P.E.

4 (DANCE)
Midterm

What is dance?

DANCE – is a movement set to music where there emerge organization, structure and pattern.
Dancing – is the act of moving rhythmically to an accompaniment

Reason why people dance?

1. Improves health 6. Social skills
2.Improves academic benefits 7. Medical benefits
3. emotional well-being 8. Explore culture
4. intellectual growth 9. Lower stress
5. boost self confidence 10. Artistic expression and growth

ELEMENTS OF DANCE
Dance entails a lot of movements, it uses the very same elements, space, time, and energy. These elements
are beneficial to anyone interested in recognizing, analyzing, or creating movement. When participating in
dance, all elements of dance are integrated all the time. The separation among concepts here serves as a
means to think about, plan, and discuss dance.

• BODY – in dance, the body is the mobile figure or shape, felt by the dancer, seen by others. The body is
sometimes relatively still and sometimes changing as the dancer moves in place or travels through the dance
area. Dancers may emphasize specific parts of their body in a dance phrase or use their whole body all at
once.

The body is the conduit between the inner realm of Intentions, ideas, emotions and identity and the outer
realm of expression and communication. Whether watching dance or dancing ourselves, we shift back and
forth between the inner/outer sense of body. When we look at a dancer's whole body we might consider the
overall shape design; is it symmetrical? twisted? What part of the body initiates movement?

• ACTION – is any human movement included in the act of dancing— it can include dance steps, facial
movements, partner lifts, gestures, and even everyday movements such as walking. Dance is made up of
streams of movement and pauses, so action refers not only to steps and sequences, but also to pauses and
moments of relative stillness.

Dancers may use movements that have been choreographed or traditional dances taught by others who know
the dances. Depending on the dance style or the choreographer's decision, dancers may also revise or
embellish movement they have learned from others.
Movement can also be improvised, meaning that the dancers make it up "on the spot" as they spontaneously
dance. Movement that travels through space is broadly called locomotor movement in contrast to axial
movement, which occurs in one spot.

• SPACE – Dancers interact with space in myriad ways. They may stay in one place or they may travel from one
place to another. They may alter the direction, level, size, and pathways of their movements. This is the area
the performers occupy and where they move. It can be divided into four different aspects, also known as
spatial elements.
➢direction – dance movements can travel in any direction. The performers can go
forward, side, backward, diagonal, circular, and so on. They may also face any direction
while executing a single movement or several phrases.
➢size – movements can be varied by doing larger or smaller actions.
➢level – movements can be done a high, medium, or low level.
➢focus – performers may change their focus by looking at different directions.

• TIME – The keyword for the element of time is When? Human movement is naturally rhythmic in the broad
sense that we alternate activity and rest. Breath and waves are examples of rhythms in nature that repeat, but
not as consistently as in a metered rhythm. The movements in timing may be executed in varying tempo
(speed). Performers move with the tempo of an underlying sound, known as beat or pulse. The timing can be
varied by moving faster or slower than the normal beat. When a sequence of a movement or group of phrases
is done in varying tempos, they generate rhythmic patterns. The addition of silences or pauses also adds to
rhythmic patterns.

• ENERGY – is about how the movement happens. Choices about energy include variations in movement flow
and the use of force, tension, and weight. An arm gesture might be free flowing or easily stopped, and it may
be powerful or gentle, tight or loose, heavy or light. There are six qualities of dance energies presented below:
➢sustained – refers to a continuous and flowing movement where a dancer’s motion is constant, even, and
smooth. Although the sustained dynamic is best observed and demonstrated through slow controlled motion
it can also describe fast movement where a dancer is able to keep their movement even, constant, and steady
but at an increased speed.

Words that can describe sustained movements:

Controlled, smooth, held, even, constant, continuous, uninterrupted, steady, endless, connected, unfaltering,
unceasing, unbroken, gradual, heavy, delayed, flowing, maintained, non-stop, unbroken, connected, seamless,

➢percussive – refers to movements that are performed in a sudden, abrupt or sharp way. They have a strong
and often assertive, quality as the dancer exerts energy and strength to produce stacatto like moves with their
body.

