This chapter takes a broad look at the relationship between human movement, framed as dance, and important identities such as religion, ethnicity, gender, and social status. While not specifically focused on issues of identity in America, this chapter will provide an important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a representation of cultural values, which will underlie the remainder of our coursework. Before starting this chapter it might be useful for you to write out your definition of dance.
Let’s pretend for a moment that aliens landed on earth looking for intelligent life. Obviously they ended up at your apartment and asked you all sorts of questions. One of which is: “What is dance? ” What would you say? On a macro-level, dance provides a medium through which people are able to represent and express particular emotions or experiences. It also provides opportunities for people to engage in a collective activity, creating social connectivity. Starting before we are even born, we experience life through moving our bodies.
From small movements like breathing and blinking to big movements like running and jumping, every human being has the impulse to move. “The impulse to move is the…raw material that cultures shape into evocative sequences of physical activity that we call dance. ” List three of the six examples a. courting and courtly dances b. wedding dances and funeral dances c. dances that arouse, amuse, or uplift onlookers ???? “Dance Anthropology views dance in its…social and cultural contexts. ”
“Encoded in the form (the shapes and colors of the bodies, costumes, and props, the sound and rhythm of the music, etc. ),technique (the methods by which dancers and musicians learn the dance), and structure (how the components of the dance are organized into a larger whole) of every dance are meanings and values of importance to the dancers and to those who share their view of the world. ” How does an anthropological view of dancing at a Judeo-Christian wedding shed light on Western society?
What do we learn about Judeo-Christian culture from looking at wedding dances? Considering that dance at a wedding represents the inauguration of the secular portion of the ceremony, an antrhopoligical view further indicates the uneasiness of the Judeo-Christian culture regarding the dancing body in social settings. It emphasizes the tendency of Western culture to separate sacred from secular. Western missionaries interpreted Tahitians dances as immoral and in 1820 outlawed any practice associated with dancing.
Tahitian dances, though, serve a powerful purpose to enforce gender distinctions. Why is this important to Tahitian society, and how are gender roles enforced through dance? The distinction between gender roles was necessary to preserve the livelihood of the civilization. These gender roles served as a means of controlling gender roles. The respective movements of men and women were oriented around the reproductive tendencies of their bodies. Men would thrust their pelvises while women would sway their hips.
When looking at dance from an anthropological view one must see that “dancing occurs not in isolation but…as a part of some culturally shaped event. ” Very different than the dance of Cambodia and Tahiti, “Ballet, which is the quintessentially European form of dance drama, had its origins in…the court entertainments of Renaissance Italy and France. ” How were court dances structured to reveal the hierarchy of the court? Rank was indicated by the order in which guests danced, couple by couple, before the court nobility.
The highest ranked danced first while successive ranks followed. “Many ideals of courtly behavior were refined into aesthetic principles. ” Define aesthetics-set of principles that guide the work of an artistic movement. An example of a Western European Aesthetic: “In its resolve to prevail over, rather than accommodate, the forces of nature, ballet gives expression to one of the characteristic aspirations of Western societies. ” What shapes or elements of Ballet seek to prevail over the forces of nature?
The lightness of steps and bounds, defying gravity, grace, effortlessness, and prevailing over nature as opposed to accomodating its forces. ? Europeans danced to be free from power of nature, while Native Americans danced to access the power of the natural world. “Dance was good for the body and good for the spirit and essential to integrating the two. The natural world pulsed with power; since…. ????? ” How did the Ghost Dances begin, what did its practitioners believe dancing the dance would accomplish, and how did the American government react?
They began in response to pressure from caucasian settlers. The dance would provoke a great earthquake, swallowing up nonbelieveers, and restoring the natural balance of the Indians. Is your definition of dance beginning to change? Which example has contrasted most with your definition of dance? The power of dance as a tool for social progression. Theophile Gautier wrote, “The dance is nothing more than…the art of displaying beautiful shapes in graceful positions and the development from them of lines agreeable to the eye. ”
Roger Copeland defined it as, “Any movement…designated to be looked at” Joann Keali’inohomoki defines dance as, “a transient mode of expression…performed in a given form and style by the human body moving through space. Dance occurs through purposefully selected and controlled rhythmic movements; the resulting phenomenon is recognized as dance both by the performer and the observing members of a given group. ” After reading this chapter, which author do you think is the closest to actually defining what dance is? Why?
I prefer Gautier's definition. Each defintion presupposes a particular ideology. Gautier sees dance as art, while Copeland sees it neutrally, and Keali' sees it technically. However, Gautier's perception and defintion gives the most to dance's potential and application. After reading this chapter, what is your definition of dance? Dance is still a means of representing and expressing particular emotions or experienes; however, I might add that its applications extend beyond entertainment and can serve a more rigorous agenda.
