DANCE!! PASSION!! LIFE!!

As the title of the blog suggests, its about one of the most amazing arts that is present on our beautiful planet i.e.*DANCE* . So...If someone asks you to define dance.. what would you say...I think many people will refer it as a way to entertain themselves, few may call it an art, some people would say its the bread & butter for them, some might even say its something through which they unwind themselves etc etc.. This blog will not try to teach dance but .. it will try to provide some information about different forms of dances, where these dances are performed etc.

If one tries to find the origin of dance it is not possible to say when dance became part of human culture as Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave paintings.However this is for sure that dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilization. Archeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC and the RockShelters of Bhimbetka paintings in India.

Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. So lets discuss some forms of dance and we will try to find their origins as much as possible.

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BALLET

Ballet dancing is one of the most popular forms of dance for events. Ballet Dance is beautiful, elegant and sophisticated. Ballet Dancers are available at events either as the performer or as the Dance Instructor.

Ballet has its origin in Renaissance court spectacle in Italy, but was particularly shaped by the French ballet de cour, which consisted of social dances performed by the nobility in tandem with music, speech, verse, song, pageant, decor and costume. Ballet began to develop as a separate, performance-focused art form in France during the reign of Louis XIV, who was passionate about dance and determined to reverse a decline in dance standards that began in the 17th century.

Today ballet repertoire offers great variety. New ballets and reconstructions and restaging of older ballets coexist with new works created by modern dance choreographers for ballet companies. Choreographers experiment with both new and traditional forms and styles, and dancers constantly seek to extend their technical and dramatic range.

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WALTZ

The real origin of the Waltz is rather obscure, but a dance of turns and glides, leaping and stomping appeared in various parts of Europe at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. In Italy it was the Volta, France has its Volte, Germany the Weller and Austria had its Landler. These were round dances but at the end of the dance itself there was a short period in which the circle would break up into couples who would whirl madly round and round and finish with a jump in the air. In the Landler the hopping gave way more to a gliding motion and that is why it is considered the forerunner of the Waltz. The Waltz can be traced back as far as 400+ years. The Waltz regained its real popularity in the 20th century. The Waltz blossomed out as the Hesitation Waltz in 1913. Until the development of the hesitation, couples had waltzed in one direction until dizzy and then reversed until ready to drop. The Waltz had degenerated into an endurance contest. The Hesitation resulted in the Waltz it is done today. The slow Waltz was once known as the Boston Waltz. Today the slow Waltz is the American Waltz, English Waltz or just Waltz, and the faster is the Viennese Waltz.

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TANGO

There are essentially three types of Tango - Argentine, American and International Style.

Argentine Tango: (arrabalero) Originated in the West Indies where it was danced only by the lowest classes. The name is from the African Tanganya. The dance found its way into Argentina and then to France and finally into the United States in a modified form about 1914. Latin American ballroom Tango is danced in 4/4 time.

American Tango: Unlike the Argentine Tango, in which the dancer interprets the music spontaneously without any predetermined slows or quicks, the American Tango features a structure which is correlated to the musical phrasing. The dance is executed both in closed position and in various types of extravagant dance relationships which incorporate a particular freedom of expression that is not present in the International style.

International Tango: This is a highly disciplined and distinctively structured form of the Tango which is accepted worldwide as the format for dance sport events. The dancers remain in traditional closed position throughout and expresses both legato and staccato aspects of the type of music appropriate to this style.

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SAMBA

Sometimes called the South American Waltz, the Samba dance pulsates to a unique Latin rhythm.

The Samba (or Mesemba) which means ‘to Pray’ is an Afro-Brazilian dance from Bahia, Brazil. It is said to have been derived from a dance called the Lundu, (adding a ballroom hold), The West African-Slaves, Portuguese Songs and Indian rituals. When different body motions and carnival steps were added to the dance, it would be called the “Zemba Queca”, which was described as “a graceful Brazilian dance” way back in 1885 and later became known as the Mesemba and finally mixing with the Maxixe during the 1900’s became known as the Samba.

First introduced in 1917 but was finally adopted by Brazilian society in 1930 as a ballroom dance. It is sometimes referred to as a Samba, Carioca, a Baion or a Batucado. The difference is mostly in the temp played since the steps in all three dances are very similar. The style is to bounce steadily and smoothly in 2/4 or 4/4 meter.

The samba is the main dance done at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since 1935, however, its roots go way back in ancient times. Today during Carnival it is no longer danced as a couple dance in Brazil. The dance usually consists of a “Long Quick-Short Quick-Slow” rhythm.

They say that the late Carmen Miranda introduced the Samba to the United States in 1939.

