, and typified by romantic or melancholy ballads accompanied by acoustic or
electric guitars.

3. Electronic
This is music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments and circuitry-based music
technology. Pure electronic instruments do not have vibrating strings, hammers or other sound producing
mechanisms. Devices such as thermin, synthesizer and a computer create the sound for this type of music.

4. Folk
Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted orally, music with unknown
composers, or music performed by custom over a long period of time. It has been contrasted with commercial
and classical styles. The term originated in the 19th century, but folk music extends beyond that.

5. Hip-hop
Hip-Hop music is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music originally created by DJs isolating
the percussion breaks of popular songs, sometimes with two turntables to extend the breaks. ... Hip-Hop dance
refers to dance styles primarily danced to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture.

6. Jazz
Jazz is a genre of American music that originated in New Orleans circa 1900 characterized by strong,
prominent meter, improvisation, distinctive tone colors & performance techniques, and dotted or syncopated
rhythmic patterns.

7. Reggae
Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz
field, being known first as "Rudy Blues", then "Ska", later "Blue Beat", and "Rock Steady". It is instantly
recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section.

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 8. Rock
A type of pop music that developed out of rock‘n’roll in the 1960s and 1970s. It is based around amplified inst
ruments, especially the electric guitar and electric bass, and is characterized by a strong bass line and driving r
hythms. It is typically performed by rock groups, and while fast dance music is the staple form, slower ballad
style songs are also a popular part of the repertoire.

9. Traditional
Songs and tunes which have been performed, by custom, over a long period (usually several generations).
They are most often folk songs, country dance or similar types of folk music but they can also be pieces from
known early composers and may have been the "pop music " of their time. Traditional music (or public
domain) is also used as a copyright status covering music which is out of copyright. In Europe (EEC) music
copyright does not expire till 70 years after the death of the composer.

10. Rap
Rap music is a genre which comes from the hip-hop and reggae scene. A rap is a text, but then not normally
spoken but in a rhythmic way. Rap music can be with music or without. Rap originally comes from the USA
but is nowadays popular in all countries around the world, especially for the youth.

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3.4 How the sound of music has changed over the decades
The sound of music has changed as society has changed over the years. The change in the sound of music is
really a reflection of our cultural evolution. It all started when humans made music by closely mimicking the
sounds, they heard around them in nature. This changed to the big music business nowadays.

In Indigenous cultures, music played a big role in ceremonies and tradition. Traditional instruments were
played, and the lyrics strongly referred to old traditions. The sound of the music was the sound that relates to
the vision the humans had on land and wildlife in that time. Over time, modern society has lost this
connection. This is reflected in the changing sound of the music and in the changing lyrics of songs that are
sung.

With time, more instruments were developed and played together, which resulted in a more sophisticated and
complex sounds being produced. The rhythm, beats, lyrics and tempo of songs all changed along with the
different cultures.

Although some indigenous cultures such as many of the African tribes, Native American tribes, South
American ethnic people, and Australian aborigines still retain the playing of their indigenous music, there have
been influences from the western world incorporated into some of the music.

Features of the sound of music have changed over the decades. The sound has definitely gotten louder. The
pace and rhythm in many cases has become faster, possibly reflecting the fast pace of the modern world that
we live in today. However, the feature of music bounciness has become less today when compared with the
music of the1980s. Techno and reggae music are typical examples of what is known as bouncy music.

The computer led to even a greater diversity of computer generated and enhanced sounds. Modernization has
led to different and new sounds with an increasing tempo. Electronic dance music for instance has
beatmatching where DJs can alter the speed of one piece of music to match that of another piece of music.
They create a blended sound by doing this.

The less acoustic sounds have become increasingly common in music today. Some musicians and singers will
recognize that their listeners miss the acoustic sound. As result, they produce a non-acoustic as well as an
acoustic version of a song. This makes sure everyone can listen whatever they want.

The sound of music has become more complex over history mainly due to the increased migration of people
and their exposure to new elements. Today much of music has sounds with elements from more than one
region. The increasing tendency for music artists to collaborate today is another reason we see more
complexity and diversity in how music sounds

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 4. Research in class and at a
dance performance
4.1 Introduction and research questions
We decided that we wanted to find out what music has for impact on dance performances. We started with
setting up a few research questions. We divided our research questions in a main question and some sub-
questions. These are our research questions:

• What is the impact of music on dance performances?

o What kind of music belongs to what kind of dance?

o How do people react to a dance without music?
o Is music a must for a dance performance?

With a research in class and at a dance performance from Sem’s dance school, we wanted to try answer these
questions.

4.2 research method

We made a plan for doing our research, a research method. We started with splitting up this part of the
research in two different part. One research part in class and one at Sem’s dance performance. Sem has the
lead in a big performance of his dance-school. He does loads of dances and Leanne and her sister went to the
performance to watch and do some more research. For each part, we set up a method to make things clear.

Steps research in class:

1. We started with setting up the research questions
2. Second, Sem made a dance video. He did one minute of dancing without music.
3. Then, we searched for different types of music to put under the dance video. We edited it and made
sure that we had 4 different video’s:
o One video with no music
o One video with classical music
o One video with pop music
o One video with rock music
To make this clear, the dance was in each video the same, the music differs in each video.
4. We showed the videos to our classmates and asked them our research questions. We also wrote down
how the people reacted to the video’s.
5. Then it was time to organize, we organized our research results and made some graphs with it. So we
could collect all our data together.
6. When all these steps were done, we analyzed the results and came up with an answer to the research
questions.

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These are the questions we asked for the research in class:
Questions after movie without music:
§ What kind of music genre belongs to this dance?
§ What is your first feeling on a dance without music?
Question after each of the three-music video’s with different types of music
§ What feeling do you get from this dance performance with this music?
Question after all
§ Is music a must for a dance performance?

