The Evolutionary Significance of Dance, Rhythmic Music and Body Painting

Joseph Jordania recently suggested, that dance, together with rhythmic music and body painting, was designed by the forces of natural selection at the early stage of hominid evolution as a potent tool to put groups of human ancestors in a battle trance, a specificaltered state of consciousness. In this state hominids were losing their individual identity and were acquiring collective identity. [1] Jonathan Pieslak researched, that some contemporary military units use loud group singing and dancing in order to prepare themselves for the dangerous combat missions.

[2] According to Jordania, this trance-inducing ability of dance comes from human evolutionary past and includes as well a phenomenon of military drill [3]which is also based on shared rhythmic and monotonous group activity. Dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations andentertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilizations. Archaeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as the 9,000 year old Bhimbetka rock shelterspaintings in India and Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from c.

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3300 BC.

One of the earliest structured uses of dances may have been in the performance and in the telling of myths. It was also sometimes used to show feelings for one of the opposite gender. It is also linked to the origin of "love making. " Before the production of written languages, dance was one of the methods of passing these stories down from generation to generation. [4] Another early use of dance may have been as a precursor to ecstatic trance states in healing rituals. Dance is still used for this purpose by many cultures from the Brazilianrainforest to the Kalahari Desert.

[5] Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils). According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan dances originate, 2500 years ago, from a magic ritual that broke the spell on a bewitched king. Many contemporary danceforms can be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dances. An early manuscript describing dance is the Natya Shastra on which is based on themodern interpretation of classical Indian dance (e. g. Bharathanatyam).

The ancient chronicle, the Sinhalese (Sri Lankans), the Mahavamsa states that when King Vijaya landed in Sri Lanka in 543 BCE he heard sounds of music and dancing from a wedding ceremony. Origins of the Dances of Sri Lanka are dated back to the aboriginal tribes. The Classical dances of Sri Lanka (Kandyan Dances) feature a highly developed system of tala (rhythm), provided by cymbals called thalampataa. 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.

Dance is important because knowing it could give you a new talent. Not only that dance can also teach you to do other things such as, gymnastics,gym, to be flexible. Types of Dance Ballet Ballet serves as a backbone for many other styles of dance, as many other dance genres are based on ballet. Ballet is based on techniques that have been developed over centuries. Ballet uses music and dance to tell stories. Ballet dancers have the ability to transport an audience to another world. Jazz Jazz is a fun dance style that relies heavily on originality and improvisation.

Many jazz dancers mix different styles into their dancing, incorporating their own expression. Jazz dancing often uses bold, dramatic body movements, including body isolations and contractions. Tap Tap dancing is an exciting form of dance in which dancers wear special shoes equipped with metal taps. Tap dancers use their feet like drums to create rhythmic patterns and timely beats. Hip-Hop Hip-hop is a dance style, usually danced to hip-hop music, that evolved from the hip-hop culture. Hip-hop includes various moves such as breaking, popping, locking and krumping, and even house dance.

Improvisation and personal interpretation are essential to hip-hop dancing. Modern Modern dance is a dance style that rejects many of the strict rules of classical ballet, focusing instead on the expression of inner feelings. Modern dance was created as a rebellion against classical ballet, emphasizing creativity in choreography and performance. Swing Swing dance is a lively dance style in which couples swing, spin and jump together. Swing dancing is a general term that means dancing to swing music, or music that "swings. " How can you tell if a song swings?

Swing dancers know when a song swings because when they hear it, they can't stand still. Contra Dance Contra dance is a form of American folk dance in which the dancers form two parallel lines and perform a sequence of dance movements with different partners down the length of the line. Contra dances are relaxed with family-like atmospheres. The dancing is excellent exercise, and dancers can set their own pace. Contra dancers are usually friendly, active people with a love of dance. Country and Western Country and western dance includes several dance forms, usually danced to country-western music.