Words that can describe percussive movements:

Strong, sharp, strike, beat, sudden, bang, choppy, jagged, abrupt, hit, tap, staccato, assertive, forceful,
vigourous, energetic, bold, fiesty, thump, thwack, punch, whack 4

➢vibratory – refers to rapid movements that are continuously moving to and fro. The reverberation could be
forwards and backward, side to side, up and down – whatever inventive way a dancer is able to move their
bodies. A dancer may make their whole body shake and tremble or the vibration could involve quivering an
arm, shaking their head very fast, or even thrashing a leg.

Words that can describe vibratory movements:

flicker, palpitate, ripple, stagger, thrash, toss, waggle, wiggle, librate, wobble, vacillate, fluctuate, flutter,
quiver, reverberate, shiver, shudder, pulsate, pulse, convulse

➢swinging – is a quality of movement that creates arches or circular shapes. It uses the pull of gravity on the
body to create a pendulum-like forward and backward motion. In dance swinging our bodies can also mean
oscillating up and down, from corner to corner or round and round.
Words that can describe swinging movements: sway, shift, pendulate, waving, spinning, twirling, arch,
circular, round, oscillate, teeter-totter, swivel, switch, undulate, whirl, rock, roll, pivot, seesaw, fluctuate,
teeter, waver, dangle

➢suspended – is a quality that emphasizes the peaks of movement through the effort of holding, lingering,
and hovering before pulling back. The dancer suspends their motion in mid-air to create the illusion of defying
gravity.

Words that can describe suspended movements:

weightless, hanging, buoyant, float, peak, hovering, rise, defy gravity, levitate, drift, linger, cling,

➢collapsing – refers to movements where a dancer lets go of tension in their body to produce a noticeable
quality of release in their motion. The collapse can be performed in any downward direction and by the whole
body or in isolation such as letting an arm fall from a raised position.

Words that can describe collapsed movements:

falling, release, concave, convex, cave in, sag, slump, flopping, crumple, crumble, faint, give way, sunken,
incurved, incurvate

DIFFERENT DANCE FORMS

• FOLK DANCE – it is the oldest form of dance and the earliest form of communication. It is developed by
people that reflect the life of the people of a certain country or region.

 BALLET – was taken from the Italian word ballare, meaning to dance and ballo, referring to dances
performed in a ballroom. There are several definitions of ballet from different authors.

 MODERN DANCE – a term to describe contemporary dance, is a dance style of dancing where dancers are
free to express their feelings through movements without adhering to any rules in dance particularly that
of ballet.
-it uses their own interpretations instead of structured steps.

• CHEERDANCE – is coined from the words, CHEER, and DANCE. To cheer is to shout out words or phrases that
may help motivate and boost the morale of a playing team and perform better during a game. Dance, on the
other hand, is a physical activity where one expresses emotions, or gestures while performing bodily
movements usually in time with Rhythm.

• BALLROOM DANCING- It is one of the most entertaining and elite styles dancing. In the earlier days,
ballroom dance was only for the privileged class of people, the socialites. This style of dancing with a partner,
originated in Germany, but is now a popular act followed in varied styles.

 DANCESPORT – is a combination of art and sport. It was called competitive ballroom dancing. This goes
with partners (male and female) competing against other partners dancing on the floor. It provides avenue
to gain discipline of the body and mind.
- WDC ( the World Dancesport Federation) is the governing body of dancesport.
The 5 latin dances are – Samba, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive
The 5 standard dances are – Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep
• Street Dance ( HIP-HOP DANCE )- refers to street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music that
have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes wide range of styles primarily breaking, locking, and
popping which were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States.
4 fundamental characteristics
1. Rapping(MCing) – vocal element. Rap music is the heart of hip-hop musical genre
2. Disc jockeying (DJing) – means scratching or turn-table record mixing
3. Break dancing (B-boying) – an elaborate social dance form that came from teenage Latino and
African American males in the South Bronx of New York City
4. Graffiti Art – also known as aerosol art

• FESTIVAL DANCE- These are cultural dances performed to the strong beats of percussion instruments by
community of people sharing the same culture usually done in honor of a Patron Saint or in thanksgiving of a
bountiful harvest.