PE & H 12 PreLims

DANCE

“an aesthetic or even entertaining experience”.

Historically

it was described as “a product of the utmost intellectual effort, appraised according to aesthetic criteria and communicated meaning”.

Peggy van Praagh and Peter Brinson

dance consists of a communicative element where body movements are language ambiguous to the viewers. 

Alwin Nikolais

described dance "as the art of motion, where the motion is its end, without need to justify itself."

Anthropologically

dance is defined "as a transient mode of expression performed by moving through space in specific forms and styles, with selected rhythmic movements, in a way that both performers and the observing members of a group recognize it"

Multidimensionality

Dance provided a variety of functions throughout history due to its

Communicate

The first use of dance was a gesture to

Prehistoric past

The origins of the dance are rooted in the

PRE-CHRISTIAN ERA

The actual knowledge of dance came about within the great Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations.

ANCIENT EGYPT

• Dance became full-blown and was richly recorded.

• It was reflected in their wall paintings, reliefs, and in the literary record in hieroglyphs. 

• Most of the dances in this era were chiefly a medium of religious expression.

ANCIENT GREEKS

Dancing was taught to aid military education among the boys in Athens and Sparta.  Dance was also commonly used in education.

Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates

The Greek philosophers, such as ___, strongly supported this art as an integration of the body and soul. 

Plato

immensely gave importance to dance in education in his explanation of the Laws. He highlighted the two kinds of dance and music: the noble (fine and honorable) and the ignoble (imitating what is mean or ugly).

ANCIENT ROME

•  Gave less importance to dancing. 

• Dance became brutal and sensationalized as their entertainers were enslaved people and captives from many nationalities, and it was used more often for gruesome purposes.

• Dance eventually became an integral part of the corruption in the latter days of the Roman Empire, resulting in the condemnation of dance by the early Christians.

Church

was the sole custodian of learning and education and the source of morals. 

CHRISTIAN ERA

When the first Christian emperors came, theatrical entertainment was prohibited. However, dance existed and was performed within the church during religious ceremonies, if holy and profound.

DARK AND EARLY MIDDLE AGES

• Although, the church had condemned dance as entertainment.

• Some singers, dancers, poets, actors, musicians, and jugglers continued to wander during the Dark and early Middle Ages. They performed in village squares and were eventually welcomed in the castles and chateaus of feudal lords.

ballroom

the peasants danced on grass or the beaten earth of the town, while the noblemen danced on smooth floors or wood, or polished marble called the

Early Renaissance

Dance then was wholly accepted in the courts.

RENAISSANCE

• Dance and art, gained their returning power.

• The entertainers became a valuable appendage to the courts of Italy and France

• They were to serve the secular goals of the wealthy and powerful nobles who had emerged throughout Europe

Ballet

New court dances performed by the nobility came about, as did the rise of the art of__ in France

RENAISSANCE

• After the pinnacle of ballet prominence, contemporary dances that were stylistic variations of ballet emerged and evolved in Europe

• Other dance forms also were widely recognized worldwide.

Aerobic

Several forms of dancing are considered __ since they entail about an hour of “continuous exercise, choreographed to music.”

RECREATIONAL DANCE

• A social activity where people of all ages can join.

• Includes folk, cultural, historical, and social dances.

• Focuses on tradition, culture, and enjoyment.

Steps, figures, and music are based on culture, history, or geography.

DANCE FITNESS

• A fitness activity designed to improve health and fitness.

• Includes modern fitness dance programs like Zumba and cardio dance.

• Focuses on cardio, strength, and flexibility.

• Steps and music are chosen to make exercise fun and effective.

SPACE

It is the area that the performers occupy and where they move in and around.

DIRECTION

The performers can go forward, sideward, backward, diagonal, circular, and so on

SIZE

• Movements can be varied by doing larger or smaller actions.

LEVEL

• Movements can be done in a high, medium, or low level. 

FOCUS

Performers may change their focus by looking in different directions.

beat or pulse

Performers move with the tempo of an underlying sound, known as

TIMING

The movements may be executed at varying tempos

DANCE ENERGIES

• Dance movements are propelled by energy or force. 

A force can either initiate or stop an action

SUSTAINED

• Movements are done smoothly, continuously, and with flow and control. 

• Do not have a clear beginning and ending. 

PERCUSSIVE

• Movements are explosive or sharp in contrast with sustained movements.

• They where accented with a thrust of energy.

• Clear beginning and ending.

VIBRATORY

• Movements consist of trembling or shaking. 

• They are a faster version of percussive movements that produce a jittery effect. 

SWINGING

• Movements trace a curved line or an arc in space. 

• The movements are relaxed and giving in to gravity on the downward part of the motion, followed by an upward application of energy. 

SUSPENDED

Movements are perched in space or hanging on air.

COLLAPSING

• Movements are released in tension and gradually or abruptly giving in to gravity, letting the body descend to the floor. 

melting or oozing

A slow collapse can be described as a __ action in a downward direction.

BODILY SHAPES

• They refer 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 body shapes can be wide to narrow and high to low. 

• They can be symmetrical and asymmetrical. 

SYMMETRICAL

• balanced shape; movements are practically identical or similar on both sides. 

ASYMMETRICAL

• unbalanced shape; movements of two sides of the body do not match or are completely different from each other.

GROUP SHAPES

• A group of dancers performs movements in different group shapes. 

• They are arranged in wide, narrow, rounded, angular, symmetrical, or asymmetrical ways and are viewed together as a total picture or arrangement within a picture frame.