6 Chapter 1 Very few people care what they look like when they reach for something on a high shelf or hurry to the bus stop The human body is designed to move bend and stretch and these activities are just part of life Dancing on the other hand gets a lot of attention Not only is it a part of life it says something about it Dance can be a serious way to worship a passionate way to show love or just a fun way to express emotion and connect with other people Professor of dance Roger Copeland defines dance as any movement designed to be looked at 1 This is a broad definition and certainly some people dance for reasons that are cultural or intensely personal rather than simply to perform Dance As Expression ABD_CULT_DANC_FPGS indd 610 30 14 2 22
7 Throughout history people have danced for many reasons or for no reason at all ABD_CULT_DANC_FPGS indd 710 30 14 2 22
However Copeland’s point is clear There are as many ways to define dance as there are reasons to dance Dance in Society Any time the Village People’s 1970s song YMCA is played at a US baseball game the result is invariably the same A few people roll their eyes some people grin and then even the introverts have their arms in the air shaping the letters as the Village People spell them out in song But if an African tribe watched this show they might stare blankly and wonder what the dancers were doing Styles of dancing differ from culture to culture and they change with the times But one fact remains the same whatever the culture or time may be dance is a part of it Young girls learn a traditional Indonesian dance in Ubud Bali Indonesia 8 ABD_CULT_DANC_FPGS indd 8 10 30 14 2 22
DANCING PLAGUES In 1518 a woman in France began dancing and did not stop for several days More people joined her and by the end of the month there were 400 dancers Strangely no one wanted to dance Many died from the exertion It was only one of several dancing plagues to occur in Europe during medieval times Today scientists think the people might have been affected by a form of mass hysteria Social factors including shared hardships caused the people to join in communal action in this case dancing Dance can formally show social rank as it did in the royal European courts of the 1600s and 1700s Or it may informally establish who is dominant in a community as it did with hip-hop dance battles in the 1970s In some cultures men and women dance separately In these cultures touching one another is taboo In other cultures couples embrace each other tightly What is and is not accepted in a dance reflects a community’s morals and standards And when dances change it is often a sign a culture’s standards are being challenged Ancient Greek Thoughts on Dance Dance has been part of societies for centuries Ancient Greek philosopher Plato envisioned an ideal society He included scientists and other workers as part of his society but he left professional dancers out Certainly the ancient Greeks danced But the Greek myths also told stories of dances gone terribly wrong ABD_CULT_DANC_FPGS indd 9 9 10 30 14 2 22
