History of dance

Dance

Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting.

Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication between humans or animals (bee dance, mating dance), motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind), and certain musical forms or genres. People who dance are called dancers and the act of dance is known as dancing. An event where dancing takes place may be called a dance. Choreography is the art of making dances.

Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as Folk dance) to codified, virtuoso techniques such as ballet. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming contain dance disciplines while Martial arts 'Kata' are often compared to dances.

History of dance

The history of dance may be as long as the history of mankind. We can only guess how dances looked like in earlier epochs.

An early manuscript describing dance is the Natya Shastra on which the modern interpritation classical Indian dance (e.g. Bharathanatyam) is based.

In European culture, one of the earliest records of dancing is by Homer, whose "Iliad"; describes chorea (khoreia).

The early Greeks made the art of dancing into a system, expressive of all the different passions. For example, the dance of the Furies, so represented, would create complete terror among those who witnessed them. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, ranked dancing with poetry, and said that certain dancers, with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions, and actions. The most eminent Greek sculptors studied the attitude of the dancers for their art of imitating the passions

Throughout history, people have danced as part of religious rituals and social celebrations. It is traceable through many prehistoric documents. Court dancing has existed perhaps as long as there have been kings and queens. A brief outline might include folk, social, ballroom, religious, and experimental dance forms. One major branch of dance is Theatrical Dance as it has evolved in the Western World. However the dance that we can reconize and know now is ballet, which fist revolved in the renaissance of the 1500s in France.

Ballet rose out of the new philosophies and modes of thought which were the basis of the Enlightenment, namely, that man was the focal point of the universe and could control his existence through the arts and sciences. ‘By using music that imitated exactly the proportions of the harmony of the spheres, sixteenth century man believed he could attract planetary influences. Dance in itself was an imitation of the movement of the heavens.’

It was during the late 1500s that the court ballet came into its own as a movement art, funded entirely by the French monarchy for the purpose of extolling its own greatness. The ballets took place as a part of the magnificences, huge celebratory extravaganzas lasting several days and including all kinds of entertainment, that were basically exercises in self-exaltation by the French Court.

By the 1700s ballet had migrated from the French court to the Paris Opera, and the director Lully ‘preserved the ballet du cour’s basic concept of a composite form, in which the dance was an essential and important element. During this century the ballet was to develop throughout Europe, from a courtly arrangement of moving images used as part of a larger spectacle, to a performance art in its own right, the ballet d’action. This new form swept away much of the artificiality of the court dance and strove towards ‘the concept that art should aspire to imitate nature’. This ultimately resulted in costuming and choreography that was much more liberating to the dancer, and conducive to a fuller use of the expressive capacity of the body. It also opened the door to pointe-work, for this acceptance of more naturalistic costuming allowed the development of the heel-less shoe, which led to the dancer being able to make more use of the rise onto demi-pointe.

The era of Romanticism in the early 1800s, with ballets that focussed more on the emotions, the fantasy and the spiritual worlds, heralded the beginning of true pointe-work. Now, on her toes, the deified ballerina (embodied in this period by the legendary ballerina Marie Taglioni) seemed to magically skim the surface of the stage, an ethereal being never quite touching the ground. It was during this period that the ascending star of the ballerina quite eclipsed the presence of the poor male dancer, who was in many cases reduced to the status of a moving statue, present only in order to lift the ballerina. This sad state was really only redressed by the rise of the male ballet star Nijinsky, with the Ballets Russes, in the early twentieth century. Ballet as we know it had well and truly evolved by this time, with all the familiar conventions of costume, choreographic form, plot, pomp, and circumstance firmly fixed in place.

It was during the explosion of new thinking and exploration in the early 20th century that dance artists began to appreciate the qualities of the individual, the necessities of ritual and religion, the primitive, the expressive and the emotional. In this atmosphere modern dance began an explosion of growth. There was suddenly a new freedom in what was considered acceptable, what was considered art, and what people wanted to create. All kinds of other things were suddenly valued as much as, or beyond, the costumes and tricks of the ballet.

The twentieth century was indeed a period of breaking away from everything that ballet stood for. It was a time of unprecedented creative growth, for dancers and choreographers. It was also a time of shock, surprise and broadening of minds for the public, in terms of their definitions of what dance was. It was a revolution in the truest sense.

