1

DANCE
1. THE ART OF DANCING
Dance involves a successive group of bodily motions and steps rhythmically performed and timed
to music.

Dancing is both an art and a form of recreation. As an art, a dance may tell a story, set a mood,
or express an emotion. A form of recreation, dancing has long provided fun, relaxation, and
companionship.

It can be traced that dance as an art started from the moment it was harnessed to a rhythm,
probably the stamping of the feet and clapping of the hands. It is an art ever present in the
performer’s bodies till they die. It was only recently that the movements of dances were recorded
and used in films and in television shows.

2. ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DANCE

Dance has primitive beginnings. It can be deducted from the behavior of primitive tribes surviving
today that the rhythm that spurred on the dances mostly came from the best sustained through
the stamping of the feet on the ground.

In earlier times, a supplication to the Gods was the beginning of the religious aspect of dancing.
It is believed that the more grotesque kind of dancing in plays and spectacles were developed
by the Romans. This brought the theatrical form of dancing into disrepute.

FUNCTION OF DANCE
1. In many societies, dancing has been used in workship.
2. Throughout history, dancing has also played a role in courtship.
3. Children dance because of the joy they feel.
4. Some primitive peoples believe that dances bring them magic powers. They danced to
bring victory, or to restore health to life.
5. Much of our social dancing it’s for the sake of companionship.
6. They dance to give beauty and inspiration to others.

Dancing serves many other purposes. For many people, dancing provides one of the most
personal and affective means of communication. And it provides for us a release of tension in
our body.

2
3. COMPONENTS OF THE DANCE

1. THE DANCER it is through the body of the dancer that at art dancing is portrayed, and the
physical, emotional and natural characteristics of the dancer determine the quality and
the nature of the dance.
2. CHOREOGRAPHER is the arranger of dances, either for a soloist or for a group and is the
most important figure in dance history. He has a creative mind that invents the order and
combination of steps, the pattern of group dances, and the communication of narrative
by using familiar actions in new and more complex ways.
3. ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE DANCE sound for the dancer who is blessed with conscious
rhythm and can perform highly complex and stylish movements in silence.
4. THEATRICAL EFFECTS every device of costume, make-up and theatrical effects.

4. ELEMENTS OF THE DANCE

THEME it’s the content or the main ingredient of the dance. It tells us what a dance is trying to
tell or convey. It has something to do with the message of the dance

DESIGN refers to the planned organization or pattern of movement in time and space.

MOVEMENT is the action of dancers as they use their bodies to create organized patterns.

TECHNIQUE this is skill in executing movement.

KIND OF DANCES
Varied in form, the dance may be performed for religious, magical, commemorative, ceremonial,
recreational, or entertainment purposes some type which are important are the following:

1. ETHNOLOGIC DANCE/ FOLK DANCING

- This is a dance which is native to a specific race or ethnic group
- It includes folk dancing because folk dances are often derived from ethnic dances.
- These dances are associated with national and cultural groups
- A folk dancing is a form of social dancing that has become part of the customs and
traditions of people
- By means of folk dances, we can learn a great deal about the culture of a people-the
beliefs, interests, desires and habits

a. TINIKLING is our national dance. All attired in native apparel, the balintawak and
barong tagalog, the onlookers cheer as a couple dance, skipping between
bamboo poles.
b. BANGA literally means clay pot, used as water for food containers these clay pots
are balanced on the head of Igorot women as they wind up and down the
mountain trail.
c. BILAAN is a dance that depicts the lively, simply movements of birds in flight and
as they preen themselves, beautifully portrayed tribal maidens. Costumes worn are
typical of the ethnic tribe Bilaan from Cotabato.
d. ITIK-ITIK is native dance interpreting the playfulness of ducklings wading in the river.
e. JOTA CAVITIŇA is that shows strong Spanish influence. Costume is elaborately
embroidered “Maria Clara” and “Barong Tagalog”. Castanets, fashioned from
bamboo, provide clacking sounds adding to the lilting music.

3
 f. PANDANGGO SA SAMBALILONG is a flirtation dance from Bulacan. It shows a barrio
swain and his lady love play and dance with a native hat. He tries to show off by
picking the hat from the ground without using his hands.
g. SAYAW ED TAPEW NA BANGKO a couple “showing off” their skills while dancing on
top of a long and narrow bench.
h. SINGKIL is a famous dance from Mindanao. The princess, prince and their retinue,
in a pose of the Singkil. This is an intricate dance where the dancer’s feet dart
precariously in and out of a complicated pattern of clacking bamboo poles.

