DANCE

Fabul, Kate Chelsee R.

Santiago, Correne Grace
Cordero, Gabrielle, E.
De Castro, Michael
Cenido, Kirby
What is
dance?
• It is a form of art using rhythmic bodily
movements expressing ideas and
emotions and accompanied by music.
• Dance seems to be one of the oldest of
art forms, being found in virtually every
culture and attested to in records of
cultures long since extinct.
• Throughout the ages, the dancing body
has inspired the musician, sculptor and
the painter.
• It has been called “Mother of arts”
• Dancing is both a form of art and
recreation.
• As a form of recreation, dancing has
long provided fun, relaxation and
companionship.
What is
dance?

• Dance of the earliest times differ

from those of the present times;
the dance of the barrio folks
differ from those of the city.

• There are primitive and non

primitive dances. Indians dance
to give thanks for a harvest. The
Mexican to celebrate a religious
festival, teenagers dance at
parties, and children everywhere
dance because it is pleasurable
to express joy through bodily
movements or body language.
Why People Dance?
• It has been used in worship.
• It plays a role in courtship.
• It even breaks the monotony of the daily activities.
• It serves to entertain others.
• Serves a way for man and woman to become
acquainted before they marry.
• Children dance because of the joy they feel.
• Some primitive people believes that dances bring them
magic powers.
• Dance reaches its most beautiful form for those who
treat dance as an art. They give beauty and inspiration
to others.
• Dancing provides one of the most personal and effective
means of communication.
 Features of
Dance
• MUSIC – It is closely related to dance for it plays a
significant role. It is used as accompaniment that
somehow motivates the dancer’s movement.
• MOVEMENT – It refers to action of dances with
the use of their bodies to create organized
patterns.
• THEME – It pertains to the content or main
ingredient of the dance. It actually conveys the
message of the dance.
• TECHNIQUES - It refers to the skill in executing
movements. As a dancer, one needs to have a
complete control over the muscles of his body for
him to be said technically proficient.
• DESIGN - It refers to the arrangement of
movements according to pattern in time (either fast
or slow) and space (one position in relation to his
background)
• PROPERTIES AND COSTUME – These
contributes to the visual effect of dance. The
costumes can somehow relate closely to the beliefs
and environment of people.
Components of the Dance
 1. Dancer
• It is through the body of the dancer that the art of dancing is portrayed,
and the physical, emotional and natural characteristics of the dancer that
determine the quality and the nature of the dance.
• He executes the steps, follow the instruction of the choreographer, wears
the customes, and carries props.
 Physical Requirements- Dancers are not just performing artists; their bodies
are also the instruments through which the art is created. The quality of this
art, therefore, necessarily depends on the physical qualities and skill that
dancers posses. The stronger and more flexible a dancer’s body, the more
capable it is wide range of movements.
 Importance of training-Daily classes are necessary not only to mold the body
and develop the necessary physical skills but also to maintain the body in its
proper conditions and prevent injury. Many dance movements make
strenuous and unnatural demands on the joints, muscles, and tendons, and
it’s easy to strain or damage them if the body is not properly maintained.
Some bodies are more suitable for training than others, and in the West
many aspiring dancers undergo extensive medical scrutiny to ensure that
they have no weakness or disabilities, such as a weak or crooked spine, that
make them unfit for dancing.
Differences among dancers - However
rigorous and uniform training may be,
each dancer always has a excellent
jumper, while another may have exquisite
control and balance on slow, sustained
dance passages. The same choreography
may also look completely different when
executed by two different when executed
by two different bodies.
 2. Basic Steps and
Formation
• Ballet and modern dance - The style and movement
vocabulary of classical ballet id rooted in the five
turned-out positions of the feet.
• 1) heels touching and feet forming a straight line.
• 2) heels apart and feet forming a straight line.
• 3) one foot in front of the other with the heel
against the insteps.
• 4) feet apart, one in front of the other and
• 5) one foot in front of the other with the heel
against the joint of the big toe.
Each of these ballet positions has a corresponding
port de bras, or position of the arms and hands.

Modern dance use many of the steps and

positions of classical dance but often in a vary
different style. The legs may be turned in and feet
flex or held loosely rather than pointed. There is
much greater use of the torso, which may twist,
bend or crouch, and more rolls and falls in which
the dancer works on or close to the floor.
• Folk dance - Many of the steps used in folk dance
are like basic versions of ballet steps: small hops
and skips : running step similar to the pas de bouree
: and move vigorous steps such as the gallop : in
which one leg slides to the front or side and the
other leg is brought to meet in the air with a small
spring before the dancer lands on it , ready to slide
the original leg forward again. Arm and Body
movement are usually simple and relaxed, with
hands held at the waist or hanging at the slides and
the body swaying in the rhythm to the movement.
• Social dance - Except for display, social dances
are rarely performed in any strict formation,
although dancers may sometime form
themselves spontaneously into lines or circles.
Ballroom dancers are categorized instead by
they step patterns, rhythms, and tempos.
Some of the best-known dancers are the
waltz, fox trot, tango, rumba, samba, and cha-
cha.
 3. Choreography

