The human being has an innate yearning for regular rhythmic movement.

Whether this isfin the

form of athletics, activities of daily living, or dance, the human body is the primary instrument tot each
(Myers, 2005). Dance uses the body as an instrument of expression in time and space.

What is
dance?
Dance differs from athletics or other daily activities because it focuses primarily on "an
aesthetic
hout history
due to its multidimensionality. Although there have been immense comparative differences in period
and culture, people still dance mainly for four reasons: (a) to please the gods; (b) to please others; (c)

top lease themselves or self-expression; and (d) to build community within an ethnic group or social
Interaction (Myers, 2005).

BRIEF HISTORY AND NATURE OF DANCE

.Dance can be seen among all the people and civilizations of the world. Dances thrived at
different periods of history and mostly were a result of intercultural exchange and contact (Alejandro
and Santos-Gana, 2002). The origins of dance are rooted in the prehistoric past. Various artistic,
religious, and social forces started out the incorporation and development of dance.
"-Dance has been a major form of religious ritual and social expression within primitive cultures.
It was used as a way of expressing and reinforcing tribal unity and strength, as an approach for
courtship and mating, and as means of worship, communication, and therapeutic experience. It was
said that thetfirst use of dance was as a gesture in order to communicates People from the prehistoric
era performed ways they hoped would appease the forces of nature or give them new powers of
their own. As Kraus and Gaufman (1981) said, "man danced originally to supplicate the gods on all
important occasions of life."

Nevertheless, the dances during prehistoric time have not yet been fully recorded. it was
only during the pre-Christian era that the real knowledge of dance came about within the great
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations. Dance became full blown and was richly recorded'
ancient Egypt. It was reflected in their wall paintings, reliefs, and in the literary record in hieroglyphs.
Most of the dances during this era were chiefly a medium of religious expression.
The ancient Greeks also thought highly of dance. For them, it was closely linked with other
kinds of experiences. Dancing was taught as an
aid to military education among the boys in
Athens
display.
4 1 Physical Education and Health Volume II
and Sparta. It was not just for religious and military training but also a form of entertainment and