Brief History and Nature of Dance

Dance can be seen among all people and civilizations of the world. Dances thrives at different periods of history
and mostly were the result of intercultural exchange and contact (Alejandro and Santos-Gana, 2002)

 First archaeological proof of dance comes from the 9 thousand year old cave paintings in India.

 One of the earliest uses of structured dance was introduced in religious ceremonies that told the stories
of ancient myths and gods. Egyptian priests used this kind of visual storytelling in their rituals.

 Ancient Egyptians used dancing for both entertainment and religion.

 Dance represented important parts of many Greek and Roman religious ceremonies.

 Ancient Greeks and Romans annually celebrated their wine gods Dionysus and Bacchus with several
days long festivities filled with alcohol, song and dance.

 History of European medieval dance is fragmented and limited, but is believed that simple folk dances
were widespread among common and wealthy classes.

 Modern dance history in Europe started with Renaissance, when many new dances were invented. After
that, periods of Baroque, post French Revolution, Elizabethan era, World War 1, Prohibition, Ragtime
and pre-WW2 brought many new waves of dance styles.

 Waltz, one of the most popular dances today came into popularity in mid-19th century by the efforts of
the famous composer Johann Strauss, but its origins can be traced even to the distant 16th century.

 At first, waltz was performed with arm's length between male and female dances. The shocking
transition to the close embrace happened only after English Queen Victoria fell in love with the dance
and forced this change.

 Professional dance is today regarded as one of the most demanding physical abilities and sports.
According to studies, 80% of all professional dances have at least one major injury during their career
and staggering 93% of all dance teachers were forced into that position after career ending injury.

Benefits of Dance and Creative Movement

Physical
 Develops cardiovascular and muscular endurance
 Improves condition, balance, flexibility, and body composition.
 Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease
 Lowers body mass index and resting heart rate
 Improves lipid metabolism
 Enables joint mobility (hip motion and spine flexibility)
 Helps improve and maintain bone density, thus helps prevent osteoporosis
 Helps recover coordination and neuromuscular skills after injury

Mental/Emotional
 Helps keep the brain sharp
 Decrease incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
 Decrease depressive symptoms
  Increase self-esteem and improves body image
 Aids in releasing emotional and physical tension
Social
 Gives sense of togetherness within a group
 Encourages positive social interaction and interpersonal relationship in a group
 Contributes to the individual’s potential of self-actualization in society
Cultural
 Promotes cultural values

Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
Participates in an organized event that addresses health/fitness issues and concerns
Explains how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance

Elements of Dance

SPACE
This is the area where the performer occupy and move. It can be divided into four different aspects, also known
as spatial elements.
a. Direction – dance movements can travel in any direction. The performers can go forward, side,
backward, diagonal, circular, and so on. They may also face in any direction while executing a single
movement or several phrases.
b. Size – movements can be varied by doing larger or smaller actions.
c. Level – movements can be done in high, medium, or low level.
d. Focus – performers may change their focus by looking at different directions.

TIME
The movement in timing may be executed in varying tempo (speed) and rhythm.

Energy
The movements here propelled by energy or force. There are six qualities of dance energies presented below.
a. Sustained – done smoothly, continuously, and with flow and control. It does not have a clear beginning
and ending.
b. Percussive – movements are explosive or sharp.
c. Vibratory – movements consist of trembling or shaking. Faster version of percussive.
d. Swinging – movements trace a curve line or an arc in space.
e. Suspended – movements are perched in space or hanging on air.
f. Collapsing – movements are release in tension

Body/bodily shapes
It refers to how the entire body is molded in space or the configuration of the body parts.

Group Shapes
Group of dancers perform movements in different group shapes.
They can be wide, narrow, rounded, angular, symmetrical, or asymmetrical and are viewed together as a total
picture or arrangement within a picture frame
 Dance Appreciation and Composition

What makes a good dance?

A good dance displays a significant meaning or convey a message. It portrays life experiences and presented
abstractly or symbolically but still convey emotion and meaning.
It has a beginning, middle, and end/conclusion. The beginning of a dance may come in a form of shape, a pose,
or an entrance. The middle consist of a development or the exploration of the main idea. The conclusion should
be clear and may be in a form of a shape, a pose, or an exit.

Form – is the instrument by which ideas and elements are arrange or combined into a logical sequence which
results in unity and consistency.

Phrase – is a smallest unit of form in a whole dance

Motif – is a single movement or a short phrase of movement that embodies a style and intension of the dance. A
good dance contains a theme or motif to be able to convey its meaning or intention.

Characteristics of a Good Dance

1. Unity- the interconnected phrases of the dance are coherent and flow smoothly together.

2. Continuity and Development – the phases of the dance that are organized progressively, making each
movement phrase move naturally into the next.

3. Variety and Contrast – making one or several variations that highlight the facet of the motif. Variety and
contrast in movement phrases add excitement and flavour in the dance.

4. Transition – this is the link between the movements, phrases, and sections of the dance.

5. Repetition – it emphasizes movements and phrases that are important to the dance and gives a feeling of
closure to a work (Minton, 2007). Some phrases need to be repeated so that the audience can see those
movements again and identify its significance.

6. Climax – it is where the series of events culminates. It may be fast and enraged blast or energy and action, or
it could fade away to a gentle and quite exit that marks the end of a particular story (Rickett- Young, 1996)
All this characteristics are organized to contribute to the development of a meaningful dance.

Choreographic forms in Dance

1. Sequential Forms- these themes/motif which progress in a specific order. They are arranged accordingly.
a. AB (two-part) form – the simplest of the sequential form. It is a binary form with two contrasting sections
consisting of a beginning section (A) followed by a second section (B). Each section contains elements that
contrast. (Ex. love-hate, light-dark, huge-tiny)

a. ABA (three-art) form – composed of introductory theme (A), a contrasting theme (B), and a restatement
of original theme (A)

b. Rondo form (ABACA) – in this form, the unifying theme (A) returns after each contrasting theme.

2. Contrapuntal Forms – several themes are woven together in choreography to form complex structure.
 a. Ground Bass – single theme starts the dance and is repeated all the way through the dance while other
contrasting themes are simultaneously perform with it.

b. Round or Canon – consist of two or more movement phrases or theme

c. Fugue or Accumulation – constructed by adding on different movement in every repetition of the main
movement theme.

c. Suite – every section of the dance use different tempos and qualities.

1. Episodic form – it is not a musical forms; they are found in literature. They tell a story through
connected and progressive sections called episodes.

4. Other Compositional Forms

a. Natural structures
b. Collage
c. Tableau
d. Chance

Evaluating a Good Dance

The evaluator’s roles are categorized as:

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.

Stages in Assessing a Dance (Dance Critique)

1. Description – involves close observation of all the elements, characteristics, and components of a
dance. The evaluator/ critic notes down the composition of the dance in terms of the elements and the
characteristics of the dance.

2. Interpretation – involves an appreciation of the ideas, content, images, and style contained within the
dance.

3. Evaluation – takes into consideration how effectively the features (i.e., elements, characteristics) and
the context of the dance have been utilized in the actual performance of the dancers to portray the
content and the quality of the dance.

Analyzing and evaluating dance does not come out naturally and does not happened overnight. Beginner
evaluators/critics need guidance and direction in conceptualizing a dance critique.