Steps research at Sem’s dance performance:

1. Leanne and her sister went to Sem’s dance performance in the Schouwburg in Middelburg.
2. We watched the whole dance performance and asked ourselves the research questions.
3. After the performance, we asked some people from the audience their opinion on the research
questions based on the performance.
4. Sem asked some of his fellow-dancers the research questions after doing their performance.
5. After the performance and asking our questions, we collected all the data and organized it.
6. Then we analyzed it and came up with clear answers to our research questions.

These are the questions we asked for the research at the dance performance of Sem:
Questions we asked to the audience:
§ What do you think that it would be like if there was no music at this performance?
§ Do you think that music is a must at after seeing this performance?
Questions Sem asked to his fellow-dancers:
§ Have you ever performed a dance without music?
§ Do you think music is a must for doing a dance performance?
Sem asked questions to his fellow students. He linked them to an age-group, because some have more
experiences with dancing that others.

After doing both forms of this research, we merged everything and came up with explanations and answers to
our research questions according to the research in class as well as the research at Sem’s dance performance.

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4.3 Results research in class
What kind of music genre belongs to this type of dance?

What is your first feeling on a dance without music?

What feeling do you get from this dance performance with this type of music? (classical music)

What feeling do you get from this dance performance with this type of music? (pop music)

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What feeling do you get from this dance performance with this type of music? (rock music)

Is music a must for a dance performance?

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4.4 Results research at Sem’s dance performance
Questions we asked the audience:
“What do you think that it would be like if there was no music at this performance”?

“Do you think that music is a must for a dance performance after seeing this performance”?

Questions Sem asked to his fellow-dance students:

“Have you ever performed a dance without music”?

Age 10-13 years Age 14-18 years Age >18 years

Do you think music is a must for doing a dance performance?

Age 10-13 years Age 14-18 years Age >18 years

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 5. CONCLUSION
5.1 Conclusion and answers to our research questions
After doing all of our research steps, we came up with some answers to our research questions. You can find
everything summarized and concluded in this conclusion:

We started with dancing with the purpose of a ritual, excitement and pleasure. People like dancing and dance
performances because dancing gives an instant feeling of happiness. It reduces stress. It can be done
anytime/anywhere, and you work on your condition at the same time. As well as it is for young and old and
brings people together. There are thousands of different dance types, but the most popular are ballet, tap, jazz,
modern, lyrical, hip-hop, contemporary, highland dancing, line dancing and Irish dancing. We can learn a lot
from dancing, and dance performances are good for telling stories without using words. We all feel the
emotion that belongs to the type of dance. There is a certain link between dancing and people’s personality.
You can say something about a person’s character after watching his or her dance.

The history of music is a bit complicated, because there is no real clear evidence. Evidence of singing and
people using certain rhythms are found and these aspects are used for a very long time. Historians are not sure
if music led to dance of the other way around, they do know that music and dance both have been used since
the beginning for entertainment. However, the major reason that music arose is that it brings people together.
Music leads to bonding and music is a crucial element in the daily life. People spend hours of listening to
music, making music, etc. Music can have considerable effects on cognition, emotion and behaviour. There
are loads of different music genres, but the most popular are the blues, country, electronic, hip-hop, folk, jazz,
reggae, rock, traditional and rap.
The sound of music has changed increasingly over the decades, due to new inventions like the computer and
more electronic devices. Due to all of these new developments, there have been some major changes within
the music world.

After doing the research in class, we could make up some conclusions from that part. When we showed people
a dance without music, people were a little bit surprised. Loads of people felt it was a little bit boring and other
said that it felt incomplete without music. Some people were quite positive and named it interesting, powerful
and extraordinary. Then after showing the dance with three types of music, people formed a strong opinion on
what fits with a dance at what does not fit. After looking at these answers, we can say that most people based
their opinions on the rhythm of the music in combination with the dance moves. A smaller group based their
opinions on the lyrics of the songs in combination with the dance moves. There were also some individuals
who formed their opinion about if the music fitted or not on their experiences. They linked our video with
something they had already seen. Our last question was if, based on this research, music is a must for a dance
performance. 69% was clearly about that music is definitely needed for a dance performance. 31% said that it
was not necessary, but that it makes the dance more powerful and interesting if there is music with it.

Then, after watching the amazing performance of “Dansschool Isabelle Zwaan” and asking some questions to
the audience, we could come up with more conclusions. When Leanne asked the audience what they think it
would be like if there was no music at this dance performance, most people thought that it would be boring
(50%). 25% percent said that they think it would be less powerful that with music. 17% did not have a clear
answer or opinion and 8% thought that it would be interesting. The answers to the second question were quite
clear: 92% finds that music is a must for a dance performance after watching this performance, 8% thinks that
it is not necessarily needed.
Sem asked two questions to his fellow-dance students as well. Most of his fellow-students have not performed
a dance without music yet. Some of the older ones had some more experiences with this topic, but overall,
they did not have much experience with dancing without music. Some people think that music is not
necessarily needed, but most of them (overall 63%) think that music is a must for a dance performance.

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When we collect all the data from the research in class as well as the research at Sem’s dance performance, we
can have an overall look at the answers of the research questions. We can conclude that music has a big
influence on dancers and dance performances. By far most people think that music is a must for a dance
performance. When we watch a dance performance without music, most people find in quit boring and less
powerful. We can state that music gives dance performances more power, a less sense of boringness and more
emotions. People miss music when it’s not there and it has a big impact on dance performances.
So, music has a big influence on people’s thoughts when it comes to dance. This all became clear after doing
our research.

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