Ancient Period

The dances of the ancient civilizations began to acknowledge the aesthetic purposes of the art.
They began to question the way the dance looked and what it meant; what the movements
represented and how they may be interpreted. India, China, and Ancient Greece are among the
first civilizations with recorded anecdotes of dance. Many used dance for religious purposes,
and all required skill, grace, and stamina. Ancient Greece furthered the theatrical history of
dance by using dance in dramas and Greek theatre.
It is unlikely that any human society (at any rate until the invention of puritanism) has denied
itself the excitement and pleasure of dancing. Like cave painting, the first purpose of dance is
probably ritual - appeasing a nature spirit or accompanying a rite of passage.

Rhythm, indispensable in dancing, is also a basic element of music. It is natural to beat out the
rhythm of the dance with sticks. It is natural to accompany the movement of the dance with
rhythmic chanting. Dance and music begin as partners in the service of ritual. In most ancient
civilizations, dancing before the god is an important element in temple ritual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtTnpaO3DQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5b8qtVQZvY

The Medieval Period

Dance was prevalent in the medieval era. The Islamic culture had a heavy influence in the
interesting outcomes of dance. It was then that the familiar art of belly dancing came into play,
as did many folk dances still performed today. Slowly the church became an influence and
dance was quickly banned. Dance began to be seen as pagan activity.
The Christian church disapproved dancing. Dancing continued among the people however, both
in communal festivals and as entertainment. Variations of medieval peasant dances continue
today as folk dances. Some peasant dances, taken over and adapted by the aristocracy, became
courtly social dances that in turn evolved into ballet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXAKNgMF0tg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKdEOip2JUI
Ballet
Ballet originated in the courts of Italy and France during the Renaissance, becoming primarily a
professional discipline by the late 17th century.
During the Romantic Movement in the first half of the nineteenth century, popular ballet
classics such as Giselle and La Sylphide emerged. The romantic movement not only influenced
art, music, and literature, but also ballet. Pointe Work and pointe shoes were first introduced
during this time period. Maria Taglioni was the first ballet dancer to perform a full length ballet
in pointe shoes. 
Ballet began to become more and more popular in Russia during the nineteenth century. In
Russia the first professional ballet company was founded in 1738 as the Imperial Ballet School,
now known as the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. The classical tutu first appeared in this
time as well. It is much shorter and stiffer than the romantic tutu and was created to reveal the
ballerina’s legs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guz1wBJValI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NWdj8PCdYE

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.
It is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical
ballet. Isadora Duncan is considered the First Lady of Modern Dance. Ruth St. Denis and Ted
Shawn, Hanya Holm and Doris Humphrey are earlier famous modern dancers.

Modern dance from 1990 to the present has taken a very different approach. Some
choreographers and dancers include in modern dance styles hip hop, lyrical, free style and
fusion, a combination of dance forms like tap, jazz, modern and ballet.

Since modern dance is usually performed in themed choreographic sequences, it projects a

message. Choreography of hip hop, fusion and free style dance tends to be improvisational and
without specific themes. Lyrical dance may have a choreographed theme. It leans more toward
interpretative dance. Today’s modern dance choreography may or may not be interpretative.