If you've ever been to a country and western club or tavern, you've probably seen a few cowboy boot-wearing dancers twirling around the dance floor with big smiles on their faces. Belly Dance Belly dance is a unique form of dance characterized by sharp, rolling movements of the hips and abdomen. The true origins of belly dancing are debated among enthusiasts. Flamenco Flamenco dance is an expressive dance form that mixes percussive footwork with intricate hand, arm and body movements. Flamenco is a Spanish art consisting of three forms: Cante, the song, Baile, the dance, and Guitarra, guitar playing..

Latin Dance Latin dance is a fast-paced, often sensual, partner dance characterized by sexy hip movements. However, hip movements are not intentional in any of the Latin dances. The hip motion is a natural consequence of changing weight from one foot to the other. Folk Dance Folk dance refers to a variety of dances developed by groups or communities, as opposed to being made up by a choreographer. There are several types of folk dance including clogging, English country dance, international folk dance, Irish dance, Maypole dance, Morris dance, Nordic polska dance, square dance, and many more.

Folk dances are often performed at social events. The Elements of Dance Action Locomotor: moving from one place to another, e. g. crawling, sliding, walking. Non-locomotor: moving without changing place, e. g. stretching, bending, pulling. Use of body parts: in isolation or in combination, e. g. hand and eye, arms and legs, torso. Space Where we move and the shape of movements, e. g. levels, direction, shape, dimension, floor pattern. Dynamics The degree of energy and control of movement, e. g. long, fast, slow, sudden, use of beat, use of rhythm.

Time The speed and duration of the movement, e. g. long, fast, slow, sudden, use of beat, use of rhythm. Relationships With others and the environment, e. g. body parts, number and groupings of dancers, equipment (props), space. Structure The organisation of the parts of the dance, e. g. identifiable sections, conventional form such as binary (two-part), narrative. What is movement? An act of changing physical location or position or of having this changed. | What is choreography? The sequence of steps and movements in dance or figure skating, esp.in a ballet or other staged dance.

The art or practice of designing such sequences. Elements of Choreography SHAPES – the lines the dancer’s body forms Straight,curved, Angular, twisted, symmetrical, asymmetrical, on-balance, off-balance ACTIONS/MOVEMENTS – the locomotor and nonlocomotor motions of the dancer’s body Step, walk, run, Hop, jump, leap, twist, turn, bend, crawl, roll, slither, pull, push, gestures, stretch, swing, shake, rise, fall TIME * Rhythm – beat even, uneven, syncopated, accented * Tempo – speed fast/sudden, slow/sustained, accelerating, decelerating.

* Unison/Canon – moving together or asynchronously SPACE * Placement – where the dancer’s body is on-stage; the horizontal space the dancer’s body occupies. downstage left, downstage, downstage right, stage left, center, stage, stage right, upstage left, upstage, upstage right * Formation – where the dancer’s body is in relation to other dancers; the space that groups of dancers occupy Lines (straight, diagonal, curved, circular), blocks (square, rectangle), staggered lines * Focus – where the dancer is looking front, back, sides, corners, up, down.

* Direction/Pathway – where the dancer is moving Forward, backward, sideways, diagonally, upward, downward * Level – where the dancer’s body is in the air; the vertical space the dancer’s body occupies High, medium, low ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS * Force – the power with which a dancer performs a movement Ex. light to strong * Flow – the energy a dancer uses to perform a movement ? Ex. bound/controlled to free/uncontrolled Locomotor movement is when you actually move from one place to another. Locomotor movements are: * Walking * Running * Swimming * Flying * Sliding.

Non-locomotor movement is moving on the spot without going anywhere. Non-locomotor movements are: * Twisting - the rotation of a selected body part around its long axis * Bending - moving a joint * Swaying - fluidly and gradually shifting the center of gravity from one body part to another * Stretching - moving body parts away from the center of gravity * Turning - rotating the body along the long axis * Swinging - rhythmical, smooth motion of a body part resembling a pendulum Read more: http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_is_locomotor_and_non-locomotor_movement#ixzz2C4bJAbpt.