PHYSICAL EDUCATION 3

 India and China:

HISTORY OF DANCE Dance throughout Asia has a rich history. While
Hindu dancing in India has a rich performance
 WHAT IS DANCING? history going back millennia, in the late 1700s, dance
was restricted by British colonists, who considered
 Dancing involves moving the body rhythmically, often in the dances immoral. Once India gained its freedom
a choreographed way and usually to music. from Great Britain, the country revived its classical
 Dance can express aesthetic ideas and emotions as a dance traditions. Chinese dance dates back at least
form of performance art presented to an audience. 3,000 years, with ceremonial dances and folk dances
 People also dance in nonperformance situations to adapted for performance at court. To this day,
release energy, express emotion, connect with other celebrations still include traditional dances such as
people, or just enjoy the feeling of movement. the dragon dance and lion dance.
 While the art of dance varies across history and cultures,
it exists in all cultures.  European social dances:
 In many cultures, both highly trained professionals and Social dancing in most parts of the world grew out of
amateurs of all ages dance. folk dances, many of which were simple and
repetitive. In Europe, the folk dances of the Middle
5 UNIVERSAL ELEMENTS OF DANCING Ages turned into formal ballroom dancing. These
dances moved into royal courts beginning in the
1. Body: Renaissance, becoming popular as dancing masters
The body is the primary instrument of dance. taught upper classes the proper steps for court
Dancers may use their entire bodies or limit dances. As women's clothing allowed more freedom
movement to certain body parts. Professional dancers of movement in the nineteenth century, social
train their bodies to have exceptional agility and dancing became more lively. The waltz, in particular,
strength. swept around the world as a major dance craze in the
mid-nineteenth century, and social dances began to
2. Action: focus on two-person dancing in the early twentieth
Action refers to what the dancer does while dancing, century.
whether they stay rooted in one spot or move across  Influence of ballet:
the floor and through the air. Much of the dance created by choreographers and
composers and performed as professional
3. Space: entertainment today has its roots in ballet, which, in
Dancers move through space in every possible way, turn, dates back to the Renaissance. Ballet dance
varying their level, direction, and path as they move, became an art in the eighteenth century, when ballet
no matter the form of dance. They also move, often companies sprang up around the world, telling entire
in very specific ways, in relation to other people stories through the emotional movements of the
taking part in a given dance. ballet dancers. As shoes and costumes changed,
dancers gained greater expressive freedom, but some
4. Time: ballet dancers found the rules (and the pointe shoes)
Time is one of the key elements of dance, as it relates of classical ballet restrictive. In the twentieth century,
to the rhythm of the movements. Performers often modern dancers and choreographers such as George
choreograph their dances to the meter of the music. Balanchine and Martha Graham began to deconstruct
ballet to create new forms of performance dance.
5. Energy:
The final element of dance, energy, speaks to how TIMELINE:
the dancers move through space and time. Dancers
can use their bodies and their dance technique to  3300 BCE
make movements that are smooth or sudden, that feel First Dancing
tight and restricted or light and relaxed. It is believed that the first people to dance
were the Egyptians. Archaeologists
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DANCE discovered paintings of dancing figures in
 Origins in antiquity: rock shelters and caves.
The earliest historical records showing the origins of
dance are cave paintings in India dating to about  1400
8000 BCE Egyptian tomb paintings also depict dance Ballet Comes Into Play
in about 3300 BCE These early dances may have Ballet started in Italy around the year 1400,
been religious in nature, and by the era of ancient but didn’t really become popular until
Greece, people were incorporating dance into around the year of 1500. Ballet gained its
celebrations of the wine god Dionysus (and later the popularity when a lady of the arts, Catherine
Roman god Bacchus) and into ritual dances at the de Medici, married King Henry 11 and
ancient Greek Olympic Games. In addition, early threw festivals where they would preform
people danced for enjoyment, seduction, and ballet dances. Ballet is believed to be the
entertainment. main core of every single dance style.
 PHYSICAL EDUCATION 3
but most of the time it is melancholy and or
intense. It involves a lot of technique usage.
 1600
Masque Dancing It is very popular among the competitive
Masque dancing started from elaborate dance scene today.
pageants and shows in the 16th century.
Masque dancing involved intricate  1970
costuming and stage designing that also Hip Hop Dance
incorporated singing and acting as well as Hip hop dance made an entrance in the
dancing. It was often used as a court 1970s. It originated from African tribe
entertainment. dances, but did not become popular until
way after the time it was started. Hip hop
 1795 involves sharp movements. There are many
Classical Persian Dancing styles of hip hop that include breaking,
This style of dance evolved from courtroom popping, locking, and more.
dancing. An era influencing Persian dance
was the Qajar Dynasty which lasted from  2018
1795 to 1925. Dancers would preform Dance Nowadays
artistic and lively dances for the Shah. The Today's dance style has taken a turn towards
music is usually played by a small band. more hip hop dances. Because of hip hop
has not been around nearly as long as most
 1800 dance styles, it's still the most popular style
Tippity Tappity, Time for Tap to this day. Small and popular dances that
Tap dancing originated from African tribe involve hip hop and that most everyone can
dancing. It is believed that tap dancing achieve include the whip and nae nae,
started in the mid-1800s. Tap dancing Gangnam Style (its a little old), shooting,
makes percussion sounds because of and more. Ballet, jazz, and contemporary
dancers most commonly wearing leather are very popular in dance studios, especially
shoes with two pieces of metal and clip and competitive dance studios.
clap against hard floors. Tap is still very
popular to this day.

 1890
Merengue Dancing
Merengue was first a music style that
originated in the Dominican Republic
before it became a dance style. The style
originated from laborers working in sugar
beet fields. It is a Caribbean dance style that
involves partners holding each other in a
tango-like position and moving their hips
side to side.

 1900
Jazz and Acro
Jazz dance originated from Africa and puts
an emphasis on rhythm and timing. Some
older styles of jazz movements include the
shimmy, the Lindy hop, and the Charleston.
Acro dance is short for acrobatics. It
originated in circuses such as Cirque De
Soleil. It involves doing smooth and flexible
movements, and lots of backbending and
tricks. Both these styles are widely popular
to this day.

 1950
Contemporary Dance
Contemporary dance is a style that
combines jazz, ballet, and modern dance. Its
said that the first ever contemporary
choreographer was Merce Cunningham.
Contemporary can be many different styles,