PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH 12

What is Dance
The word “dance” comes from the Greek word “DANSON” which means to stretch. All dancing is made
up of stretching and relaxing. “Sayaw” easily lead to one say that it must have derived from the word
“SAYA” which means happy. Dance's purpose can be in recreation, entertainment, education, therapy,
and religion. Dance differs from athletics and other daily activities because it focuses more on aesthetics
and entertainment.

 Dance of many types is an expression of rhythm and music.

 It is a pure expression of the dancer's thoughts and feelings.
 It is the union of the movement rhythm and arts of life.
 It is the union of minds and bodies expressing the intangible thought.
 It is man’s primitive and natural self-expression

PEOPLE REASONS IN DANCING

1. To please the gods
2. To please others
3. To please themselves (self-expression)
4. To build community within an ethnic group (social interaction)

HISTORY OF DANCE

PREHISTORIC ERA-Dance as an entertainment. Dance in a form of survival. Dance was a gesture form to
communicate
• A major form of Religion, rituals, and social expression in primitive cultures
• Way of expressing tribal unity and strength
• An approach for courtship and mating
• A means of worship, communication, and therapeutic experience
ANCIENT EGYPT ERA
• Became full-blown and has richly recorded
• Reflected in wall paintings, reliefs, and in the literary record in hieroglyphs
• As a medium of religious expression
ANCIENT GREEK CIVILIZATION
• Dance as an aid to military education
• A form of entertainment and display
• Dance in Education PLATO, ARISTOTLE and SOCRATES strongly supported as an integration of
the body and soul
ANCIENT ROME
• They “STOP VALUING” such qualities in art as the nation grew WEALTHY and POWERFUL
• Romans ceased to create and perform with the arts
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN EUROPE
• The Christian Fathers approved the use of dance provided that its form and intent were holy
and profound
• Dances then became part of the worship and church services
DARK & EARLY MIDDLE AGES (ROUND DANCE AND SOCIAL DANCE)
• They performed Dance in villages to welcome “FEUDAL LORDS” in the castles
• The common people have amused themselves by doing dances that were social in Character
• Gave importance in Dance
• Beginning of Social Dancing
Dancers/Performers was the Peasants, farmer with limited land ownership, tax fees and slaves
-Peasants dance on grass and ground
-Noble men, in smooth wood polished and marble called BALLROOM
RENAISSANCE
• Wholly accepted in courts as the gradual increase of the capitalist class produced patrons of
learning and art in Europe
• Dance and art in general gained impetus
• “The entertainers become valuable to the courts of Italy and France “
EUROPE O IN 15TH & 16TH CENTURY
• New court dances performed by nobility and the rise of art in “BALLET” in Italy and France
• Other dance forms continued to spread across several countries

BENEFITS OF DANCE

PHYSICAL
● Malvar 2006, defines dancing as a good way to develop cardiovascular and muscular endurance
● Fine, 1981;Keller, 2007;childs, 2007 promotes balance and flexibility
● Rickett-young, 1996 dance training improves coordination
● Angioi et al, 2009, observation were significant improvements of aerobic and muscular fitness in
contemporary dancers who engage in low moderate intensity dance genres.
● Flores 1995, increase of fitness results in great lowering of the body mass index and resting
heart rate for those who engage in dance-based fitness activity
● Develops cardiovascular and muscular endurance
● Improves coordination, balance, flexibility, and body composition
● Lowers risks of cardiovascular diseases
● Lowers body mass index
● Helps improve and maintain density, thus helps prevent osteoporosis
● Helps recover coordination and neuromuscular skills after injury
● Lowers resting heart rate
● Improves lipid metabolism
● Enables joint mobility (hip motion and spine flexibility)

MENTAL/EMOTIONAL
● Ravelin et al(2006), suggested dance can be used as an invention in mental health
● Attributed dance as a medium for developing one's body image
● Keller, 2007; Childs, 2007; Ravelin et al.,2006 add to evidence that exercise can help keep the
brain sharp
● Vorghese et al, 2003 greatly support the mental benefits of dancing in their study which
decreases the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease
 ● Gondoh et al 2009; studied the effects of aerobic exercise on brain structure and psychological
well-being.
● Helps keep the brain sharp
● Decreases incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease
● Decreases depressive symptoms
● Increases self-esteem and improves body image
● Aids in releasing emotional and physical tension

SOCIAL
● Kraus and Gaufman, 1981, believed that “it contributes to each individual's potential for the
fullest possible self-actualization in society.”
● Dance provides a unique opportunity for meaningful group involvement
● Childs, 2007; Dance-based fitness regimens are the increasing need for self-expression and
social interactions amongst men and women in the new millennium
● Gives a sense of togetherness within the group
● Encourages positive social interaction and interpersonal relationships in a group
● Contributes to the individual potential for self-actualization in society

CULTURAL
● Duggan, Schlottmann, Rutledge, 1948; promotes the understanding and appreciation of the
lives of people represented their respective folk cultures and specific country through “folk
dances”.
• Promotes cultural values
• Promotes a place or a country’s rich culture by showcasing the different cultural dances
• Brings the people around the world to a closure understanding of the lives of the people
represented

ELEMENTS OF DANCE

SPACE-It is the area that the performers occupy and where they move.
• DIRECTION- Performers go Forward, Backward, Diagonal, Circular
• SIZE-Movements with Larger or smaller actions
• LEVEL-Movements with High, Medium, or Low Level
• FOCUS- Looking in different directions
DANCE ENERGIES-Dance movements are propelled by energy or force.
• Sustained- Smoothly, continuously, and with flow and control
• Percussive- Explosive or sharp in contrast with sustained movements
• Vibratory- Movements consist of trembling or shaking
• Swinging-Movements trace a curve line or an arc
• Suspended- Movements are perched in space or hanging in the air
• Collapsing- Released tension and gradually or abruptly into gravity, letting the body drop into
the floor
TIMING
• 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.

BODILTY SHAPE
• Bodily shape refers to how the entire body is molded in space or the configuration of body
parts.
• The body can be rounded, angular, or a combination of two.
• Other bodily shapes can be from wide to narrow and from high to low.
GROUP SHAPE
• In this element, a group of dancers performs movements in different group shapes.
• Members of the group are arranged in ways that are wide, narrow, rounded, angular,
symmetrical, or asymmetrical and are viewed together as a total picture or arrangement within
a picture frame.