The peasants performed two basic types of danc-

ing:
Round dance- dancers hold each other by hand,
forming a long chain and move about in an open
or closed circle, or in an extended line.
Dance uses the body as an instrument of Couple dance- was not as popular as round
expression in time and space dance as it was considered scandalous when first
seen.
it focuses on “an aesthetic or even enter- Nobility soon followed but in a more refined and
taining experience". It provided variety of functions courtly form.
throughout history due to its multidimensionality.
Court dances emerged as part of the chivalric way
of life. noblemen's and women's nature of cloth-
ing and elaborate accessories...
Dance has been a major form of religious ritual
and social expression within primitive cultures. -dance steps were limited to gliding, curtseying,
and posing as they were not able to move freely.
Used as way of expressing and reinforcing tribal
unity Approach for courtship and mating, The peasants' dances- have large movements and
wide-stepping figures. This is due to their less
Means of worship, communication, and thera-
elaborate costumes allowing bigger movements.
peutic experience.
1st use of dance : gesture in order to communi-
cate. Peasants :danced on grass or on the beaten earth
of the town
Noblemen: danced in smooth floor or wood or
-Ancient Egypt- reflected : wall paintings, reliefs,
polished marble called the ballroom.
and in the literary record in hieroglyphs. Most of
the dances - were chiefly a medium of religious
expression. Early renaissance– accepted in the courts, the
entertainers now became valuable to the courts
of Italy and France to serve the secular goals of
-Ancient Greeks- taught as an aid to military edu-
the wealthy and powerful .
cation —boys in Athens and Sparta. Not just for
religious and military training but a form of enter- -new court dances by the nobility came , the -—
tainment and display. rise of the art of ballet in Italy and France. several
other dance forms continued spread across sever-
al countries. contemporary dances that were sty-
-Ancient Rome- gave less importance to dancing. listic variations of ballet emerged and evolved in
Became brutal and sensationalized -entertainers Europe. Other dance forms also came to light and
were slaves and captives and used more often for have been widely recognized worldwide.
gruesome purposes.

-Development of the Catholic Church- its form

and intent were holy and profound. became part
of worships and church services.

-Dark and early Middle Ages entertainment, sing-
ers, dancers, poets, actors, musicians, and jug-
glers -wander and they performed in village
squares and welcomed in the castles and cha-
teaus of feudal lords. common people doing danc-
es that were social in character. This marked the
beginning of social dancing.
Dancing - one of the oldest and most pop-
ular forms of exercise. Several forms of dancing
are considered aerobic since they entail about an
hour of "continuous exercises, choreographed to
music" .
 Enables joint mobility (hip motion and spine flex-
ibility)
A good way to develop cardiovascular and
Helps improve and maintain bone density, thus
muscular endurance, body composition, balance
helps prevent osteoporosis
and flexibility.
helps recover coordination and neuromuscular
Dance training also improves coordination.
skills after injury
Significant improvements of aerobic and muscular
fitness in contemporary dancers who engage in
low to moderate intensity dance genres.
Gives sense of togetherness within a group
Encourages positive social interaction and inter-
Acceptable way to release emotional and physical personal relationship in a group.
pressure. Contributes to the individual's potential for self-
May be applied as it is useful in facilitating “non- actualization in society.
verbal communication by offering a clear structure
for being together.
Gives other psychological health benefits as com-
pared to other forms of exercise Helps keep the brain sharp
Decreases incidence of dementia and Alzhei-
mer's disease
Decreases depressive symptoms
Dance provides a unique opportunity for
Increases self-esteem and improves body image
meaningful group involvement.
Aids in releasing emotional and physical tension
Encourages intense, positive social interaction
and interpersonal relationships in a working
group.
Dance gives a sense of togetherness in a group.
Promotes cultural values

Promotes a place or a country’s rich culture

through showcasing the different cultural dances.
Lesson 2
Elements of Dance
It is through looking at the different dances of other
countries will one see the value of one’s culture.

