Physical Education: Introduction to Dance and Rhythmic Activities

This set of flashcards covers vocabulary and key historical facts regarding dance, including its various styles and cultural origins as detailed in the Physical Education transcript.

Dance (General Definition)

The human body rhythmically moving through space and time with energy or effort, engaging physical, mental, and spiritual attributes.

Plato's Assertion on Dance

Stated that dance trains the mind and soul to differentiate among forms of actions, feelings, and ideas capable of producing nobility of character.

Aristotle's Ranking of Dance

Ranked dance among educational activities qualifying as ends or things of value for themselves, used to represent men's characters and actions.

Thomas Munro's Definition

Defined dance as an art of rhythmic bodily movement presenting an ordered sequence of moving visual patterns of line, solid shape, and color.

Barbara Mettler

Defined dance as "art, the art of body movement."

John Weaver

An English ballet master who in $1721$ described dancing as an elegant and regular movement harmoniously composed of beautiful Attitudes and graceful Posture.

9000-year-old cave paintings

The first archaeological proof of dance found in India.

Dionysus and Bacchus

Greek and Roman wine gods celebrated annually with several days of festivities involving song and dance.

Waltz

A popular dance that came into prominence in the mid-$19^{th}$ century through composer Johann Strauss, with origins tracing to the $16^{th}$ century.

Queen Victoria

The English monarch who influenced the transition of the waltz from being performed at arm's length to a close embrace.

UK Dance Industry

Employs around $30,000$ people and maintains approximately $200$ dance companies.

Professional Dancer Injury Rate

Studies show that $80$ percent of professional dancers suffer at least one major injury during their career.

Lion Dance

A religious and ceremonious dance in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan used to bring good fortune, ward off evil spirits, and showcase martial arts.

Marie Taglioni

The first ballet dancer to use pointe shoes, specifically in the $1832$ ballet "La Sylphide."

Tutu shoe cost

Costs up to $2000$ dollars to be made, with a ballerina wearing between $2$ and $3$ pairs per week.

Cha-Cha

A famous modern dance that originated from Cuba.

Can-can (or cancan)

An energetic ballroom dance featuring female dancers in long skirts that originated in $1830s$ Paris ballrooms.

Tap-dancing

A dance style originating from the tribal dances of enslaved Africans, which became popular in the United States during the $1920s$ and $1930s$.

Nicholas brothers

Performers instrumental in bringing tap-dancing style into Hollywood movies during the early $20^{th}$ century.

Polka

An energetic dance focused on jumping, hopping, and turning that swept across the world in the mid-$19^{th}$ century.

Italian Viennese Waltz

The first ballroom dance ever created.

Capoeira

A mix of dancing and fighting developed in Brazil by enslaved Africans who were prohibited from practicing martial arts.

Breakdancing

Created in the $1970s$ Bronx area of New York City as a "less lethal" form of fighting between warring African-American street gangs.

Tango

A sensual dance originating in $1890s$ Argentina that quickly became successful in Europe.

Folk Dance

A type of dance that is a vernacular, usually recreational expression of a past or present culture, reflecting the life of people in a certain region.

Social Dance

Dances intended for participation, socialization, and entertainment rather than performance, which may have ceremonial or competitive functions.

Ballroom Dance

A set of partner dances enjoyed socially and competitively, often referred to as Dancesport in the context of competition.

Ballet

A performance dance originating during the Italian Renaissance in the $15^{th}$ century that later developed in France and Russia.

Jazz Dance

A high-energy dance form combining African and European styles that features improvisation and responds to the musicians' spontaneous creations.

Street Dance

Dance styles evolved outside of studios in open spaces like streets, parks, and nightclubs, often social and improvisational in nature.

Hip-hop dance

Refers to street dance styles performed to hip-hop music, notably including breaking, locking, and popping created in the $1970s$.