By the 1980s dance had come full circle and modern dance (or, by this time, ‘contemporary dance') was clearly still a highly technical and political vehicle for many practitioners. Existing alongside classical ballet, the two art-forms were by now living peacefully next door to one another with little of the rivalry and antipathy of previous eras. The present time sees us still in the very competitive artistic atmosphere where choreographers compete to produce the most shocking work, however, there are still glimpses of beauty to be had, and much incredible dancing in an age where dance technique has progressed further in expertise, strength and flexibility than ever before in history.

List of dances in alphabetic order

Aerobic dance, dance exercise
Air guitar, playing an imaginary guitar
Allemande (historical, court, baroque)
Antikrystos (Greece), face-to-face traditional dance
Apache (see Lindy Hop)

Barynya
Bachata (Latin Club, Folk)
Balboa (Swing)
Ballet, category, also known as classical dance
Ballroom dance, category
Ballu tundu (Sardinia)
Barn dance, category
Baroque dance, category
Basse danse (Basse-dance, Bassedanse, Bassadanse) (a category of Renaissance French & Italian (Bassa danze, Bassadanze, Basse danze) dances)
Beguine (dance), dance of Caribbean origin
Belly dance (entertainment)
Bergamask (Bergomask) folk dance, from Bergamo, Italy
Bhangra
Bharatanatyam
Big apple (Line dance)
Bihu dance
Black Bottom (see Lindy Hop)
Blitz (dance) - also known as Blitz Jive, Blitz Modern Jive (Modern Jive, Club)
Blues (Club dance, Swing)
Bolero (American Ballroom, Cuban, European)
Bomba (African, Caribbean)
Bon Odori (Japanese)
Boogie Woogie (Swing), see Boogie woogie music
Bop, see Bop music, also ABA at List of dance organizations
Bossa Nova (dance) (Brasilian, see Bossa nova music)
Bouree (Bourree) (historical)
Branle (Bransle) (historical)
Breakaway (see Lindy Hop)
Breakdancing
Bunny Hop
Butoh (Japanese)
Buyoh (Japanese)

Cajun One Step (Louisiana, USA Regional, Cajun)
Cajun Two Step (Louisiana, USA Regional, Cajun)
Cajun Jitterbug (Louisiana, USA Regional, Cajun)
Cajun Waltz (Louisiana, USA Regional, Cajun)
Cakewalk
Canaries dance (historical, Renaissance, court)
Can-can (Cancan, can can)
Capoeira (dance and martial art, Brazilian)
Carioca
Carol (Medieval)
Céilí (Ireland)
Ceilidh (Scotland)
Ceroc (Modern Jive, Club)
Chaconne
Cha cha - also known as Cha cha cha (Latin Ballroom Social)
Charleston (dance)
Chasapiko (Greece)
Cheerleading
Chicken Dance
Chodzony (Poland)
Cinquepace, Cinque-pace
Circle dance
Clogging
Collegiate Shag
Competitive dance
Conga
Contact improvisation
Contemporary dance
Contradance
Cotillion
Country dance
Country/western dance
Country/Western Two Step
Country/Western Swing (Country Swing)
Courante (historical)
Court dance
Cross Step Waltz
Crowd surfing
Cumbia (Latin, Club)
Czardas, Csardas (Folk, Hungarian)

Dances of Universal Peace
Disco
Dragon dance
Drifter
DRobushki

East Coast Swing (Swing, American Ballroom) abbrn: ECS
Electric Slide
Ethnic dance

Fad dance
Fandangos
Farandole (Provencal)
Farruca
Flamenco (Spanish/gypsy)
Fly
Folk dance
Formation dance
Foxtrot (Ballroom Social)
Freddy (dance)
Frug
Fysouni (Greece)

Gaida (Greece)
Galliard
Galop
Gavotte, Gavot (historical)
Gigue

Habanera
Hambo (Scandinavian, Folk)
Hasapiko (Greece)
Hardcore Dance
Headbanging
Hip Hop
Historical dance
Hitch hike
Hokey-cokey, also known as Okey-cokey
Hokey Pokey
Hootchy-Kootchy
Hora- many named versions (Folk, Israeli, Romanian)
Hornpipe Ireland
Huckle Buck
Hula
Hully Gully
Hustle (Club)
o New York Hustle
o Latin Hustle
Humppa (see Music of Finland)