The human body is living in time and space, and it

exhibits some effort. Thus, all movements occur in

time, through space, and with effort.

dance entails a lot of movements, it uses the very
Develops cardiovascular and muscular en- same elements, space, time, and energy. These ele-
durance ments are beneficial to anyone interested in recog-
nizing, analyzing, or creating movement.
Improves coordination, balance, flexibility, and
body composition
Lowers risk of cardiovascular diseases
Lowers body mass index Space
Lowers resting heart rate an area where performers occupy and where they
Improves lipid metabolism. move.
 : 
Direction- dance movements can travel in any
direction
Size- can be varied by doing larger or smaller ac-
tions
Level- can be done in high, medium or low level
Focus- looking at different direction
Time-
can be varied by moving faster or slower than nor-
mal beat. Rhythmic patterns-sequence of move-
ment is done in varying tempos. Addition of silences
or pauses also adds to rhythmic patterns
- balanced shape, movements
are identical or similar on both sides
 - unbalanced movement of
two sides of the body do not match or completely
different from each other
-
group perform movements in different group
shapes. Arranged in ways that are wide, narrow,
rounded, angular, symmetrical, asymmetrical.
Viewed together as total picture or arrangement
within picture frame.
Lesson 3

Effort-
Can either initiate or stop an action. Uses different
energies and a varied use displays a significant meaning or conveys a mes-
sage. portrays life experiences. may be presented
abstractly and symbolically but still convey emotion
and meaning
Sustained- smoothly, continuously, flow and con- a good dance lifts and transports the audience from
trol. Does not have clear beginning and ending. their seats during the performance.
Percussive- explosive or sharp in contrast and
sustained movements. Accented with trust of ener-
gy. Have clear beginning and ending instrument by which ideas and elements are ar-
Vibratory- trembling or shaking. Faster version of ranged or combined into a logical sequence which
percussive movements that produces jittery effect results in unity and consistency
Swinging- trace a curved line or arc in space, re- the content or idea can be expressed and communi-
laxed and giving in to gravity on the downward part cated. It is the organizing factor of any work or
of motion followed by an upward application of en- dance composition
ergy
Suspended- perched in space or hanging on air
Collapsing- released in tension and gradually or smallest unit of form in the dance .
abruptly giving in to gravity, letting the body de- It can be related to a sentence in writing composi-
scends to the floor. Slow collapse can be described tions. Choreographers and dancers use movement
as melting or oozing action downward direction phrasing when working on dances.

Bodily shapes A good dance contains a theme or a motif to be able

to convey its meaning or intention to the audience.
A dance without meaning makes it harder for the
how body is molded in space or the configuration of
audience to understand; thus, making it superficial.
body parts. Can be rounded, angular or combina-
tion. Wide to narrow, from high to low. Can be sym- Motif- A single movement or a short phrase of
metrical and asymmetrical movement that embodies the style and intention of
the dance.
A good dance uses a motif in which the movements
are repeated, varied, and developed by manipu-
It emphasizes movements and phrases that are im-
lating the movement components or elements. A
portant to the dance and gives feeling of closure to
good example is “Itik-Itik Philippine folkdance”.
a work . Some phrases need to be repeated in cho-
reography so that the audience can see those move-
ments again and identify its significance.

