Learning Objectives

 to know the definition of

dance
 to be familiar with the
history and nature of
dance
 to understand the
specific benefits of dance
and creative movement
Brief History and Nature of Dance
 What Is Dance?
According to American dancer, dance educator, author, and
film and video producer Barbara Mettler…

“Dance is an activity which

can take many forms and fill
many different needs. It can
be recreation,
entertainment, education,
therapy, and religion. In its
purest and most basic form,
dance is art, the art of body
movement.”
Unlike athletics or
other daily activities,
dance focuses primarily
on “an aesthetic or even
entertaining
experience” (Myers,
2005).
Reasons of People for Dancing
 to please the gods
 to please others
 to please themselves
(self-expression)
 to build community
within an ethnic
group (social
interaction)
Brief History of
Dances
People from the prehistoric
era performed ways they
hoped would appease the
forces of nature or give
them new powers of their
own.
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 in
ancient Egypt as reflected
in their wall paintings,
reliefs, and in the literary
record in hieroglyphs.
For ancient Greeks, who
thought highly of dance, it
was closely linked with
other kinds of experiences
such as an aid to military
education among the boys
in Athens and Sparta, as
well as a form of
entertainment and display.
 The Greek also used
dance to aid education in
general as philosophers
such as Plato, Aristotle,
and Socrates strongly
supported this art as an
integration of the body
and soul.
 The ancient Rome
gave less importance to
dancing as the nation
grew wealthy and
powerful.
 It became brutal and
sensationalized as their
entertainers were slaves
and captives from
many nationalities.
 It was used more often
for gruesome purposes.
 It eventually became an
integral part of the
corruption in the latter
days of the Roman
Empire, resulting in the
condemnation of
dance by the early
Christians.
After the fall of Rome, the history of
dance transformed following the
development of the Catholic Church,
which was by then the sole custodian
of learning and education as well as the
source of morals. During this time,
theatrical entertainment was prohibited
and dance was performed only during
worships, church services, and
religious ceremonies.
 Although the Church had
condemned dance as
entertainment, some
singers, dancers, poets,
actors, musicians, and
jugglers continued to
wander in village squares to
perform during the Dark
and early Middle Ages
 These performers
were eventually
welcomed in the castles
and chateaus of feudal
lords.
 The common people
also amused themselves
by doing dances that
were social in character,
marking the beginning
of social dancing.
Nobility soon
followed the
peasants’ lead in
dancing but in a
more refined and
courtly form as court
dances emerged as
part of the chivalric
way of life.
 Renaissance
The old restraints were
loosened and clerical
ideas and purposes no
longer dominate all
creative expressions of
the human spirit.
The entertainers now
became valuable
appendage to the courts
of Italy and France.
 Inthe 15th and 16th
centuries, new court
dances in Europe
performed by the nobility
came about at about the
same time as the rise of the
art of ballet in Italy and
France. From then on,
several other dance forms
continued to sprout and
spread across several
countries.
After the pinnacle of
ballet prominence,
contemporary dances that
were stylistic variations of
ballet emerged and
evolved in Europe. Other
dance forms also came to
light and have been widely
recognized worldwide.
Benefits of Dance and
Creative Movement
PHYSICAL
 Develops cardiovascular
and muscular
endurance
 Improves coordination,
balance, flexibility, and
body composition
 Lowers risk of
cardiovascular diseases
 Lowers body mass
index
 Lowers resting heart rate
 Improves lipid metabolism
 Enablesjoint mobility (hip motion
and spine flexibility)
 Helps improve and maintain bone
density, thus helping prevent
osteoporosis
 Helps
recover coordination and
neuromuscular skills after injury
 MENTAL/EMOTIONAL
o Helps keep the brain sharp
o Decreases incidence of
dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease
o Decreases depressive symptoms
o Increases self-esteem and
improves body image
o Aids in releasing emotional and
physical tension
• Gives sense of SOCIAL
togetherness within a
group
• Encourages positive
social interaction and
interpersonal
relationship in a group
• Contributes to the CULTURAL
individual’s potential for
self-actualization in • Promotes
society cultural values