The Vitality of Music and Dance in Cultures

Music and dance are two important aspects when it comes to culture. Both play major roles. Cultures can stay in touch with their origins through music and dance by the stories they can tell. Many cultures use dance to tell stories about how there past. Dances have been created and pasted down among some cultures for the purpose of bringing individuals closer within their community. But dancing may also serve to bring individuals closer from one culture to another. Some examples in my own life where music and dance has helped me stay in touch with my cultural origins are when I took Hula lessons when I was younger.

My family is from Hawaii and taking Hula helped me to learn more about the ancient Hawaiians. Every move in the Hula means something. The dances tell stories about various things. The movements each represent something; for example hand movements can signify aspects of nature, such as the swaying of a tree in the breeze or a wave in the ocean, or a feeling or emotion, such as fondness or yearning.

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Another example of how music and dance have helped me stay in tough with my culture is when I was on my middle and high school dance team.

This helped me keep in touch with my American culture. My team focused on Modern and Lyrical dances. The competitions we went too were full of various types of dance and music. How dance can provide a common ground for cultural and racial groups is by the unity it takes to create a each dance.

Most dances take teamwork to make it all come together. This question reminds me of a lot of the dance movies that are out there. There’s always a conflict with some culture or racial group but dance brings them together to work out their problems.

Although dance can be solos, group routines always have power behind it. It’s always been fascinating to me to watch teams who are all on the same count, when everyone is together. How I would describe the Jarabe Tapatio to someone who has never seen it before would be it a dance about love. It’s a courtship dance. The music they dance to is a medley. The men wear a Charro suit and the women wear dresses called China Poblana. This dance is upbeat and has a lot of footwork.

This dance became famous after Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballerina fell in love with the dance. This is when the dance became the National Dance of Mexico. The dance starts out with the man chasing after the girl. She plays around with him, rejecting him but in the end falling for him. The symbol for her accepting him is when she takes his hat, or like you were saying in class his “money”. The women use their dresses a lot throughout the dance. Dance, like the Jarabe Tapatio symbolize culture and heritage. It’s important for these communities to continue to learn and preform their dances to preserve each culture’s history.