This is where the apex of energy in the dance is

The interconnected phrases of the dance are co-
herent and flow smoothly together.
The movements fit together and each plays an im-
portant role that contributes to the entirely of a
dance.
It is crucial for a dance to have unity to effectively
make the audience understand the choreography as
a whole.
attracts and holds the audience’s attention
The phrases of the dance that are organized pro-
gressively, making each movement phrase move
naturally into the next. There is a continuous devel-
opment of the movement phrase and the audience
is swept along to the end.
. cordingly.
-add excitement and flavor in the dance. Changing
the direction, use of energy, timing of a movement
phrase, and avoiding repeating them in the exact
way are ways to add variety to the dance.
Examples of contrasting movements are slow to
fast, short or long, and minimal to large movement
phrases.
. tone or quality.
This is the link between movements, phrases, and
sections of the dance. It makes the logical progres-
sion of the dance flow smoothly.
It keeps the unity and continuity of the dance.
reached It is similar to a climax in a story where a
series of events culminates.
The climax may be a fast and enraged blast of ener-
gy and action, or it could fade away to a gentle and
quiet exit of the dance
Selecting the structure which best expresses the
dance idea is fundamental . Dance and music closely
resemble in so many ways. The shape of a dance or
a piece of choreography is based on common musi-
cal forms . These compositional forms are tradition-
al frameworks which have set patterns categorized
as sequential, contrapuntal, episodic, and other
compositional forms.
Sequential Forms
These forms contain themes/motif which
progress in a specific order. They are arranged ac-
The simplest of the sequential forms
similar to a verse and a chorus of a song.
It is binary form with two contrasting sections con-
sisting of a beginning section (A) followed by a sec-
ond section(B).
 Each section contains elements that contrast in
Examples of which are light and dark, huge and
tiny, love and hate.
This form is commonly used in many folk dances
and songs.
composed of introductory theme (A), a contrasting
theme (B), and a restatement of the original theme
(A).
(A) is the unifying theme and the center of inter-
est, then (B) gives contrast. The original (A) returns
either as an exact repetition or in an easily recog-
nizable variation or development.
Most popular songs use this form where there is
chorus(A), a verse (B), and a repetition of the chorus
(A) which is often somewhat elaborated to highlight
the idea of the song .
the unifying theme (A) returns after each con-
trasting theme, (A) appears after every contrasting
section at least three times, but it can itself be var-
ied.
 It can be described as ABACADAEAFA develop-
ment of movement idea.
 sections (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) are the contrasting
themes while (A) is constantly repeated every after
each section.
Theme and Variations
the motif is a series of movements to which varia-
tions are added throughout the development of the
entire choreography.
can be a single phrase or several movement
phrases placed together in a sequence .
 The order of the movements is kept the same all
throughout the variations. It can take the form of
subtle adjustments in dynamics, space, style, mood,
and tempo .
Contrapuntal Forms
several themes are woven together in choreogra-
phy to form a complex structure.
The main theme is seen against itself or against
one or more other themes.
single theme starts the dance and is repeated all
the way through the dance while other contrasting
themes are simultaneously performed with it.
This form is best done in a group working either in
contrast to each other or against a soloist. The re-
peated theme can be performed by a group while a
soloist or a smaller group dances the other theme
with more complex combination of movements.
consists of two or more movement phrases or
theme in which the main movement phrases is imi-
tated exactly and completely by the successive
movements, but done in staggered manner.
a choreographic form that is constructed by adding
on different movement or dance phrases in every
repetition of the main movement theme. The move-
ment phrases or the motif can be developed by re-
versing, inverting, augmenting, or diminishing
throughout the dance.
every section of the dance (beginning, middle, and
end) use different tempos and qualities.
Commonly, it has a moderate beginning, a slow
middle section, and a fast and lively end section
Episodic forms are not musical forms; instead
they are found in literature. They tell a story
through connected and progressive sections called
episodes.
Narrative form is an episodic form that tells a story
or conveys an idea and the sequence of the story
determines the structure of the dance. each section
or chapter reveals more of the plot and has its own
interest, variations, and contrast. Classical ballet
often uses this form.
 1. Description - involves close observation of all
mostly come from natural structures such as the the elements, characteristics, and components of a
seasons, life cycles, and everyday life experiences. dance as described in the previous sections of this
All these present rich materials for organic dance worktext.
structure. Here, the evaluator/critic notes down the composi-
tion of the dance in terms of the elements and the
characteristics of dance. Example of which are
noting down the variation, unity, space, time, tran-
sitions, climax, and so on.
consists of a series of movement phrases that are
often unrelated but have been brought together to
create a single dance with a beginning, a middle, 2. Interpretation - involves an appreciation of the
and an end. The overall form remains a whole even ideas, content, images, and style contained within
though the content may be illogical. the dance.

3. Evaluation - takes into consideration how effec-

tively the features (i.e., elements, characteristics)
different movement phrases are performed by and the context of the dance have been utilized in
different dancers simultaneously in the same the actual performance of the dancers to portray
space. The dancers may execute a tableau at a the content and the quality of the dance.
different location on the stage and connect transi-
tional movements for each scene to produce a pro-
gression of moving snapshots.

the movement phrases are performed in random

order and spatial placing. Every time the dance is
performed, it is done in different order and there-
fore has a different appearance. Originally, the
dance phrases were arranged by tossing coins to
decide on choices and the order of performance.

Appreciation on the importance of dance comes

from the points of view of the choreographer, the
dancer, or the audience.
Linda Rickett-Young (1996):
1. Choreographers - they will evaluate a part of
an ongoing process of developing a personal style
which is both spontaneous and organized.
2. Dancers - they will evaluate according to the
specific demands that the performance places on
them.
3. Audiences - they will evaluate according to the
particular context of the dance.