DANCE

DANCE
• Dance is a way of knowing and communicating.
All societies use dance to communicate on both
personal and cultural levels and to meet physical
and spiritual needs.
• Dance, as with all the arts, has its own language.
We need to learn this language in order to fully
understand and appreciate the world of Dance.
 History of Dance
There is no definite date where certain dances originated
1.Experts suggest (through the analysis of cave painting) that
dancing has been around since beginning of life
2.Used for mating, communication, rituals & offerings
Dance Appreciation and
Composition
 RECREATIONAL DANCE

• Is a social activity in which people of all ages can participate.

• Dances come from all over the word and include folk , cultural
and historical dances and social dances from the past to present.
• These types of dances use a variety of steps , figures and
formations.
• The styles, performance and music are related to the cultural
roots, historical eras and geographic areas from which the dance
originates
 DANCE FITNESS

• Is a fun way to increase cardiovascular endurance,

strength and flexibility.
• Various dance genres support fitness.
• Dance-related fitness training systems such as Zumba
and Cardio Dance
 What makes a good dance?

• A good dance displays a significant meaning or conveys a message.

• A good dance lifts and transports the audience from their seats
during the performance.
• The beginning of the dance may come in form of shape, a pose or
an entrance.
• The middle consist of a development or the exploration of the main
idea.
• The ending/conclusion should be clear and may be in a form of
shape, a pose or an exit
 What is FORM?

• Is the instrument by which ideas and elements are

arranged or combined into logical sequence which
results in unity and consistency and by means of
which the content or idea can be expressed and
communicated.
• The form should progress through time from the
beginning to the end of the choreography
 What is PHRASE?
• “smallest unit form in the whole dance”
• When you combine one movement with several others, they form
a unit. When units are pierced together, they make up a section in
the choreography and the sections together form a whole dance.
• Choreographers and dancers use movement phrasing when
working on dances.
• A single phrase consists of eight counts and it is easier for building
routines and choreographic combinations with an 8-count phrase.
 What is a MOTIF?
• A good dance contains theme or a motif to be able to
convey its meaning or intention to the audience.
• A single movement or a short phrase of movement
that embodies the style and intention of the dance.
• One good example of a dance with motif is the Itik-
itik dance that is simply portrays the movements of
an itik(duckling)
CHARACTERISTICS OF A
GOOD DANCE
 UNITY

• The interconnected phrase of the dance are coherent

and flow smoothly together.
• The movements fit together and each plays an
important role that contributes to the entirely of a
dance
 CONTINUITY AND DEVELOPMENT

• the phrase of the dance that are organized,

progressively, making each movement phrase move
naturally into the next.
• There is a continuous development of the movement
phrase and the audience is swept along to the end.
 VARIETY AND CONTRAST

• Making one or several variations that highlight the facet of the

motif.
• It add excitement and flavor of the dance
• Changing the direction, use of energy, timing of movement
phrase and avoiding repeating them in exact way are ways to
add variety to the dance.
• Contrasting movements are slow to fast , short to long and
minimal to large movement phrases.
 TRANSITION

• This is the link between movements, phrases and sections

of the dance.
• It makes logical progression of the dance flow smoothly
• It is vital because it keeps the unity and continuity of the
dance
• They may be long or short, gradual or abrupt(lacking
smoothness or continuity)
 REPETITION

• It emphasizes movements and phrases that are important

to the dance and gives feeling of closure to a work.
• Some phrases need to be repeated in choreography so that
the audience can see those movements again and identify
its significance.
• Usually , when a certain phrase or a section of
choreography is repeated, it is the main message of the
dance.
 CLIMAX

• This is when where the apex of energy in the dance is

reached.
• It is similar to a climax in a story where a series of
events culminates.
• It may be a fast and enraged blast of energy and action
or it could fade away to a gentle and quit exit that
marks the end of a particular story.
Choreographic forms in dance
• What are the various choreographic
forms in dance?
A. Sequential Forms
B. Contrapuntal Forms
C. Episodic Forms
D. Other Compositional Forms
 A. Sequential Forms

• These are forms contain themes/motif which progress in

a specific order. They are arrange accordingly.
a. AB (two-part)form – the simplest of the sequential forms
and is similar to a verse and a chorus of a song. It is a binary
form with two contrasting sections consisting of a beginning
section(A) followed by a second section (B).
B. ABA (three-part) form – composed of introductory
theme (A), a contrasting theme(B) and the restatement of
the original theme(A). (A) is the unifying theme and the
center of interest, then (B) gives contrast.
Ex. Most popular songs use this form where is chorus(A), a
verse(B) and a repetition of the chorus (A) which is often
somewhat elaborated to highlight the idea of the song.
• C. Rondo form(ABACA) – in this form, the unifying
theme (A) returns after each contrasting theme.(A)
appears after every contrasting section at least three
times but it can itself be varied.
• D. Theme and Variation Form – the motif as a series
of movements to which variations are added
throughout the development of the entire
choreography. The motif / theme can be single
phrase or several movement phrases placed together
in a sequence.
 2. Contrapuntal Forms (complex structure)

• A. Ground Brass – single theme starts the dance and

is repeated all the way through the dance while other
contrasting themes are simultaneously performed
with it. This form is best done in a group working
either in contrast to each other or against the soloist.
• B. Round or Canon – consist of two or more movement
phrases or theme in which the main movement phrases is
limited exactly and completely by the successive
movements, but done in staggered manner.
For instance , the first dancer performs the theme, the second
dancer enters at the end of the first half-phrase, the third
enters at the start of the second phrase and the fourth enters
on the last half of the second phrase. The round ends in the
same order as the last dancer finishes off the movement or
theme.
• C. Fugue or Accumulation – a choreographic form that is
constructed by adding on different movement or dance
phrases in every repetition of the main movement or theme.
• D. Suite – every section of the dance (beginning , middle and
the end) use different tempos and qualities. Commonly, it
has a moderate beginning , a slow middle section , and a fast
and lively end section.
 3. Episodic Form

• They tell a story through connected and progressive

sections called episodes. Narrative form is an
episodic form that tells a story to convey an idea and
the sequence of the story determines the structure
of the dance.
 4. Other Compositional Forms

• Natural Structures – mostly come from natural

structures such as the seasons, life cycles and
everyday life experiences.
• Collage – consists of a series of movement phrases
that are often unrelated but have been brought
together to create a single dance with beginning , a
middle and the end.
• Tableau – different movement phrases are performed
by different dancers simultaneously in the same
space. The dancers may execute a tableau at a
different location on the stage and connect
transitional movements for each scene to produce a
progression of moving snapshots.
• Chance – the movement phrases are performed in
random order and spatial placing. Every time the
dance is performed. It is done in different order and
therefore has a different appearance. Originally, the
dance phrases were arranged by tossing coins to
decide on choices and the order of performance.
 Evaluating a Good Dance
The success of any dance performance may depend on who the
evaluators are. Appreciation on the importance of dance comes from the
points of view of the choreographer , the dancer or the audience. These
people are the ones who would be able to analyze, understand and
appreciate the performance. The evaluators’ roles are categorized as:
1. Choreographers – they will evaluate a part of an going process of
developing a personal style which is both spontaneous and
organized.
2. Dancers – they will evaluate according to the specific demands that
are the performance places on them.
3. Audiences – they will evaluate according to the particular context of
the dance.