2. SOCIAL DANCE OR BALLROOM DANCES

- Are popular types of dancing generally performed by pairs.
- They include such forms as waltz, fox trot, swing and old favorites as the cha-cha,
bogie, tango as well as the latest the rock dances.
- Ballroom dancing is presently undergoing a period of revival which is not only enjoyed
and appreciated by the elders but also the youngsters as well.
3. THEATRICAL OR SPECTACULAR DANCE
- This type of dance is so called because it is performed for the entertainment of
spectators.
- Theatrical dancing includes the ballet, modern dance, musical comedy dances and
tap dancing.
- Theatrical dancers may take personal satisfaction in creating something beautiful.

4
a. BALLET is the formalized type of dance which as its origin in the royal courts of the
Middle Ages.
b. MODERN DANCE is a dance form characterized as natural and free. It does not
stick to conventions, and has varied styles of movements, usually based on the
current trend.

5
 RHYTHM
Is the arrangement of sounds as they move through time.
In Music, the placement of sounds in time. In its general sense rhythm (Greek rhythmos, derived
from rhein, “to flow”) is an ordered alternation of contrasting elements. The notion of rhythm also
occurs in other arts (e.g. poetry, painting, sculpture, and architecture) as well as in nature (e.g.,
biological rhythms).

RHYTHMIC ACTIVITIES
- Activities where one responds to music physically and emotionally to any rhythmic
accompaniment.

FUNDAMENTAL RHYTHMS

1. Kind of Notes, Rests, Values of Notes

Whole Note Whole Rest 4 counts

4 counts

Half Note Half Rest 2 counts

2 counts

Quarter Note Quarter Rest

1 count
1 count

Eighth Note Eighth Note

½ count
½ count

1/16th Note 1/16th Note

¼ count
¼ count

2. Parts of a Note

flag
stem
head
3. Meaning and Different time signature
 It is the number of beats per measure and a kind note that receives one beat.

“Common Time”

Four beats per measure Quarter note gets the beat

“Cut Time”

6
 Two beats per measure Half note gets the beat

“Waltz Time”

Three beats per measure Quarter note gets the beats

“6/8 Time”

Six beats per measure Eighth note gets the beat

4. Beat
 Is the basic unit of time
 Is a steady of a pulse
5. Count
 Refer to things that can be divided up into smaller units which are separate and
distinct each other.
6. Measure
 A measure is the section of a staff that comes between two barlines (or bar lines).
Each measure satisfies the specified time signature: a song written in 4 time will hold
four quarter note beats per measure.

7. Bar
 Vertical line in a measure
8. Double Bar Line
 Two vertical lines, symbolizes to a top measure of a song.

9. Sound
 Is created when an object vibrates. These vibrations are perceived by our ears and
then sent to our brain. Our brain in tum analyzes these signals and lets us know what
type of sound we are hearing (i.e. an alarm clock ringing, a car horn blaring, etc.
 Music is differentiated from other sounds because it has certain qualities.

7
 MOVEMENTS COMMON TO ALL DANCES
All forms of dance involve movement of the body. Although dance movement may at times be
confined only to the body which are NON-LOCOMOTORS or AXIAL MOVEMENT.

FIVE (5) FUNDAMENTAL STEPS IN DANCING

1. WALK the weight is transferred from one foot to the other, alternately, one foot always
being in contact with the ground.
2. RUN the speed of the walk is increased, and there is a brief period when neither is in
contact with the ground.
3. LEAP a spring into the air means of a strong push-off from one foot, returning to the ground
on the opposite foot.
4. JUMP the body springs into the air by a two foot off and landing on two feet.
5. HOP is a spring into the air by means of a strong push-off from one foot, returning to the
ground on the same foot.

GRAPHIC PRESENTATION
A walk, leap, jump and hop are all done to an even beat, sometimes designated as long
and represented graphical as:

count 1 count 2

LONG LONG
counting interval

count 1 count 2 count 3 count 4

SHORT SHORT SHORT SHORT

counting interval counting interval counting interval

SLIDE the weight as transferred from one foot to the other by means of a step on one foot followed
by a quick drawing up of the other foot, with an immediate transfer of weight to it, resulting in a
sideward movement.
GALLOP is similar to a slide, except the gallop
moves forward, and the foot executing the
leap is brought up to but not beyond the foot
that has completed the step.

CHOREOGRAPHY is the art of making dances,

and the person who does this is called
CHOREOGRAPHER.

DANCERS those people who dance.