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CHA CHA CHA

The Cha-cha-cha (in Spanish chachachá) is a Latin American dance and style of music derived from the rumba and mambo in 4/4 meter.

The term “cha-cha” comes from Haiti, where it referred to a component of a bell which made a “cha-cha” noise when it was rubbed. The device was kept and used as an instrument.

The music of cha-cha-cha, however, evolved from mambo. In the late 1940s, mambo was wildly popular across the United States, but it was very fast and difficult to dance to. Orchestras slowed down the mambo, and cha-cha-cha was the result. In 1951, Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrín introduced the cha-cha-cha rhythms under this name to Cuban dance floors while playing with Orquestra America. Some say that he came to this idea as early as in 1948 while being with Antonio Arcaño’s orchestra. In 1953, his La Engañadora and Silver Star became recorded hits. The dance teacher Pierre Lavelle from the United Kingdom, a founder of the Latin American Faculty of the ISTD, visited Cuba in 1952 to discover mambo (some say, rumba) danced with the triple step in place of the slow one. He brought this dance idea to the Europe and eventually created what is known now as ballroom Cha-cha-cha.

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SALSA

The basic step of salsa dancing probably derives from the Rumba, often called the grandfather of the Latin dances. The Rumba originates from Cuba and it was first seen in the United States around 1920. Salsa dancing as we know it today was mainly developed in the Latin Quarter in New York City. Casino Rueda from Cuba has also had a big influence on the Miami style of salsa.

Salsa is usually a partner dance, although there are recognized solo steps and some forms are danced in groups of couples, with frequent exchanges of partner. Improvisation and social dancing are important elements of Salsa but it appears as a performance dance too.

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RUMBA

The Rumba is Cuban in origin and is often referred to as the "dance of love". It is sultry and romantic and the music is a mixture of African and Latin rhythms. The Rumba began with the African slaves of Cuba more than 400 years ago. It is a happy and tantalizing rhythm that first invaded the United States in the 1930's. The Rumba, more correctly called the Cuban Rumba, has become the classic of all the Latin American dances and in its present form retains many of the basic figures of the dance which is the age-old story of a woman's attempt to dominate man by the use of feminine charms. The earliest form of the rumba was an expressive pantomime danced under the spell of elemental music. Our social Rumba today is, of course, a far cry from these fascinating native demonstrations. Danced properly, the Rumba is a delightful favorite characterized by a smooth, subtle hip motion and a rather heavy walking step

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DISCO

Disco, such a common word today, but its origins actually started in the Big Band era with the radio DJ’s (disc-jockey).

This was to eventually get the “DJ’s” into the nightclubs and start the disco trend (using records/discs rather than live bands). It was much cheaper for the club owners than hiring the bands and the music was much more varied and up-to-date. The first Disco club was the Peppermint Lounge in Paris, France which opened in the 1950’s. This would open the door to other establishments over time. The first Disco in the USA was the “Whiskey-A-Go-Go” on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood (now named The Whiskey).

About 1968 a new type of electronic music (synthesizers) was making an impact and a new music was being born. The Cubans and the new music formed to create disco music … a kind of hard hitting, thumping continuous beat that could be mixed from one song to another without stopping the music. By 1970, these couples would start doing what was finally tagged as ‘Disco Swing’, the public would later become confused and call it the Hustle (Van McCoy), which was actually a line dance, however the name stuck for the better. The discos were now getting high tech and the money was being invested in fancier nightclubs

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JAZZ

Jazz dance originated from the African American vernacular dance of the late 1800s to the mid-1900s.

Jazz dancing is a form of dance that showcases a dancer's individual style and originality. Every jazz dancer interprets and executes moves and steps in their own way. Jazz dancing is energetic and fun, consisting of unique moves, fancy footwork, big leaps and quick turns. To excel in jazz, dancers need a strong background in ballet, as it encourages grace and balance.

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HIP HOP

A genre of dance that incorporates a certain style of creativity, attitude, music, posture, and choreography. This genre stems from early urban influences of rap and the inner city streets where many different ethnic cultures and dance disciplines fused together to form the exciting form of dance known as hip-hop. A hip-hop class follows that of the traditional dance class in that instruction begins with stretching and strengthening exercises, progressing to some technique work indicative of hip-hop, then doing small patterns across the floor, and in the center, and finally finishing in some choreographed routines and a cool down.

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CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Contemporary dance was developed in the early 20th century as a reaction against the rigid techniques of ballet.

Rather than emphasizing technique per se, contemporary dance as a field is more concerned with examining the choreographic and performing process thus contemporary dance is not a specific dance technique

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