PEH102-SHS-SG-WK1

FUTURE READY FUTURE SMART PROGRAM

STUDY GUIDE

Subject PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH

Topic Introduction to Dance
Level Grade 12
Week Week 1
School Year 1st Quarter/SY 2021-2022

I. Objectives

- Describe the meaning of dance. Discuss its nature and history.

II. Discussion

Introduction to Dance

“Dance is an activity which can take many forms and fill many different needs. It
can be recreation, entertainment, education, therapy, and religion. In its purest and most
basic form, dance is art, the art of body movement” (Barbara Mettler, 1980)

What is Dance?
Dance differs from athletics or other daily activities because it focuses primarily on
“an aesthetic or even entertaining experience” (Myers, 2005). It provided a variety of
functions throughout history due to its multidimensionality. Although there have been
immense comparative differences in period and culture, people still dance mainly for four
reasons: (a) to please Gods; (b) to please others; (c) to please themselves or self-
expression and; (d) to build community within an ethnic group or social interaction
(Myers, 2005).

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Do you know where dances come from?

Dance can be seen among all the people and civilizations of the world. Dances
thrived at different periods of history and mostly were a result of intercultural exchange
and contact (Alejandro and Santos-Gana, 2002). The origins of the dance are rooted in
the prehistoric past. Various artistic, religious, and social forces started the incorporation
and development of dance.

Dance has been a major form of religious ritual and social expression within
primitive cultures. It was used as a way of expressing and reinforcing tribal unity and
strength, as an approach for courtship and mating, and as a means of worship,
communication, and therapeutic experience. It was said that the first use of dance was a
gesture to communicate. People from the prehistoric era performed ways they hoped
would appease the forces of nature or give them new powers of their own. As Kraus and
Gaufman (1981) said. “man danced originally to supplicate the Gods on the all- important
occasion of life.”

Nevertheless, the dances during prehistoric times have not yet been fully recorded.
It was only during the pre-Christian era that the real knowledge of dance came about
within the great Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations. Dance became full-blown
and was richly recorded in ancient Egypt. It was reflected in their wall paintings, reliefs,
and in the literary record in hieroglyphs. Most of the dances during this era were chiefly
a medium of religious expression.

The ancient Greeks also thought highly of dance. For them, it was closely linked
with other kinds of experiences. Dancing was taught as an aid to military education
among the boys in Athens and Sparta. It was not just for religious and military training
but also a form of entertainment and display.

The dance was also commonly used in education. Greek philosophers such as Plato,
Aristotle, and Socrates strongly supported this art as an integration of the body and soul.
Plato immensely gave importance to dance in education as stated in his elucidation on
the Laws. He highlighted the two kinds of dance and music: the noble (fine and
honorable) and the ignoble (imitating what is mean or ugly).

Ancient Rome, on the other hand, gave less importance to dancing. It stopped
valuing such qualities in art as the nation grew wealthy and powerful. The Romans ceased
to create and perform within the arts themselves. Dance became brutal and
sensationalized as their entertainers were slaves and captives from many nationalities
and it was used often for gruesome purposes (Kraus et al., 1981). Dance eventually
became an integral part of the corruption in the latter days of the Roman Empire, resulting
in the condemnation of dance by early Christians.

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The development of the Catholic Church in Europe following the fall of Rome
transformed the history of dance. During this time, the Church was the sole custodian of
learning and education as well as the source of morals. When the first Christian emperors
came, theatrical entertainment was prohibited. However, dance still existed and was
performed within the church during religious ceremonies. The Christian fathers approved
the use of dance, provided that its form and intent were holy and profound. Dances then
became part of worships and church services.

Although the Church had condemned dance as entertainment, some singers,

dancers, poets, actors, musicians, and jugglers continued to wander during the Dark and
early Middle Ages. They performed in village squares and were eventually welcomed in
the castles and chateaus of feudal lords. At the same time, the common people also
amused themselves by doing dances that were social in character. This marked the
beginning of social dancing. The peasants performed two basic types of dancing: the
round dance and the couple dance. In round dance, dancers hold each other by the hand,
forming a long chain and move about in an open or closed circle, or an extended line.
Couple dance, at that time, was not as popular as round dance as it was considered
scandalous when first seen.

Nobility soon followed the peasants’ lead in dancing but in a more refined and
courtly form. Court dances emerged as part of the chivalric way of life. Because of the
noblemen’s and women’s nature of clothing and elaborate accessories, their dance steps
were limited to gliding, curtseying, and posing as they were not able to move freely. The
peasant’s dances, in contrast, have large movements and wide-stepping figures. This is
due to their less elaborate costumes allowing bigger movements. Additionally, the
peasants danced on grass or the beaten earth of the town while noblemen danced in
smooth floor or wood or polished marble called the ballroom.

Dance then was wholly accepted in the courts during the early renaissance as the
gradual increase of the capitalist class produced patrons of learning and art in Europe.
During the renaissance, dance, and art, in general, gained impetus. The old restraints
were loosened and clerical ideas and purposes no longer dominate all creative expressions
of the human spirit (Kraus and Gaufman, 1981). The entertainers now became a valuable
appendage to the courts of Italy and France and they were to serve the secular goals of
the wealthy and powerful nobles who had emerged throughout Europe.

A vast dance movement occurred throughout the courts of Europe in the 15 th and
16thcenturies. During these times, a new court dance performed by the nobility came
about as well as the rise of the art of ballet in Italy and France. From then on, several
other dance forms continued to sprout and spread across several countries. After the
pinnacle of ballet prominence, contemporary dances that were stylistic variations of ballet
emerged and evolved in Europe. Other dance forms also came to light and have been
widely recognized worldwide (Kraus and Gaufman, 1981).

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including Page 3 of 4
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the Good Samaritan Colleges.
 PEH102-SHS-SG-WK1

BENEFITS OF DANCE AND CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Physical Mental/Emotional Social Cultural

▪ Develops cardiovascular ▪ Helps keep the ▪ Gives sense of ▪ Promotes
and muscular endurance brain sharp togetherness cultural
▪ Improves coordination, ▪ Decreases within a group values
balance, flexibility, and incidence of ▪ Encourages
body composition demetia and positive social
▪ Lowers risk of Alzheimer’s disease interaction and
cardiovascular disease ▪ Decreases interpersonal
▪ Lowers body mass index depressive relationship in
▪ Lowers resting heart symptoms a group
rate ▪ Increases self- ▪ Contributes to
▪ Improves lipid esteem and the individual’s
metabolism improves body potential for
▪ Enables joint mobility image self-
(hip motion and spine ▪ Aids in releasing actualization in
flexibility) emotional and society
physical tension

References
Conrado R. Aparato, Zyra Ruth Talaroc-Brebante, Lualhati Fernando-Callo, Peter Fermin Dajime. PHYSICAL
EDUCATION AND HEALTH VOLUME 2. QUEZON CITY: Rex Printing Company Inc., 2016.

Lee, Candy. “Introduction to Dance.” SlideShare Android, 25 July 2017,

https://www.slideshare.net/dgurlwholovesherlyf/introduction-to-dance-78217448. Accessed 20 Dec.
2020.

©2020 Good Samaritan Colleges

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including Page 4 of 4
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the Good Samaritan Colleges.