• It is a dance director. He does the overall design of the

dance, assigns the step to be executed by the dancers,
select customes and props that go with dance, and
determines the set designed for the dance.
• is the art of making dance, the gathering and
organizations of movement into order and pattern. Most
recent works of Western theater dance have been
created by single choreography, who have been
regarded as the authors and owner of their works in a
way comparable to writers, composers, and painters.
The choreographer must therefore be :
• A dancer, or a former dancer
• Someone who has studied dance technique and
who understands the capacities and limitations
of his aesthetic material: that is, the human body
• Someone who has a variety of steps at his
command, to avoid monotony
• And someone with imagination and feelings who
can give character and beauty to the dance.
 4. Dance Notation

• Since dance is a performing art, the survival of

any dance work depend either on its being
preserved through tradition or on its being
written down in some form. Where tradition is
continuous and uninterrupted, changes in
style and interpretation may be corrected and
the dance preserved in its original form.
 5. Theatrical Elements
• Music design and drama have all played
important roles in the evolution of dance, and
in many cultures dance has actually been
inseparable from these arts. The Greek word
mousike, for example, referring to music,
poetry, and dance as one form, reflected the
integral relation between these arts in classical
Greek drama. I the early European ballets,
dance, drama, and spectacle were equally
inseparable.
Principles of Dance
1. Climax and Resolution
• All dances need to begin somewhere, build
toward something, and come to a resolution
(beginning, middle, and end). When a dance
builds In intensity and interest and reaches a
high point, the high point is called climax. A
climax can be created in many ways. For
example, dance phrases can increase in intensity
of energy and speed to a high point before
decreasing to a lull, or a narrative can build
toward a highlight turning point before resolved.
 2. Contrast

• Contrast can be achieved by combining and/or

juxtaposing unlike movements. Movements
can differ in action, body, dynamic, space, or
relationship concepts.
 3. Repetition

• Repetition of movement phrases or parts of

phrases is reassuring for an audience. Repetition
permits an audience to the movements in more
detail, allowing them to become familiar with
the movement vocabulary the choreographer is
using. Repetition can also use to give movement
emphasis.
 4. Sequencing and
Development
• Refer to the ordering of movement in a
meaningful way. When movements are
purposely connected to each other, they gain
significance and take on meaning. This is similar
to a word gaining significance. This creates
continuity, helping the audience follow the
intent of the dance.
 5. Transitions

• Are needed when movements and dance

phrases are connected. Transitions should work
toward the intent of the dance composition by
connecting the movements and dance phrases
in a meaningful way. Transitional movements
should promote continuity.
 6. Unity

• When all the parts works together to contribute

to the whole dance, there is unity. Every
movement, no matter how brief, should work
toward the intent of the composition. Unity is
achieved when the removal of any portion of
the composition damages the whole dance.
 7. Variety

• Variety with in a dance composition can engage

and hold an audience interest. Variety can be
incorporated in several ways, selecting unlike
movements to create variety, varying dance
phrases in length and structure, varying spatial,
dynamic body, or relationship aspects when
movements or phrases are repeated, or
presenting movements in retro gate.
Kinds of Dances
- Art of dancing started from the simplest forms of
purer dance expressions performed by an individual
for self satisfaction to the most sophisticated
modern and large scale production in which dance is
the dominant factor.
 1. Ballet

• This type of dance has its origin in the

royal courts of the middle ages. It is the
great spectacular dance form of the
Western World and perhaps even in our
country today. The term ballet refers to
a series of solo and concerted dances in
which poses and steps are combined
with light flowing figures, accompanied
by music and scenic accessories
expressive of a dramatic story theme or
atmosphere.
 • This dance is native to a particular ethnic group. They are
performed by dancers associated with national and cultural
2. Ethnologic groups. Religious rituals (ethnic dances) are designed as
hymns of phrase to a god, or to bring in good fortune in
Dance peace or war. Folk dances expose a great deal about the
culture of a particular people – their beliefs, desire, interests
and habits.
 • They are popular type of dancing usually
performed by pairs. They include such forms
as waltz, foxtrot, swing, cha-cha, boogie,
3. Social and tango and the latest rock dances. Most of
them has specific steps and rhythm but many
newer ones allow the dancers to compose
Ballroom dances their own movements as they dance. it is the
kind of dance people do for fun thus it is
called popular dancing.
 • Sometimes called contemporary and interpretative dances.
They represent a rebellion against the classical formation of
the ballet: emphasize personal communication of moods and
themes. Modern dance has a dynamic tempo and is vitally
4. Modern precise, spontaneous, free and natural. The movements are
based on the natural movements of the human body. The
Dances dancers stretches, drops, exaggerates, distorts or intensifies
such movement for arts sake. The human body in turn deals
with skill and balance tension and relaxation.
 • This type of dance is so called because it is
performed for the entertainment of spectators.
Theatrical dancing includes for the ballet,
5. Theatrical or modern dance, musical comedy dances and tap
dancing. Theatrical dancers may derive
Spectacular Dance satisfaction from creating something beautiful
but their own enjoyments is less important than
their ability to interpret the dance effectively for
the audience.