Ice dancing
Ikariotikos (Greece)
Intercessory dance
Interpretive dance
Irish Dance

Japanese traditional dance (Japanese)
Jazz Dance
Jazzjive (Modern Jive, Club)
Jenkka (see Music of Finland)
Jerk
Jig Ireland
Jig (Scottish country)
Jitterbug (Swing)
o Cajun Jitterbug
Jitterbug stroll (Line dance, Swing)
Jive (Ballroom, International Latin)

Kalymnikos (Greece)
Kamarinskaya (Russian)
Karagouna (Greece)
Karsilamas (Antikrystos, Marinella) (Greece)
Kastrinos (Greece)
Kathak (India)
Kathakali (India, incorporates dance)
Kazachok (Russian folk dance)
Kerkyraikos (Greece)
Khasapiko (Greece)
Kolo ring-of-dancers folk dance of various Slavic peoples
Khorovod(Folk, Russian)
Kleistos (Greece)
Koftos (Greece)
Kotsari (Greece)
Krakowiak (Poland)
Krumping (Western USA)
Kujawiak (Poland)

Lambada
Lap dance
Latin dances
Lavolta
leJive (Modern Jive, Club)
Lerikos (Greece)
LeRoc (Modern Jive, Club)
LetkaJenkka (also known as Letkajenka, Letkiss, Letka-Enka)
Leventikos (Greece)
Limbo (dancers pass under horizontal pole)
Lindy Chorus (Line dance)
Lindy hop (Swing)
Line dance
Lion dance
Long Sword
Loure (historical)

Macarena
Madison (Line dance)
Malaguena
Mambo (American Ballroom, of Cuban origin)
Marinella (Greece)
Mashed Potato
Matachin
Maypole dance
Maxixe (Social)
Mazur (dance) (Poland)
Mazurka(Poland)
Medieval dance
Menousis (Greece)
Merengue (Latin Club)
Mexican Hat Dance
Milonga (see Argentine Tango)
Minuet
Mo'jive (Modern Jive, Club)
Modern dance
Modern Jive - umbrella term (Club)
Molly dance
Monkey
Morris dance
Moshing

Novelty dance

Oberek (Obertas, Poland)
Odissi (India)
One Step (Social)

Partner dance
Participation dance
Passacaglia (Passacaille) (historical)
Passepied (historical)
Pasillo
Paso Doble (Ballroom, International Latin)
Pavane (historical)
Pentozalis (Greece)
Pidikhtos (Greece)
o Kastrinos Pidikhtos (Greece)
o Malevyziotiko Pidikhtos (Greece)
Pendozalis (Greece)
Pogo (A punk dance, consisting of jumping up and down)
Pogonisios (Greece)
Pole dance
Polka - many named versions (Ballroom, Folk, Historical)
Polka-mazurka
Polonaise
Pony
Pols (Norvegia, Folk, see Polska)
Polska (pl.: Polskor; Sweden, Folk)
Prophetic dance
Punk dance
Push (Swing, Texas)

Quadrille
Quickstep (Ballroom)

Rapper sword
Raqs Sharqi ("belly dance")
Rebetiko dances (Greece)
Redowa
reel Ireland
reel(Scottish country)
Regency dance
Renaissance dance
Rigaudon
Rock and Roll
o Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll
Rouga (Greece)
Round dance (two kinds: circular chain, couples)
Rumba (International Ballroom, American Smooth, Folk)
o Cuban Rumba (Ballroom dance as of the beginning of the century, e.g., "The Peanut Vendor" piece)
o Rhumba (heavily overlaps with "Rumba" , but some insist on distinctions in the usage)

Salon dance
Salsa (Latin Club)
Salsa Rueda (Latin Club, Round)
Samba (dance) (Ballroom, International Latin; also Brazilian traditional, see Samba (music))
o Samba de Gafieira
o Carnival Samba
Sarabande (Saraband)
Sardana (Catalonia)
Sattriya dance
Schottische
Scottish country dance
Seguidilla (Spanish, folk)
Sequence dance
Serra (Greece)
Set Dance Ireland
Shag (Swing)
o Carolina Shag
o Collegiate Shag
o St. Louis Shag
Shake
Shim Sham (Line dance)
Shimmy
Shuffle
Siganos (Greece)
Single Swing
Single Time Swing
Sirtaki (Syrtaki, Zorba) (Greece)
Slängpolska (Sweden, Folk, see Polska)
Slip jig (Ireland)
Slow Foxtrot - also known as Foxtrot and Slowfox (Ballroom)
Social dance
Sousta (Greece)
o Bulgarian Sousta (Greece)
o Cretan Sousta (Greece)
o Dodecanese Sousta (Greece)
o Macedonian Sousta (Greece)
Square dance
o Traditional square dance
o Western square dance
Sta tria (Greece)
Stage diving
Step dance Ireland
Street dance
Striptease
Stroll
Svarniara (Greece)
Swim
Swing (both as family of dances and as specific Texas dance)
Swing Jive (Modern Jive, Club)
Swing Roc (Modern Jive, Club)
Suzie Q
Syrtos (Syrto) (Greece)
o Cretan Syrtos (Greece)
o Kalamatianos Syrtos (Mainland Syrtos) (Greece)
o Kapoutzidon Syrtos (Greece)
o Nisiotiko Syrtos (Island Syrtos) (Greece)
o Silyvriano Syrtos (Greece)

Table dance
Tango (Ballroom, Social, Club)
o Argentine Tango - also known as Tango Argentino (Social)
o Brazilian Tango - see Maxixe
Tap dance
Tap Charleston (see Lindy Hop)
Tarantella (Italian, folk)
Texas Tommy (see Lindy Hop)
Tik (Greece)
Time Warp
Tourdion (historical)
Traditional dance
Trata (Greece)
Trepak (Russian, folk)
Troika (Folk, Russian, Cajun)
Tsakonikos (Greece)
Tsamiko (Greece)
Tsifteteli (Tsifte-Teli) (Greece)
Tsirigotikos (Kythiraikos, Bourdaris) (Greece)
Tsyganochka
Tumba
Twist
Two Step
o Cajun Two Step
o Country/western two-step
o Nightclub two-step - also known as California two-step, abbrn: NC2S
o Progressive Double Two

Universal Peace, Dances of
Upa, Upa Habanera, claimed by some to be the origin of merengue (music) and Merengue (dance).

Verbunkos
Vintage dance
Volte, Volta, La volta, Lavolta (historical)

Wals (social) (see also Argentine tango)
Waltz (ballroom, social)
o Cajun Waltz
o Cross-step Waltz (Cross Step Waltz)
o Five-step Waltz (Five Step Waltz)
o Slow Waltz - known as Waltz in ballroom context (ballroom)
o Viennese Waltz (ballroom, social)
Watusi
Welly boot dance
West Coast Swing (swing) abbrn: WCS
Western Swing
o Classic WCS
o Funky WCS
o Sophisticated Swing (an older name of WCS)
Western promenade dances
Whip (Swing, (Texas)
Worship dance

Yablochko (Russian, folk)
Yerakina (Greece)
YMCA

Zapateado
Zeibekiko (Zeibetiko, Zembetiko, Zebetiko, Zembekiko) (Greece)
Zonaradiko (Greece)
Zorba dance (Greece)
Zouk
Zydeco (Louisiana, USA Regional)

Dance categories

The categories below are not mutually exclusive. For example, Tango is doubtless a partner dance. While it is mostly social dance, its ballroom form may be competitive dance, especially within DanceSport. At the same time we enjoy it as performance dance, whereby it may well be a solo dance. There are tangos among round dances, and certainly particinpation dances can involve tango mixers. One might remember that at times it was a forbidden erotic dance (it really is, isn't it?). Finally, some try to trace its roots to African ceremonial dances. Not to say that tango dance reaches beyond these categories: into ice dancing, burlesque and more.

Dance categories by number of interacting dancers

- Solo dance - Partner dance - Group dance

Dance categories by main purpose

- Ceremonial dance - Competitive dance - Erotic dance - Participation dance - Performance dance - Social dance - concert dance

Dance technique

-Choreography - Connection - Dance moves - Lead and follow - Musicality

Dance topics

- Dance etiquette - Dance in mythology and religion -Dance in film - Dance music - Dance personalia - Dance and health - Dance and society - Dance notation

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